Suns’ deals likely to go through today
Hawk forwards Aidan Schubert and Sam Butler will become Gold Coast players as early as Monday as the Suns bolster their forward line following the loss of Ben King to Hawthorn.
Schubert agreed to a five-year deal last week as the Suns brokered a deal which enabled them to accept compensation for the loss of King, while a Friday visit to the Gold Coast convinced Butler, whose brother Dan played in the 2017 flag at Richmond under Suns coach Damien Hardwick, to also make the move.
Butler is looking for more opportunities after being unable to cement a spot in the Hawks’ line-up during his six seasons at the club.
A shocking broken leg in 2024 hampered his progress as Nick Watson, Dylan Moore and Jack Ginnivan became Hawthorn’s dynamic trio of small forwards.
The Hawks will enter 2027 with Ben King, Jack Gunston, Mitchell Lewis, Mabior Chol and Calsher Dear as key forwards. Gunston and Chol will be entering the final year of their contracts.
They are likely to receive second-round draft picks in exchange for the young Hawk forwards.
Here was the state of play on Friday
Zak Butters inked a mega deal worth at least $17 million over nine years at the Western Bulldogs, Ben King committed to Hawthorn for $9 million in the next seven years and Nick Blakey told the Kangaroos he wants to take-up their eight-year, $12 million offer on Friday.
The three blockbuster deals were the centre of attention as the AFL’s trade period reached its halfway point in an uncharacteristic flurry of activity.
Trades will not be officially lodged at the weekend, but the focus will be on Blakey’s bid to get to North Melbourne, where his father is a hero of the 1996 and 1999 premierships.
Sam McClure and Jake Niall report the Roos have prepared for all possible scenarios in Blakey’s short-term future, after their board approved the offer made to him; a deal that would make him one of the highest-paid players in the competition.
Welcome to the final week of the AFL trade period
Hello everyone and welcome to our AFL trade period blog for day eight.
We have plenty of deals still to be completed and teams will be keen to finalise some deals today ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
Enjoy the day to come.
Blakey’s path to North Melbourne remains uncertain
Nick Blakey’s path to North Melbourne remains uncertain as Sydney and the Kangaroos look to ramp up discussions over a blockbuster deal.
Saturday was the calm before the storm, with neither club holding major discussions over Blakey’s future, according to two industry sources with knowledge of the matter.
The Kangaroos’ pick No.6 in this year’s draft shapes as the key component of any trade to send Blakey to the club where his father John played 224 of his 359 games in the 1990s and early 2000s and won two premierships.
The pressure is on North Melbourne to secure a deal for Blakey, having made many unsuccessful bids to poach rival stars, including Richmond champion Dustin Martin, Collingwood star Jordan De Goey, GWS gun Josh Kelly, and Swans superstar Isaac Heeney.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
