Carlton is adamant they won’t accept three firsts from Geelong for Charlie Curnow in this trade period, citing that those picks are all likely to be in the 20s.
Now, the question is what that means for Sydney and the trade in general.
Do the Swans now have to offer up their three firsts as a starting point in this trade? It seems so.
The Blues want players. They will not move Curnow unless they are blown away by the trade.
This could see them ask Sydney for the three firsts as well as Ollie Florent and Will Hayward, both of whom have been linked to this trade. Geelong meanwhile will be resigned to knowing they’ll have to give up similar quality players to get the deal done, which they won’t.
Carlton turning Curnow into Florent and Hayward as well as Sydney’s three first round picks would be a haul they could then turn into anything.
They’ll have to trade pick 10, acquired from Sydney, and pick nine – from the Tom De Koning free agency as they won’t want those picks to be absorbed by a bid for father-son prospect Harry Dean. Who will be in that range.
Expext the Blues to try and get up the draft order, potentially to Richmond at three or four, or try and move those two picks into 2026, where they will have to match a father-son bid for gun Cody Walker, who could go pick one.
Regardless, the sooner Sydney or Geelong goes all-in and coughs up for Curnow, the sooner the Blues can turn those assets into something else.
Charlie Curnow of the Blues celebrates kicking a goal. Getty