![\"Draper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/bcc7a8aeba16732881a6a4f91cb6f680b205e290.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nUncontracted defender Jayden Laverde is one of about eight experienced defenders across the competition the Giants are scoping in the event that, as expected, Leek Aleer joins St Kilda at season\u2019s end. Spots are tight on the Giants\u2019 list, but they are exploring adding a defender to their list as a rookie.<\/p>\n
Ben Hobbs\u2019 future is uncertain as he is uncontracted and is yet to receive strong interest from other clubs, while Will Setterfield is also waiting on a new contract. The door remains open for Nik Cox to resume in pre-season after he was ruled out in July from playing for the rest of 2025 due to concussion.<\/p>\n
Competition sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Bombers would use their two top-10 picks to add talent alongside Nate Caddy and Isaac Kako, while NGA prospect Adam Sweid is likely to attract a bid early in the second round.<\/p>\n
The Bombers\u2019 horror injury run has made them a less than attractive proposition for players looking to change clubs at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Draper is likely to take his excitement outside Victoria to either Brisbane or Adelaide.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
They did show interest in West Coast\u2019s Liam Ryan and St Kilda\u2019s Marcus Windhager, but Ryan is likely to join the Saints, while Windhager remains in discussions with his current club while considering an attractive long-term deal from North Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Giant still in Saints\u2019 plans<\/p>\n
St Kilda\u2019s long-term interest in GWS defender Leek Aleer did not waver when they joined the race for wantaway Blue Jack Silvagni.<\/p>\n
The Saints were willing to trade for Aleer under contract last year, but the 24-year-old wanted to fulfil the final season of his deal in 2025 before making a call on his future, which he told this masthead in the pre-season would be based on playing opportunities.<\/p>\n
![\"Could](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/96640de499186dbec28e5eb24e61fd860bcfbb87.jpeg\")
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Could Jack Silvagni see another ex-Blue join the Saints?Credit: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
St Kilda would pay him about $700,000 annually \u2013 roughly $100,000-a-season less than their Silvagni offer, which is between $800,000-850,000 per season over five years \u2013 on a long-term contract, much more than he would make for staying a Giant, although he remains happy in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Aleer has played a career-high 12 matches this season, averaging two intercept marks per game, but remains a fringe selection.<\/p>\n
He is expected to request a trade to the Saints, but any decision won\u2019t be made until GWS\u2019 finals campaign ends.<\/p>\n
North Melbourne briefly inquired about Aleer but long ago withdrew any interest, while he was also on the Western Bulldogs\u2019 radar, with coach Luke Beveridge revealing they were surveying the market for key defenders.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs and Collingwood remain in the hunt for Silvagni however their deals are closer to $600,000-650,000 per year over four years.<\/p>\n
St Kilda retained Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera<\/a> and will sign Tom De Koning in free agency<\/a>, while Liam Ryan and could also be Moorabbin-bound. Ryan, who has a season to run on his deal, has already requested a trade, but is yet to nominate a club.<\/p>\n Sam Flanders is also on their radar, but the Saints would need to make an attractive offer to the Suns to drag the contracted midfielder out of Gold Coast\u2019s list.<\/p>\n Flanders was the Suns\u2019 starting substitute in round 24 against Port Adelaide, but played a full game and won 20 disposals in their 95-point drubbing of Essendon. He is likely to have more midfield time at the Saints.<\/p>\n The Bulldogs are happy for Buku Khamis to explore his optionsCredit: Getty Images<\/p>\n Carlton shopping <\/p>\n The Bulldogs are aware of Carlton\u2019s interest in contracted swingman Buku Khamis as the Blues scour the market for potential trade targets such as the Eagles\u2019 Campbell Chesser and the Suns\u2019 Malcolm Rosas jnr while waiting to see whether they get higher compensation for the loss of Silvagni than originally expected.<\/p>\n The Blues, who are set to receive a first-round selection between Hawthorn and Sydney for the loss of De Koning to the Saints, could receive a selection at the end of the first round if Silvagni accepts the Saints\u2019 deal.<\/p>\n The Bulldogs would like to retain Khamis but are not stopping him from exploring other options ahead of the trade period.<\/p>\n Competition sources anticipate the Blues attempting to push up the draft board to guarantee they can use their first-round selection before any bids come for father-son prospect Harry Dean, who is a potential top-10 pick. The Tigers may be open to splitting the second of their two top-three picks, while the Suns will be looking to offload pick No.6 ahead of a bid being made for academy graduate Zeke Uwland.<\/p>\n The Blues finally exposed some of their young talent after their round-16 loss to Port Adelaide when they fielded their oldest team since 1944, with Ashton Moir, Flynn Young, Billy Wilson, Harry O\u2019Farrell and Hudson O\u2019Keefe showing supporters their recruiting had found some players.<\/p>\n Charlie Curnow remains open to a trade, with Sydney interested, while competition sources said Geelong are continuing to monitor the situation. The Blues have declared the forward \u2013 who is contracted until the end of 2029 \u2013 off limits, however a trade remains possible. Elijah Hollands, who has a year to run on a contract, has also been told to explore his options.<\/p>\n Top draft pick\u2019s future unclear<\/p>\n North Melbourne onballer Will Phillips \u2013 the No.3 pick in the COVID-19-impacted 2020 draft \u2013 will have to be patient as he waits to find out if he will be on an AFL list next season.<\/p>\n Phillips\u2019 senior opportunities have dwindled, playing behind the likes of Luke Davies-Uniacke, George Wardlaw, Harry Sheezel and Luke Parker, while blue-chip draftee Colby McKercher is likely to receive more midfield time in the years ahead, too.<\/p>\n A frank and mature discussion took place between the parties at Phillips\u2019 exit meeting about his lack of opportunity, but also the Roos\u2019 limited list spots.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old, who has averaged 14 disposals and three clearances across his 50 career matches, was not among North\u2019s initial delistings, which included Miller Bergman, Kallan Dawson, Eddie Ford and Brynn Teakle.<\/p>\n Phillips is valued highly at Arden Street for his character, which could also be his trump card in finding another club to take a chance on him.<\/p>\n There are club people who still believe Phillips could make an impact at AFL level, similarly to someone such as Collingwood\u2019s Ned Long, who has thrived at his second stop after starting at Hawthorn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Uncontracted defender Jayden Laverde is one of about eight experienced defenders across the competition the Giants are scoping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-112841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/d2a988d52f831b1241fe895d023567a958ba1b97.jpeg\")
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