Every Thursday AFL.com.au presents Inside Trading, with breaking news and the best analysis of the AFL trade landscape covering contracts, re-signings, free agents, the AFL Draft and industry insights.
CATS VETERAN CLOSES ON NEW DEAL
GEELONG forward Gary Rohan is close to winning a fresh contract extension with the Cats.
Rohan is coming towards the end of the two-year contract he signed after the 2021 campaign, but preliminary talks over a new deal with Geelong have started after the veteran goalkicker returned to the team in recent weeks.
The 32-year-old finally became a premiership player last season after being in three losing Grand Final sides with both the Cats and Sydney, while he kicked three goals in the opening quarter in last week's loss to Port Adelaide.
Speaking on AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable, Rohan's agent Nick Gieschen from Connors Sports Management said he'd had discussions with Geelong list boss Andrew Mackie and revealed that an extension was close.
"I'm really hoping we can get something done soon," Gieschen told Gettable.
"He obviously played really well (against Port) and he certainly hasn't lost any of his speed and power. It was great to see him kick three in the first quarter. I think everyone was pretty excited about that. I think we're close.
"As long as he has the speed and the power, which he obviously still does … he will be a year-to-year proposition, but I'm hoping he can hang around for a while because he's still a really valuable player for the Cats." – Riley Beveridge
BOMBERS ROOKIES ON HOLD
ESSENDON has put a pause on its contract decisions for its group of rookies, with senior regulars Jye Menzie and Massimo D'Ambrosio among the group of Bombers who remain unsigned.
The club has focused on re-signing its gun restricted free agents Darcy Parish and Mason Redman, with AFL.com.au revealing last week negotiations had commenced on Parish.
A contract offer has also been tabled to Redman, who has been weighing his future.
The Bombers have eight rookies who remain out of contract this year as the end of the home and away season grows nearer – Menzie, D'Ambrosio, Kaine Baldwin, Patrick Voss, Cian McBride, first-year pair Anthony Munkara and Rhett Montgomerie and mid-season recruit Jaiden Hunter.
Talks on extensions for the batch of rookie-listed players have been on hold.
Menzie and D'Ambrosio joined the Bombers via the 2022 mid-season rookie draft, with Menzie kicking 15 goals from 12 games this season and D'Ambrosio playing eight games this year, including kicking the match-winning goal against North Melbourne in round 12.
Voss is into his second season at the Bombers after being a rookie selection at the end of 2021, with the powerful forward close to an AFL debut earlier this year, while Baldwin has played two games this season and is being developed as a key defender after joining the club as a forward. – Callum Twomey
PIES START TALKS FOR MID-YEAR RECRUIT
COLLINGWOOD has opened talks on a new deal for uncontracted defender John Noble, as the club looks to reward its former mid-season recruit for his impressive start to the campaign.
The dashing half-back is coming towards the end of the two-year deal he signed after the 2021 season, but it's understood the Pies have kickstarted discussions over a new multi-year extension in recent weeks.
Noble has become a mainstay in coach Craig McRae's plans, playing 82 games since he earned his chance on the club's list midway through the 2019 season as a 22-year-old from SANFL side West Adelaide.
It's the most games of any player picked up in a mid-season draft, emerging alongside Richmond's Marlion Pickett, Hawthorn's Jai Newcombe and Essendon's Sam Durham as the biggest success stories from a mid-year intake.
Noble remains Collingwood's biggest contract priority in the back half of the season, with the Pies also hopeful of still locking away fellow mid-year draftee Ash Johnson to a long-term extension amid some rival interest. – Riley Beveridge
SWANS MOVE TO LOCK IN FORWARD
SYDNEY tall forward Hayden McLean has begun discussions on a new deal with the club.
The Swans have started talks with the out-of-contract forward, who has played 11 games this season and has previously attracted interest from Victorian clubs, including St Kilda.
In a season when the Swans' key position players have been struck by injury, McLean has played all bar two games and booted eight goals, including two against Carlton in Sydney's most recent win over Carlton in round 11.
McLean, 24, joined the Swans before the 2019 season as a rookie selection and has played 42 games for the club. Last year he played the first eight games of the year and was brought back into the side for its Grand Final defeat to Geelong.
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The Swans re-signed co-captain Dane Rampe for two seasons this week, while midfielder Dylan Stephens, who had started contract talks earlier in the season, remains unsigned as he looks to cement his place back in the team. – Callum Twomey
SECOND-CHANCE BULLDOG EYES EXTENSION
WESTERN Bulldogs rookie Oskar Baker is eyeing a contract extension after playing every game so far for the club since crossing from Melbourne.
The speedy wingman joined the Dogs as a pre-season supplemental selection period signing last December after being delisted by Melbourne.
Discussions are underway for a new contract beyond this season, with his current one-year deal in place for 2023.
The former Demon has taken his second chance at an AFL career, playing all 14 games so far this season and impressing.
Baker crossed to the Dogs after playing 15 games across five seasons for Melbourne, having been drafted from Queensland.
He has averaged 14 disposals this season and added some more run to the Dogs' mix, and recently gathered 22 disposals against Geelong in round 12. He started his season with a goal in each of the first three games of the Bulldogs' campaign. – Callum Twomey
HAWK SET TO SIGN
HAWTHORN key defender James Blanck is finalising a new deal to remain at Waverley Park after joining the club just over 12 months ago.
The 22-year-old has played 16 games since being recruited with the second-last live pick in the 2022 mid-season rookie draft.
Young Hawthorn ruckman Max Ramsden is believed to be the only player from last year's mid-season intake to secure a deal for 2024 and beyond, with Blanck close to joining him.
Hawthorn list manager Mark McKenzie secured the priority signatures of Will Day and Dylan Moore early in the year, as well as Jarman Impey and top-10 pick Cam Mackenzie more recently, and is now working through a few other contracts.
The Hawks are understood to be close to locking in half-back Seamus Mitchell and small forward Tyler Brockman.
James Worpel commenced talks with the club in recent weeks, following an impressive first half of 2023 from the inside midfielder who has recaptured the 2019 form that saw him win the Peter Crimmins Medal.
Dual All-Australian Chad Wingard doesn't have a contract for next year and faces an uncertain future heading into the closing months of the season, given he is currently playing for Box Hill and has struggled with durability issues in recent years.
Fergus Greene, Jacob Koschitzke, Finn Maginness and Lachie Bramble are some of the other Hawks currently without deals for next season. – Josh Gabelich
LION KEEN FOR MID-SEASON TRADES
BRISBANE midfielder Josh Dunkley says the League – and its players – should be open to exploring trades in-season.
Dunkley, who moved to the Lions the past off-season following seven years with the Western Bulldogs, is a student of player movement both in the AFL and around the world.
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The 26-year-old says with the right conditions, players moving in-season could be a win-win for the individuals and the clubs.
At this stage though, he said player consent was still important. And there was one other caveat.
"There's a lot of players that sit under the wings of teams that could be playing elsewhere," Dunkley told AFL.com.au.
"If it's a fair competition for all those players to get the most out of themselves and their career, potentially it's something they should look at.
"It's a hard one. You don't want to give away your gameplan to different teams, but these days, everyone knows how everyone plays."
Dunkley moved from the Bulldogs at the end of his deal last year, having his trade request to Essendon denied in 2020 when he was under contract for two more seasons. – Michael Whiting
