![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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SAINTS TRADE TARGET REVEALED<\/p>\n
St Kilda has reportedly got \u201ca very close eye on\u201d contracted Gold Coast defender Charlie Ballard. <\/p>\n
The soon-to-be-27-year-old Ballard has a deal at the Suns that runs through 2029, but according to SEN\u2019s Sam Edmund, he\u2019s \u201cvery much gettable\u201d. <\/p>\n
The Sturt product has played just four senior games this year, most recently in Round 6, as Damien Hardwick preferred a different mix in his back half – with Oscar Adams one of the names breaking in. <\/p>\n
\u201cSt Kilda have got an interest in Gold Coast defender Charlie Ballard, and Gubby Allen – St Kilda\u2019s head of talent and acquisition – was up there keeping a very close eye on Charlie,\u201d Edmund told SEN Breakfast on Friday morning. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very much gettable, despite having a long-term contract until 2029, so Ballard to St Kilda potentially at the end of the year is one to keep a little eye on.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, Ballard was recalled for the first time in eight weeks, set to line up for the Suns when they face the Cats in Geelong on Friday night. <\/p>\n
After playing every Suns game in 2023 and 2024, the former third-round pick played only one game last year, suffering a ruptured ACL before returning in Round 2 this season. <\/p>\n
The Saints\u2019 apparent pursuit of Ballard comes at a time when multiple Suns – including forwards Ben King and Jed Walter – have uncertain futures at the club.<\/p>\n
Dawson dominates Dogs in 1st half | 02:09<\/p>\n
DETAILS EMERGE ON NEW JAMARRA DEAL<\/p>\n
In amongst the persistent chatter around the futures of in-demand Gold Coast forwards Ben King and Jed Walter, teammate Jamarra Ugle-Hagan\u2019s next contract is a point of intrigue. <\/p>\n
Ugle-Hagan has been reborn on the Gold Coast, but is looking for a new deal after joining the club last October on a one-year contract. <\/p>\n
Seven\u2019s Tom Morris reports that the 24-year-old has a games-based trigger to earn a second contract at Carrara. <\/p>\n
However, Morris also stated that games minimum sits at 12, yet Ugle-Hagan has played just three times at senior level this year, with 10 matches left in the home-and-away season. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s unlikely to hit that trigger, in which case, it\u2019s up to the Suns to determine whether he needs to be at the club next year,\u201d Morris said on Agenda Setters. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think as long as he does everything right off the field, he\u2019ll be at the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
If one or both of King and Walter depart at year\u2019s end, Ugle-Hagan\u2019s worth to the Suns suddenly increases substantially. <\/p>\n
In any case, if the ex-Bulldog is to remain at Gold Coast into 2027, Morris also reports that not much is set to change from a monetary standpoint. <\/p>\n
Ugle-Hagan is understood to be on around $200,000 this year after earning closer to $900,000 in his final year at Whitten Oval, and Morris doesn\u2019t expect there to be an increase on his 2026 number. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s on a tight leash – probably a pretty similar contract for next year. It\u2019s unlikely he\u2019s going to hit that trigger, so they\u2019ll probably have to renegotiate again,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there is goodwill on both sides, but at the moment, he\u2019s not fit enough to be playing consistent AFL footy.\u201d<\/p>\n
AFL 360: Frampton cleared by the MRO | 02:21<\/p>\n
NEW NEALE DEVELOPMENT IN PIES PURSUIT<\/p>\n
Collingwood has reportedly met with Lachie Neale as the Magpies continue their pursuit of the Brisbane dual Brownlow medallist. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to SEN\u2019s Sam Edmund, who reports on Friday morning that the Pies met with the 33-year-old star midfielder up north just last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a Collingwood delegation up on the coast, and they met with Lachie Neale up in Queensland last week, as they continue to try to convince the dual Brownlow medallist to join them in the offseason,\u201d Edmund said on SEN Breakfast. <\/p>\n
\u201cSomething Chris Fagan did say he would find head-scratching.\u201d<\/p>\n
It comes after Super Saturday Live\u2019s Jay Clark told Fox Footy that Collingwood has been \u201chot on the trail\u201d of the free agent Lion, given his midfield abilities and the fact that he\u2019d cost nothing from a trade perspective. <\/p>\n
He reported last Saturday that the Pies want to keep their draft picks while being able to still add ready-made talent, adding: \u201cNick Daicos desperately needs a running mate\u201d. <\/p>\n
On AFL 360 on Monday night, when probed on his desire to add seasoned campaigners to Collingwood\u2019s list, coach Craig McRae said: \u201cI\u2019m impatient to get the right people in our environment and also try to get our list to a state where we can compete.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neale is coming off one of his best games of the season, running rampant against the rival Suns to the tune of 37 disposals, 10 clearances and five inside-50s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A St Kilda trade target has been revealed, while Collingwood has reportedly taken a big step in its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,689,11295,353969,3237,70507,3244,353973,10133,20779,10143,14385,1127,353968,13658,2105,2485,1139,353972,19125,3514,25875,60457,353974,353971,673,677,63149,14449,353967,701,134530,353970,85,1122,26889,670,353330,1144,11236,345703,57548,12920,660],"class_list":["post-731203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-king","tag-ben-king-and-jed-walter","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-charlie-ballard","tag-chris-fagan","tag-close-eye","tag-collingwood-magpies","tag-contract-situation","tag-craig-mcrae","tag-damien-hardwick","tag-fox-footy","tag-games-minimum-sits","tag-geelong","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-greater-western-sydney-giants","tag-gubby-allen","tag-jay-clark","tag-jordan-dawson","tag-lachie-neale","tag-mark-metcalfe","tag-midfield-abilities","tag-monetary-standpoint","tag-new-south-wales","tag-oceania","tag-one-year-contract","tag-oscar-adams","tag-pies-pursuit","tag-queensland","tag-ready-made-talent","tag-saints-trade-target","tag-sports","tag-st-kilda","tag-st-kilda-saints","tag-sydney","tag-term-sets","tag-tom-morris","tag-trade-news","tag-trade-perspective","tag-trade-target","tag-trade-whispers","tag-victoria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731203","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=731203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}