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TRADE VERDICT ON AFL\u2019S \u2018MOST IMPORTANT SIGNATURE\u2019<\/p>\n
CODE Sports<\/a> reporter Jon Ralph<\/a> believes young star forward Nate Caddy is \u201cvery much part of the solution\u201d, despite some fears he could walk away from the club.<\/p>\n The Bombers, as recently-sacked coach Brad Scott has consistently reiterated, have attacked the draft hard since 2020, taking 10 players with top-13 picks.<\/p>\n One of those players is prodigious goalkicker Caddy, who was described by Herald Sun chief football reporter Jay Clark on Tuesday<\/a> as \u201cthe most important signature in the game\u201d after an impressive 37-game start to his AFL career.<\/p>\n Caddy is contracted to the Bombers until at least the end of the 2028 season. As a key forward with ample upside, Caddy is seen externally as a prime target for Tasmania<\/a>, which can sign a maximum of 18 uncontracted players<\/a> \u2013 one from each of the rival 18 clubs \u2013 across a two-year window (2027 to 2028) without a trade needing to be struck. The Devils also have access to a signing bonus pool of $5 million outside of the salary cap.<\/p>\n Nate Caddy of the Bombers. Picture: James Wiltshire\/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n Speaking after the Bombers\u2019 big loss to Brisbane earlier this month, Caddy told 3AW Football he was sick of \u201cmediocrity\u201d and wouldn\u2019t accept honourable losses.<\/p>\n But Ralph told Fox Footy\u2019s Midweek Tackle on Tuesday night said he sensed Caddy wanted to stay at Essendon.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you speak to people really close to him \u2013 even though he talked about \u2018mediocrity\u2019 a couple of weeks back and not wanting to accept it \u2013 I think he\u2019s in. I think he\u2019s very much part of the solution,\u201d Ralph told Midweek Tackle. \u201cThey\u2019ve got to build people around him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing they\u2019ve got that Carlton hasn\u2019t got is they\u2019re down in the deep pit od despair, but they\u2019re on the way back. Whereas Carlton probably, until the last couple of weeks, are coming down.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got Caddy and Zach Reid as your bookends, you\u2019ve got (Jacob) Farrow and (Archie) Roberts as your half-backs, (Sullivan) Robey looks like an outright star, so did (Dyson) Sharp until he dislocate the shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked on Tuesday after Scott\u2019s sacking whether he was fearful of losing a young star like Caddy, Essendon president Andrew Welsh told reporters: \u201cI was really energised by Nate\u2019s comments \u2013 because that\u2019s not just Nate, it\u2019s reflective of a lot of the players within our sheds.<\/p>\n ‘I can see where the club is heading’ | 06:11<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t accept losing and feeling like it\u2019s OK. That\u2019s when I spoke about the resilience of our young playing group, because that is their attitude and they have to keep getting themselves up.<\/p>\n \u201cNate, as a leader of our young group, is so instrumental in the way that he carries himself within the four walls of the football club. His comments, I understand the frustration, but also love the passion and his hate to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SENIOR BOMBERS DUO?<\/p>\n While there\u2019s some optimism Caddy is in it for the long haul, Ralph said it was likely two senior Bombers would again explore the trade market.<\/p>\n Club champion Zach Merrett and best and fairest winner Jordan Ridley last year were both heavily linked to moves to Hawthorn and Brisbane respectively. Ridley ultimately committed to his existing contract, while the Hawks and Bombers couldn\u2019t agree on a deal for Merrett, who has stayed at the club and relinquished the captaincy.<\/p>\n So far this season, Ridley has again been hampered by injury \u2013 he\u2019s played just two of 11 games \u2013 while Merrett has played all 11 matches and been widely lauded for his on-field output and attitude.<\/p>\n Ralph last week reported on Midweek Tackle that not only the Lions, but also Gold Coast was \u201ca club he (Ridley) would be considering as well, given his partner is from Queensland\u201d. AFL Media\u2019s Cal Twomey reported on Footy Classified on Tuesday night the Suns were also interested in Ridley and that both Queensland-based clubs were \u201caware Jordan Ridley is keen to get to Queensland\u201d.