3 minute read
Who were the winners and losers after days of wheeling and dealing during the AFL trade period?
WHO WERE THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OUT OF THE AFL TRADE PERIOD?
WINNERS
* Hawthorn: Their first call at the draft is at 53 but Alastair Clarkson doesn't care too much for the draft of late. They beat the Western Bulldogs to lure two-time All Australian Chad Wingard from Port Adelaide then landed former No.1 pick Tom Scully for a bag of chips in one of the bigger trade steals in recent history. Jack Scrimshaw was a former No.7 pick.
* Port Adelaide: Lost Chad Wingard and Jared Polec but improved their draft position markedly. Perhaps most importantly got in front of Adelaide in the top-10 to have first crack at the homegrown talent on offer although draft picks can still be traded. Scott Lycett adds plenty to their ruck stocks and Ryan Burton could be anything.
* North Melbourne: The Roos didn't land the big fish in Andrew Gaff but their round one team in 2019 will be much better with Jared Polec, Aaron Hall, Jasper Pittard and Dom Tyson in it.
* Fremantle: Lachie Neale wanting to leave was clearly not ideal but the Dockers made lemonade from those lemons. Reece Conca and Travis Colyer can help out in the midfield in Neale's absence but the real plus is up forward where Jesse Hogan and Rory Lobb can be the marking targets Fremantle have been crying out for.
LOSERS
* GWS: The Giants didn't like the term but their salary cap issues caused a fire sale of stars. They lost Dylan Shiel (Essendon), Tom Scully (Hawthorn), Will Setterfield (Carlton) and Rory Lobb (Fremantle). Perhaps most galling was that they let former marquee signing Scully go for next to nothing.
* Gold Coast: Who loses not one but two club captains in one fell swoop? The Suns not only lost their leaders but their bookends in key forward Tom Lynch (Richmond) and full-back Steven May (Melbourne). Burn it down and start again stuff.
* Sydney: Jackson Thurlow (Geelong) and Ryan Clarke (North Melbourne) won't set pulses racing in the Harbour City after the Swans waved goodbye to long-term servants Dan Hannebery and Gary Rohan.
* Western Bulldogs: Sam Lloyd and Taylor Duryea will be handy pick-ups at best, and with premiership players Jordan Roughead (Collingwood) and Luke Dahlhaus (Geelong) and full-back Marcus Adams (Brisbane) departing it's hard not to judge the Dogs' trade period as a net loss. Missing out on Chad Wingard hurt.
