Get all the latest news in the trade, free agency and draft landscape in Inside Trading, AFL.com.au's dedicated column for player movement. Find out the latest on contracts, deals, trades, draftees, rules, agents and who is going where from the AFL.com.au team.
BOMBERS EXPLORE CAT INTEREST
ESSENDON is exploring a level of interest in Geelong premiership forward Gryan Miers as the Bombers consider their next move after a busy start to the Trade Period.
The Bombers were quick to do deals trading out Zach Merrett and Jordan Ridley in the opening three days of the trade window, as well as bringing in Cats utility Jack Bowes.
Now the club is weighing up its interest in fellow Cat Miers, who has two years to run on his deal at Geelong but has been thrown into trade discussions after West Coast's interest in him.
The Eagles had flagged Miers as a target and did a medical on him before he went overseas in case things sped up, however Miers was not looking to leave the Cats and the Eagles prioritised deals for Trent Rivers and Jack Viney.
Liam Pickering, Miers' manager, told Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio this week the 27-year-old Miers would be staying at the Cats.
Essendon is still in the preliminary stages of exploring whether it progresses with early interest in Miers, who would add genuine kicking skills and IQ to the Bombers' young squad.
The complication for clubs who have considered Miers has been his ACL injury, which he played with for the second half of the season and saw him avoid undergoing surgery, as well as what would satisfy Geelong in a trade. – Callum Twomey
RICHMOND HUNTING PORT PICK
RICHMOND is among the suite of clubs strongly eyeing off Port Adelaide's No.5 pick, with Essendon, Carlton and West Coast others who have expressed interest in the selection.
The Tigers have made clear their intention to get in as many top-end selections in their rebuild before Tasmania enters the draft next year and compromises the pool for three years.
They already hold pick No.2 on the board this season and are understood to be right in the mix for the Power's No.5 compensation pick, which Port has put up for sale after landing the mega trade on Friday that then saw the club not match a free agency bid for Zak Butters to claim the pick.
Port, as revealed by AFL.com.au on Friday, is shopping the selection because its current hand of picks No.7 and 12 will be able to match a bid on a No.1 pick call for Dougie Cochrane with only a small points deficit.
The Tigers would have their future first-round pick, and likely another selection like pick No.22 this year, up for grabs to attain the Port selection but will have competition for it given the selection grants the buyer access to the very top end part of the draft.
Essendon is looking at ways to use its three later top-27 picks to bundle together and move up, West Coast would need to use a future first-rounder to get into the mix and Carlton too is looking at ways to shift into the pick, which would effectively pay for Cody Walker if a bid comes for him at No.3.
The Blues hold picks 13, 18, 25 and 26 this year as well as two first-round picks in 2027 and one in 2028.
North Melbourne has also shown interest in the Port selection as it gets creative to get its two big trades done with Nick Blakey and Nick Murray both keen to join the club. – Callum Twomey
WILL PIES' LIST SQUEEZE IMPACT SHORT?
COLLINGWOOD is facing a list spots squeeze if it is to bring Jayden Short through the doors by the end of this Trade Period.
The Pies have 31 contracted players already ahead of the first list lodgement at the end of October, with recruits Lachie Neale and Jesse Hogan to be added to that and Carlton ruckman Flynn Riley also having requested a trade to the club.
With those three added, it would take the Pies to 34 senior contracted players, but the club has made clear it is keen to hold onto its first two picks at this year's draft as it works through negotiations to do a deal for Short, who is keen to depart Richmond for Collingwood with two years left on his contract.
Under AFL rules clubs need to use three picks at the draft, but that can also include an upgraded rookie elevation.
The Pies this year ran with 36 senior-listed players and six rookies, but clubs can have up to 38 senior-listed players and as few as four category A rookies. Three picks on top of their three additions would take them to 37 on the senior list.
The Pies have three rookies still waiting on contracts for next year – Harrison Coe, Jai Saxena and Noah Howes – and could also run with more senior players for next year, but that would have financial implications for their salary cap.
There are options for the Pies but the list spots squeeze has put rivals on alert to see their moves over the final days of the Trade Period, with Collingwood the sole suitor for two-time premiership Tiger Short at this point. – Callum Twomey
TALKS UNDERWAY FOR NEXT HAWKS TARGET
HAWTHORN and North Melbourne have begun discussions on a trade for Josh Goater.
Goater requested a trade to the Hawks earlier this month after five seasons at the Roos.
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Talks have been pushed back for both clubs as they get through different priorities, but the Hawks have presented options to North Melbourne on using either 2027 future selections or a later pick this year to get a deal done for the athletic 18-gamer.
A deal wouldn't involve any 2028 picks swapping hands.
Goater played six games this season for North but is looking to take up a two-year deal at the Hawks. – Callum Twomey
SWANS VETERAN SIGNS ON
SYDNEY has re-signed veteran defender Joel Hamling for another year, but the club doesn't expect a decision on former skipper Dane Rampe's playing future until later this month.
Hamling recently agreed to a fresh one-year extension for 2027, after fellow veteran Harry Cunningham turned down the offer of a one-year contract to join Adelaide as a delisted free agent.
The Swans also remain hopeful Rampe, who turned 36 earlier this year, will go around again next season, though the club will give its former captain a period of time to consider whether he plays on.
Rampe was thrust back into the captaincy role for the side's preliminary final defeat to Fremantle due to regular skipper Callum Mills' knee injury and the suspension dished out to vice-captain Isaac Heeney.