<\/p>\n Brad Scott speaks on Zach Merrett trade | 01:10<\/p>\n Ralph urged the Bombers on Tuesday night to consider bringing in off-contract Suns forward Jed Walter.<\/p>\n \u201cZach Merrett\u2019s going to go, Ridley\u2019s going to go, but that potentially gets you five or six picks within the top 22 or 23,\u201d Ralph told Midweek Tackle.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a long haul, but just go back to the draft and maybe have a crack at Jed Walter. <\/p>\n \u201cBut for the first time you get that massive nucleus of young draft picks that Essendon hasn\u2019t had in the last decade.\u201d<\/p>\n Welsh on Tuesday said the Bombers\u2019 staunch unwillingness not to trade Merrett last year \u201cwas a step and a statement that we are clear in our direction and clear with our strategy and what we need to do to push this football club forward again\u201d, adding: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be pushed around as a club anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n The Bombers president said he expected Merrett to remain at the club in 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cZach is contracted until the end of next year. I don\u2019t see any other reason to why he won\u2019t be here next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n HAWKS TO RAMP UP TALKS WITH FREE AGENT<\/p>\n Hawthorn remains determined to keep Mitch Lewis amid rival interest in the Hawks key forward, according to CODE Sports reporter Glenn McFarlane.<\/p>\n Lewis, after a wretched run with injury, has played in all 11 Hawks games so far this season and kicked 17 goals, after managing a combined 13 goals from 12 games across the past two seasons.<\/p>\n It was reported last month that Collingwood could turn its attention to Lewis if its Ben King pursuit proved unsuccessful. It\u2019s since emerged King has reportedly agreed verbally to sign a two-year Gold Coast extension.<\/p>\n Brisbane Lions hold ‘honesty session’ | 02:21<\/p>\n Speaking on Fox Footy\u2019s Midweek Tackle on Tuesday night, McFarlane said both the Hawks and Lewis had initially put talks \u201con hold\u201d as they wanted \u201cto see a little bit about each other and whether Mitch was playing well enough\u201d.<\/p>\n AFL Media reported on Wednesday Hawthorn had tabled a four-year offer to Lewis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that Collingwood is interested, but there\u2019s no doubt that the Hawks are keen to keep him and those discussions will keep going over the coming weeks and months,\u201d McFarlane told Midweek Tackle.<\/p>\n Ralph said the Hawks must be wary of the Magpies.<\/p>\n \u201cUnrestricted free agent, just not sure that Hawthorn would pay as much as a Collingwood who, let\u2019s face it, won\u2019t get Ben King and might be desperate for an unrestricted free agent big key forward, who would perfectly fit that role,\u201d he told Midweek Tackle.<\/p>\n Lewis has kicked 150 goals from 89 games since being taken with Pick 76 in the 2016 draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What Brad Scott\u2019s sacking means for the AFL\u2019s \u201cmost important signature\u201d, as well as two long-time Essendon servants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,36846,107267,64,63,689,55,639,11295,3423,696,3237,100140,241386,11231,1119,10124,2105,28450,2485,19125,681,12098,339760,14426,677,12922,701,279835,7889,339758,339756,10032,85,131222,63380,11236,339759,339757,95039,87670,25581,29649],"class_list":["post-696948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-andrew-mcgrath","tag-andrew-welsh","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-ben-king","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-brad-scott","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-chief-football-reporter","tag-club-champion","tag-essendon-bombers","tag-football-club","tag-fremantle-dockers","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-glenn-mcfarlane","tag-gold-coast","tag-jay-clark","tag-jon-ralph","tag-josh-dunkley","tag-mitch-lewis-collingwood","tag-nate-caddy","tag-oceania","tag-player-movement-news","tag-queensland","tag-sacking-means","tag-salary-cap","tag-senior-bombers","tag-senior-bombers-duo","tag-signing-bonus","tag-sports","tag-tim-roberts","tag-trade-market","tag-trade-news","tag-trade-verdict","tag-young-draft-picks","tag-young-group","tag-young-star","tag-zach-merrett","tag-zach-reid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696948","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=696948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}