{"id":891115,"date":"2026-09-14T00:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891115\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T00:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T00:52:16","slug":"butters-bombshell-throws-cats-curveball-but-all-in-play-for-star-free-agent-tipped-trade-whispers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/891115\/","title":{"rendered":"Butters bombshell throws Cats \u2018curveball\u2019\u2026 but \u2018all-in\u2019 play for star free agent tipped \u2014 Trade Whispers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zak Butters\u2019 shock call has thrown Geelong a Toby Greene \u201ccurveball\u201d … and why the Cats will be \u201call in\u201d on Matt Rowell. Plus a star cricketer rules out an AFL return.<\/p>\n

Get the latest player movement news and updates in AFL Trade Whispers!<\/p>\n

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BUTTERS BOMBSHELL THROWS CATS A GREENE \u2018CURVEBALL\u2019<\/p>\n

Zak Butters\u2019 decision to nominate the Western Bulldogs as his preferred destination looms as a \u201ccurveball\u201d for Geelong\u2019s chances of landing Toby Greene, reports Damian Barrett.<\/p>\n

Greene, a triple All-Australian and two-time best and fairest winner, is weighing up his footy future after 15 seasons at the Giants.<\/p>\n

The Giants captain is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he can walk to the club of his choosing. He\u2019s met with both Geelong and Essendon in recent weeks as he considers returning to Victoria for family reasons, although he hasn\u2019t ruled out re-signing with the Giants.<\/p>\n

Greene earlier this month revealed he\u2019d spoken with fellow free agent Butters about the possibility of joining forces at Geelong. But it was confirmed on Saturday that Butters had chosen the Bulldogs instead of the Cats.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Channel 9 on Sunday morning, Barrett suggested Butters\u2019 decision had \u201ccaused problems\u201d for the Cats\u2019 pursuit of Greene.<\/p>\n

Cats make a big move to lock in Butters | 02:40<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was effectively a double whammy approach to Zak Butters and Toby Greene,\u201d Barrett told The Sunday Footy Show.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now it may just be cause for Toby Greene to have a rethink on the desperation that he may have had to get there alongside Zak Butters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do expect it to be a curveball in those negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was put to Barrett that Geelong\u2019s status as a destination club wouldn\u2019t deter Greene from going.<\/p>\n

Barrett replied: \u201cYeah, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised though, if it just does make him think about it for a bit longer than he may have otherwise, had Butters chosen to go there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greene said the family pull in Victoria was the main reason he was weighing up returning to his home state. <\/p>\n

\u2018ALL-IN\u2019: BUTTERS DECISION SET TO FUEL CATS\u2019 ROWELL RAID<\/p>\n

Butters\u2019 Bulldogs call means Geelong \u201cwill be all-in\u201d on Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell next season, according to Herald Sun chief football writer Jay Clark<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs, as well as Melbourne, had reportedly been chasing Rowell this year, despite the Gold Coast midfielder being contracted until the end of 2027.<\/p>\n

Rowell, however, will remain with the Suns next year after turning down advances from multiple Victorian clubs.<\/p>\n

But Rowell\u2019s future beyond 2027 \u2013 when he\u2019ll be eligible for free agency \u2013 remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

Clark last week reported<\/a> Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond, as well as the Demons, would next year try to lure Rowell home to Victoria with \u201coffers in the vicinity of $2 million a year\u201d.<\/p>\n

Rowell to the Bulldogs? | 01:20<\/p>\n

Writing in The Tackle on Sunday night, Clark reported Rowell seemed \u201call but certain\u201d to move clubs after the 2027 season \u2013 and the \u201claid-back lifestyle down the Geelong highway\u201d would appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery club will be keen,\u201d Clark wrote for CODE Sports. \u201cBut even though Rowell comes from Oakleigh and Carey Grammar in Melbourne\u2019s east, Rowell likes life out of the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollingwood would love him, too, but is Rowell up for the attention that comes with the black and white stripes? Maybe not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rowell has played 128 games since being taken by Gold Coast with Pick 1 in the 2019 draft. He won the 2025 Brownlow Medal, while also being named in the All-Australian side and claimed the Suns\u2019 best and fairest award in the same year.<\/p>\n

\u2018SHUT THE DOOR\u2019: STAR CRICKETER RULES OUT AFL RETURN<\/p>\n

Star Victorian all-rounder Will Sutherland has ruled out a return to footy, despite past advances from Collingwood and reports of interest from Geelong this year.<\/p>\n

Sutherland has been a key figure on the Australian domestic cricket scene for almost a decade, playing for Victoria at both first-class and List A level while also playing 73 BBL games for the Melbourne Renegades. He also played two ODIs for Australia in early 2024.<\/p>\n

Sutherland spent most of 2017 agonising over whether to pursue a cricket or AFL career after impressing in both codes at junior level. He eventually turned his back on footy due to his \u201clove and passion for the game of cricket\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hurricanes target global growth | 00:45<\/p>\n

Zero Hanger reporter Mark Stevens in July this year suggested there were \u201cwhispers\u201d Geelong \u201chad an eye\u201d on Sutherland as a potential Category B rookie.<\/p>\n

And Sutherland told CODE Sports\u2019 Daniel Cherny<\/a> that Collingwood had previously reached out to him about a tempting cross-code move.<\/p>\n

But Sutherland said he was now all in on cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cCollingwood was sending some contracts over around the age of 20, 21. So I was definitely thinking about it then,\u201d Sutherland told CODE Sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I\u2019ve had a few back stress fractures, and that puts you out for four, five, six months. That certainly gets the cogs turning. You don\u2019t really get back stress fractures playing footy. So there\u2019s pros and cons of both. But I\u2019m not regretting my decision at any point. I think we can shut the door on it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zak Butters\u2019 shock call has thrown Geelong a Toby Greene \u201ccurveball\u201d … and why the Cats will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-891115","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\/891115","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=891115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}