But the 289-game veteran is still weighing up the prospect of potentially reaching his 300-game milestone next year, having not yet told Sydney officials whether he'll extend his career into a 15th season in 2027.
"Not as yet," Swans list boss Chris Keane told AFL.com.au's Gettable this week.
"He's away at the moment. He'll likely make that decision over the next few weeks. He's obviously had good conversations with 'Coxy' (Dean Cox) and the coaches around what that looks like. We'll hear from him probably in a couple of weeks." – Riley Beveridge
CONTRACT CALLS FOR RECRUITS
ZAK BUTTERS is now the longest contracted player in the AFL after signing a nine-year deal through until 2035 at the Western Bulldogs.
His mega free agency move, which went through on Friday, takes Butters past Zac Bailey, Sam Walsh, Caleb Serong and Kysaiah Pickett's 2034 deals as the longest current contract in the AFL.
The Bulldogs also gave out three-year deals to attract Finn Maginness from Hawthorn and Hudson O'Keeffe from Carlton, while they had earlier signed Jordon Butts to a five-year free agency offer.
Geelong gave out three-year contracts to its recruits in Rowan Marshall, Toby Greene and Jordan Ridley, while Jack Bowes also signed a three-year deal through until 2029 in moving to Essendon.
Hawthorn lured Zach Merrett on a four-year contract, with a trigger for a fifth season, while Ben King joined on a seven-year free agency deal.
Collingwood signed Jesse Hogan until 2028 and Lachie Neale until 2029, while Richmond attracted Nathan O'Driscoll on a three-year contract and handed out a four-year deal to Kieren Briggs.
Elsewhere, Carlton signed Joel Amartey on a five-year free agency contract, while Sam Marshall's trade from Brisbane to St Kilda was completed on Friday via a three-year deal. – Riley Beveridge
FORMER BLUE STILL ON AFL RADAR
EX-CARLTON forward Flynn Young has attracted interest as a potential delisted free agency option ahead of the summer.
It's understood clubs, including Richmond, have been monitoring Young as a potential rookie or pre-season chance after he was delisted earlier this year.
Young played 11 games for the Blues after arriving as a mid-season recruit from Werribee halfway through 2025, but managed only three senior appearances in a frustrating campaign this season.
The 181cm forward impressed at VFL level, kicking 21 goals from 13 games in 2026 to shoot back on the radar of AFL clubs ahead of November's draft period. – Riley Beveridge
HOW DOGS NAVIGATE BID
THE WESTERN Bulldogs' picks for this year might have been wiped out after Friday's mega deal, but getting their Next Generation Academy prospect Khaled El-Souki remains more than possible with their draft hand.
Clubs are not certain of El-Souki's draft range but a bid could come around the 20 mark or beyond that for the small forward, who proved to be a regular goalkicker this season for the Western Jets and for Footscray's VFL team when he played for them.
The Bulldogs hold picks 55, 83, 89 and 91 in this year's order after the mega deal, but have stocked up with 14 selections between 2027 and 2028 which will be used as assets to buy back into the draft this year.
If a bid comes earlier than expected for El-Souki, the Dogs could use those selections to get into the order even on draft night, if they hadn't already found a taker before that later this Trade Period or in the pick swaps window that follows the end of the Trade Period.
The Dogs followed their involvement in the mega trade on Friday to swap third-round picks with Hawthorn in 2028 in the first solitary pick swaps trade of the period. – Callum Twomey
COCHRANE TAKES ON THE PRESSURE
WEST COAST and Essendon have been the only two clubs to make home visits to Dougie Cochrane this year as the Bombers prepare to place a bid on the Port Adelaide Next Generation Academy prospect with the No.1 pick.
Cochrane has long been viewed as the leading contender to be this year's top draft selection, with the son of former Roo and Power player Stuart Cochrane approved last year to be a part of the Power's Academy with his Indigenous background.
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Port's mega deal on Friday, executed before taking the compensation pick No.5 for losing Zak Butters, set the club up to match a bid on Cochrane at No.1, which list boss Jason Cripps told Trade Radio earlier in the period the Bombers had already indicated to the Power they were planning to do.
Cochrane told AFL.com.au at the Telstra AFL Draft Combine that the Eagles and Bombers had been the only clubs to come to his house for interviews, separate to the work he has done with Port throughout the year.
"We just had a chat and it was them getting to know me. It was a good experience getting to meet with AFL clubs. A lot of boys from South Australia have had 16 or 17, so that's a much bigger number than two, but it's good to meet those clubs and two great clubs as well to see how they think," Cochrane said.
"At the Combine I had six interviews. I'm just getting used to the gameplan and everything around Port and the players and how they operate, but it's good to see how other clubs operate as well."
Landing picks to match the bid for Cochrane has been top priority for Port given the 195cm talent's unique abilities, but he said the hype around him being the No.1 pick hadn't affected him.
"I don't mind it. I like the pressure. I don't dread it, I like it. So when everyone talks about it and says 'How do you deal with this?' I really don't care too much about it," he said.
"At the end of the day whatever pick I am, everyone who gets drafted is still in the same boat as an AFL player. Look at Robbie Gray, he was pick 55 and he's probably the best Port player of all time. I still have to prove myself and work hard towards being the best I can be."
But would he want to slot into Butters' vacant No.9 jumper, the one Butters took over from Gray?
"It still feels weird 'Buttsy's gone. I don't mind whatever number comes. (Cochrane's brother) Tommy is number 26, but I wouldn't want to be locker buddies with Tommy," he said. – Callum Twomey