Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nLACHIE NEALE<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cI think he\u2019d like to stay. Obviously, it might be really hard for him as it turns out if he can\u2019t get enough time with his young children … both the parents are trying to make the best of it for his two young kids. I think he wants to win flags. Now, it may well be he\u2019s going for a \u2018four-peat\u2019; that\u2019d almost be impossible to pass up. I think he\u2019ll start the season saying: \u2018That\u2019s what I want to do\u2019. He was the one that spoke to Fremantle in 2021 a few years ago, and said: \u2018Hey, I\u2019d be keen to come back\u2019. That didn\u2019t happen in the end, so I think that line of communication is open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corbin Middlemas says: \u201cIf they\u2019re (Fremantle or West Coast) trying to drive a bargain and force a trade to get something back, you\u2019d also think the Eagles would also have the best possible hand if Brisbane wants something in return for him. I think the other thing with it, this is going to run the distance, isn\u2019t it? We can sit here and try to pre-empt it and everything else, but really until he knows what the year looks like, this is new for him. He doesn\u2019t know how much time he\u2019s going to spend back there. It\u2019s one of the longest flights in the country, Brisbane to Perth, so how\u2019s he going to make it all work. Is he going to see enough of his family? So, I think until he actually understands what the year looks like and how that\u2019s going to pan out, I think the decision on the footy will be made at the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
ZAC BAILEY<\/p>\n
Corbin Middlemas says: \u201cWe\u2019ve seen this happen already, with Brandon Starcevich moving on (to West Coast) and Callum Ah Chee went to Adelaide. The \u2018Curse of More\u2019, where players that play in premierships want more, and you\u2019ve got to try and fit them all in. So, I could absolutely see a world where that eventuates at the end of the year. As much as he\u2019d love to stay and Brisbane would love to keep him, you can\u2019t fit them all in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cI\u2019m very strong that he still wants to stay, so of course this is going to drag out. His manager Andrew McConville will do very well to see what those offers are. Probably like Hugh McCluggage, (he) waits until the mid-part of the season. He\u2019s got all the offers there, it might get him an extra couple hundred thousand dollars. On the open market, is he a $1.6-1.8m player? But, you know what? Him playing midfield is a little bit like Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera \u2014 you get tagged every week. I think he wants to stay, and I think Brisbane will find the shekels to allow him to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lachie Neale and Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner running during a Brisbane Lions training session at Brighton Homes Arena on April 9, 2024 (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
BUKU KHAMIS<\/p>\n
Corbin Middlemas says: \u201cHe\u2019s going to have great options, isn\u2019t he? \u2018Past is prologue\u2019 as you said; he wanted to go last year but ultimately it wasn\u2019t able to happen. But, if he keeps playing the footy that he has been, and throughout the pre-season he had that electric game (vs Hawthorn), I\u2019d imagine he\u2019d be a very attractive prospect for many clubs. You could play him back, you can move him forward. He\u2019s such a flexible guy, and now it\u2019s really on his terms should he want to go. And likewise, if the Bulldogs want to keep him, they\u2019re going to have to try and squeeze him in \u2014 and they\u2019ve got a lot of good players they\u2019re paying.<\/p>\n
ZAK BUTTERS<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cEven listening to him again, he talked about: \u2018It was very clear to me that the club wouldn\u2019t trade me at the end of last year\u2019; so that\u2019s probably what he wanted to do. When Chad Cornes says he\u2019s 99 per cent sure that a player he\u2019s spent the last however many years with wants to move on, that says everything doesn\u2019t it. One experienced player manager said to me today that he\u2019d be staggered if he didn\u2019t get to the Bulldogs \u2014 but can the Bulldogs give him that money of $1.8 million a year? Would other clubs offer four first-round picks, because it will be a trade instead of free agency (Port will match a bid). Every single Victorian club, apart from Carlton who have Cody Walker picks tied up, will have a crack at him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Butters of the Power is tackled by Geelong\u2019s Oliver Henry 2024 AFL Round 9 match between the Geelong Cats and Port Adelaide Power at GMHBA Stadium on May 10, 2024 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
BEN KING:<\/p>\n
Foxfooty.com.au says: The 25-year-old full-forward last signed a two-year extension in February of 2024, and has remained unfazed by trade speculation as attention on his future has ramped up. Seven West\u2019s Ryan Daniels reported in May last year that Collingwood were very, very confident in landing King this upcoming off-season. A Melburnian and State of Origin representative, King is coming off a career-best 71 goals in 2025, and is a five-time leading goalkicker at Suns. He\u2019s been a valued asset at the club for a long time now, but with Ethan Read and Jed Walter slowly emerging in his shadows \u2014 in addition to the recruitment of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan \u2014 will Damien Hardwick be forced to say goodbye to one of the four key forwards? It\u2019s still far too early into the season to give a genuine verdict, but early indications suggest a short-term extension is a possibility.<\/p>\n
BAYLEY FRITSCH<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cMelbourne and Bayley are at a beautiful spot. If it is that they really are a long way from contention, potentially he might leave for a significant offer elsewhere. They\u2019d get, I\u2019d imagine, a late first-round pick for him. If they\u2019re flying and he\u2019s playing great football, he can stay as well. They\u2019re just in that feeling out period, but a great situation for him there.\u201d<\/p>\n
MITCH LEWIS<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cVery keen to stay. He wants to play great football early on; the same as Joel Amartey. I think he\u2019ll be a one-club player and at Hawthorn for life.\u201d<\/p>\n
JORDAN BUTTS<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cLots of suitors including the Western Bulldogs last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOEL AMARTEY<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cHe would like to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
KIERAN BRIGGS<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cI think Briggs stays.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yes, it\u2019s only March. But that hasn\u2019t stopped the AFL\u2019s trade chatter from already shifting into gear. While…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,265044,265043,265039,64,63,689,55,639,11295,3237,240684,1653,15830,265042,265047,265040,13658,13659,2105,12138,681,265046,25875,15631,7198,677,265045,18395,46,12918,85,265041,11236,28462,53149,660,3439,698,114229,108450,23510],"class_list":{"0":"post-534120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-agency-class-looms","10":"tag-agents-heading","11":"tag-andrew-mcconville","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","15":"tag-australian-football-league","16":"tag-australianfootballleague","17":"tag-ben-king","18":"tag-brisbane-lions","19":"tag-chad-cornes","20":"tag-cody-walker","21":"tag-corbin-middlemas","22":"tag-electric-game","23":"tag-experienced-player-manager","24":"tag-five-time-leading-goalkicker","25":"tag-geelong","26":"tag-geelong-cats","27":"tag-getty-images-inc","28":"tag-hugh-mccluggage","29":"tag-jon-ralph","30":"tag-jordan-butts","31":"tag-lachie-neale","32":"tag-lauren-wood","33":"tag-michael-willson","34":"tag-oceania","35":"tag-oliver-henry-2024-afl-round-9","36":"tag-one-club-player","37":"tag-perth","38":"tag-ryan-daniels","39":"tag-sports","40":"tag-star-teammates","41":"tag-trade-news","42":"tag-trade-speculation","43":"tag-training-session","44":"tag-victoria","45":"tag-western-australia","46":"tag-western-bulldogs","47":"tag-young-children","48":"tag-young-kids","49":"tag-zak-butters"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534120","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=534120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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