Trade wrap: Key forward requests trade to Collingwood
The 2025 trade period is fast approaching and there is plenty to talk about.
So much so that AFL Trade Radio is hitting your airwaves a few days early and returning bigger than ever in 2025.
Kicking off today (Wednesday, September 24), AFL Trade Radio will feature AFL Media’s Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge, as well as SEN’s Sam Edmund, Tom Morris and Josh Jenkins for the opening three days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) from 12-2pm.
To whet the appetite, Morris joined SEN Breakfast to cast his eye on some of the big names being bandied about in trade circles.
Follow us live everyday of the trade period and we will bring you all the breaking news.
4:45pm – Key forward requests trade to Collingwood
Sydney key forward Jack Buller has requested a trade to Collingwood, reports Cal Twomey.
The 24-year-old kicked 11 goals in the last nine games for the Swans this year, and on the back of that form was offered a two-year deal by the Magpies.
Having been linked to the Magpies in recent weeks, Twomey says that Buller has now informed the Swans of his desires to play in black and white.
“Craig McRae said over the weekend that it’s not just a players over picks mantra this year,” Twomey told AFL Trade Radio.
“But Jack Buller has told the Swans he wants a trade to the Pies.
“That could be as a Brody Mihocek replacement. Melbourne are of course looking at Brody Mihocek as a free agent.
“Jamie Elliott, well, Gold Coast continue to be linked to him, and he’s continued to hold off on signing a deal that he’s not ready to sign, that two-year offer from Collingwood.”
3:06pm – Dons defender won’t pursue Brisbane trade
Essendon defender Jordan Ridley won’t pursue a move to Brisbane this off-season.
The 26-year-old was reportedly interested in heading north despite being contracted until 2029, but Ridley himself has now come out to commit to the Bombers.
Having been hampered with injury across much of his career, Ridley was pleased to meet with new Essendon high performance boss Mat Inness who he hopes will help him overcome his recent challenges.
“This off-season gave me a crucial opportunity to reflect on a challenging few years with injury. During that time, it became incredibly clear that my future is with Essendon,” Ridley said.
“I’m fully committed to playing my best football here. I have immense faith in Brad Scott and the direction he’s taking this developing group.
“After meeting with our new High Performance team, led by Mat Inness, I’ve been really impressed and confident we have the right strategy in place to overcome my recent injury challenges and get me back to my best.
“My decision was also driven by my great belief in this playing group and the exciting young talent coming through.
“I love this club, I want success for this club, and I’ll be doing everything I can to return success to Essendon for everyone.”
1:45pm – Jenkins: All clubs should do due diligence on JUH
Josh Jenkins expects 16 other clubs to do their due diligence on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
After the troubled Dogs was linked to the Suns, Jenkins wonders whether the Gold Coast would be the best place for him.
“They’re the first team outed to have done their due diligence, but I would imagine all 17 clubs will do it,” he said on AFL Trade Radio.
“When I say that the minimum standard would be to check in with the management group. You would at least put the feelers out. The talent is unbridled.
“He was on his way to being one of the best key forwards in the game, he was a pick 1. I think all 17 teams in some way shape or form will be doing due diligence.
“You’re almost not doing your job if you don’t check in. Due diligence is one thing, taking the risk is another. But does Surfers Paradise and Gold Coast fit the bill for some of the things he has had issues with? I doubt it. But we are a long way off.”
1:16pm Why aren’t Dogs going harder?
Josh Jenkins is questioning the Bulldogs’ approach to landing Cal Wilkie from the Saints saying they should be going harder.
It’s been reported that the powerbrokers at Whitten Oval have offer the star defender an extra $400k a season with the Saints yet to flinch.
The Dogs are yet to present their best offer.
“Why would the Dogs come with an offer the can up? Come with the top level and knock his socks off and have him fall in love with the club,” Jenkins said on Trade Radio.
“Go and blow their socks off like Saints did with De Koning. The captaincy, you can’t put a price on that.
“If he can be the one to lead that club back to their best – this does feel like a player that the club needs to come to the table and up the money or extend it out
12:59pm What next for Curnow?
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps is confident that Charlie Curnow will remain with the Blues in 2026 and beyond.
The name of the two-time Coleman Medallist continues to be thrown around in trade circles with the likes of Geelong, Gold Coast and Sydney all linked.
While Cripps believes the contracted Curnow will stay put at the Blues, Cal Twomey has heard different.
“What do you think it will take to get Curnow out of Carlton?” Twomey said on Trade Radio. “He has reiterated it to the club again since returning from overseas. He wants to leave, and he wants to find anywhere that can take him.
“It’s a bit like the Hawthorn Merrett situation. He is willing to take a little less money to do it. He has a long-term deal left on the table, his value is high so these players are not easy to be traded.
“It’s over to the chasing clubs to do the work.
“Swans don’t want to move on their untouchables; Geelong don’t have a group that wants to move on. Why would a contracted player want to move to Carlton?”
12:29pm: Club-by-club trade guide
AFL Trade Radio is launching early this year with a Wednesday kick-off.
AFL Media’s Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge have put together a club-by-club guide to help make sense of it all.
All the targets, who might be moving and each draft hand.
SEE THE GUIDE HERE
11:54pm: Petracca going interstate?
Christian Petracca is reportedly open to leaving Melbourne, and according to Michelangelo Rucci, the star Demon has his sights set on one specific club.
Following Petracca’s reported eagerness to leave the club in 2024, the midfielder will enter this year’s trade period without the same determination, openly expressing his willingness to remain at the club if the club sees fit.
However, both he and the Dees are open to a move, leaving all deals on the table as the trade period approaches.
And according to Rucci, Petracca has one specific club in mind for his future endeavours – Gold Coast.
READ THE STORY
11:04am: Saints yet to present Dogs target with improved deal
St Kilda is yet to present Cal Wilkie with an improved contract, keeping the door ajar on an unlikely move to the Western Bulldogs.
The Dogs’ audacious raid for the Saints’ star defender is still unlikely to pay off, but the enormous pay rise Wilkie stands to receive at the Whitten Oval has kept it alive.
Wilkie, 29, is contracted at St Kilda until the end of 2027 on a deal worth around $750,000 a season.
But the Western Bulldogs’ desperation to land a high calibre key back has seen them present Wilkie with a four-year deal worth up to $1.2 million a season.
FULL STORY
10:45am: JUH To Queensland? Sam Edmund reports:
Gold Coast has emerged as a potential haven for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
The Suns have a preliminary interest in exploring a move for the troubled Western Bulldogs forward.
It must be stressed that the Suns are only very early into their due diligence and are far from a certainty
Do you think Zach Merrett will be at Essendon next year?
“It’s very strong (what Andrew Welsh said), but I still don’t think he’ll be there next year,” said Morris.
Retired Hawk Luke Breust to Richmond as a development coach?
“His desire eventually is to move into list management and be a footy boss.
“But you’ve got to start somewhere and I think being a development coach is a good pathway for him.
“The Tigers are very confident they can get him now. There’s been quite a few clubs that have spoken to him.
“He’s a good pickup no matter where he goes.”
Demons star Christian Petracca linked to both Adelaide and Gold Coast
“He will start to meet with clubs.
“Gold Coast Suns are on his radar. Adelaide is on his radar.
“Last year he was just looking at traditionally big Victorian clubs. This year his gaze has widened.
“If this is going to progress – and I believe it will progress – he’s going to have to meet with these sorts of clubs.
“The Crows are certainly interested and Gold Coast Suns are certainly interested as well. I think that feeling is mutual from Petracca.
“He would have liked Hawthorn but I think that’s highly unlikely, if not impossible now, given the Zach Merrett situation.”
Geelong target James Worpel has his Hawthorn exit meeting coming up. What will happen?
“He has a few options on the table. He can go into his exit meeting, has a chat and that’s it, leaving any prospect of his future alone.
“He can go in and say, ‘I’d like to leave as a free agent’, which he’s entitled to do even though he’s restricted.
“The third option is he can go in and say he wants to go to Geelong as a restricted free agent. I don’t know for sure but I sense that given the Cats are playing in a Grand Final this weekend, the third option is the least likely.
“But there’s little doubt now that he’ll be joining the Cats as a free agent next week when the free agency market opens.”
Do the Western Bulldogs still have interest in St Kilda’s Cal Wilkie?
“The Dogs still believe Wilkie is on the table, but it’s going to be hard from a St Kilda perspective to let him go.
“He’ll be their captain next year. The Dogs are having a crack, we know that Luke Beveridge has spoken to him.
“But that’s a long haul that one.”
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