RAIDERS OFF THE PARK
All clubs have players out-of-contract but is your club susceptible this year to losing its stars ?
AFTER a summer of speculation Collingwood, Adelaide and Richmond have already shown they can improve their lists through the contributions of Tom Mitchell, Izak Rankine and Tim Taranto.
But while some clubs are perfectly primed to make improvements to their lists others have warning signs flashing over key out-of-contract players.
The Herald Sun’s exhaustive project rating every player for the ultimate player rankings saw Glenn McFarlane and Mick McGuane assembling their best 10 players from every team.
Jon Ralph sifts through those rankings to assess the big picture contract position of every club.
Is your club in ATTACK MODE (with ample cap space and ready to launch at rival stars), SITTING PRETTY (having locked away its established stars) or are there WARNING SIGNS (multiple stars out of contract or an elite player pondering a move)?
ADELAIDE ATTACK MODE
THE rankings have free agent Tom Doedee as the fourthmost valuable player at Adelaide and while the speculation had been that he might jump ship after missing the captaincy he has made all the right noises in recent days about wanting to re-sign at the Crows.
If he does want to leave, they have every right to match a bid for him to hold him firm.
Taylor Walker’s high ranking (eight) shows the club still relies upon him to get the job done and while there was genuine interest in him last year, surely we can do without a contract saga if he plays on given he turns 33 on Anzac Day and won’t be playing anywhere else.
With cap space, their firstround pick and the Roos second-rounder they can consider all options as local players like Kysaiah Pickett, Will Day and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera fall out of contract.
BRISBANE SITTING PRETTY
IN a spectacular position with every one of the club’s top 10 contracted apart from former captain Dayne Zorko. Remember the days of the go-home five?
The Lions have worked hard to become a destination club and the summer acquisitions show how successful that has become.
Dev Robertson is the one who rivals will circle if he can’t get midfield time.
CARLTON SITTING PRETTY
CONTRACT extensions for Lewis Young and Sam Docherty in recent weeks mean the club’s top 10 are all happy and locked away, a superb position for the Blues.
It has cost plenty of cap space given Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow didn’t come cheap with bumper extensions, but imagine the funny money that would have been offered by June this year if the Blues allowed the free agents to enter contract years unsigned.
Tom De Koning (accused of “spasmodic performances”) is their big unsigned prize.
Worst case? St Kilda offers him $4 million over 5 years - or Sydney even longer - then the Blues put their hand up for two first-rounders in an upcoming super draft while re-signing Marc Pittonet.
Worst case? St Kilda offers him $4 million over 5 years – or Sydney even longer – then the Blues put their hand up for two first-rounders in an upcoming super draft while re-signing Marc Pittonet.
COLLINGWOOD ATTACK MODE
PLAYERS don’t want to leave Collingwood.
Not even Brodie Grundy wanted to depart despite him finding new love at Melbourne.
Of the club’s top three ranked players both Darcy Moore and Jordan De Goey both rejected bigger offers to sign long-term and Jack Crisp signed a three-year extension in December.
Jeremy Howe (an eight ranking) just added another year to his deal to lock him in to the end of 2024.
Last year’s surprise packet Ash Johnson is out of contract but happy at the Pies, while veterans Steele Sidebottom, Scott Pendlebury and Mason Cox are also out.
Pendlebury got a two-year deal last time after some gnashing of teeth but will be happy to sign one-year extensions from here on out.
Now comes opportunity with cap space and the reality Collingwood is a destination club, who will the next targeted acquisition for the Pies?
ESSENDON ATTACK MODE
THERE are some areas of concern here for the Dons given Mason Redman (an eight ranking, second only behind Zach Merrett) and Darcy Parish (7.5) are all out of contract.
Peter Wright (eight) signed a four-year deal then went down with a shoulder reconstruction hours later but that is the fluky nature of football.
The Dons have three million in cap space and will use it for players in the right age profile. Parish will take time with his free agency decision but likes what the Dons are cooking under Brad Scott.
Redman is also a white-hot free agent and given there aren’t many intercept talls on the market it wouldn’t surprise if a rival made a major play for him. But as a free agent coming off a fourth placing in the best and fairest he could secure over $600,000 a year .
So the Dons will have to pay up but should do so knowing they can then get into attack mode from a list perspective.
FREMANTLE ATTACK MODE
THE big dogs in the top 10 of Fremantle’s rankings are all locked away apart from Nathan Fyfe, who is happy to play out some early rounds then consider a new deal.
It will be a hefty cut from the $1.1-$1.2 million he was paid as a Brownlow Medal winning superstar, but he believes he had great football left him in at 31 years of age.
GEELONG SITTING PRETTY
AS Chris Scott said last year, one of the club’s competitive
advantages is salary cap management. Tyson Stengle got an early contract extension, while Mark Blicavs is a free agent worth plenty to rivals but about to sign a two-year deal.
Tom Hawkins took a pay cut to remain at the club for 2023, but he isn’t playing for the $300,000 figure bandied around in some quarters.
The clear watch is Esava Ratugolea, who the ultimate rankings have at only a 4.5.
As they state, a permanent shift down back is on the cards but if the Cats lost him they would scarcely miss a beat unless Jack Henry’s foot issues become career-threatening.
Sam De Koning’s brother Tom would be the perfect successor to Tom Hawkins and or Rhys Stanley but the Cats won’t be the highest bidder.
GOLD COAST SITTING PRETTY
FOR the first time in their short tenure the Suns aren’t worrying about player retention and instead are locking away their king pins long term.
The top 20 in the player rankings are all but locked away, let alone their top 10.
The glaring exception was Izak Rankine, who went home last year and showcased his dazzling repertoire of skills on Sunday.
GWS SITTING PRETTY
FREE agent Harry Himmelberg is the only one of the top 10 in the ultimate rankings out of contract as the Giants’ offseason manoeuvring finally realigned their cap space.
Tom Green signed a new four-year deal and franked that promise with a barnstorming round 1 display, with Lachie Ash the next young Giant set to sign a new deal.
Those negotiations are on track, with Himmelberg sure to draw interest from Adelaide and multiple clubs aware of his talents as a swingman.
HAWTHORN ATTACK MODE
HAWTHORN has vast cap space, a determination to bring in more young elite talent, and few priority signings apart from South Australian midfielder Will Day.
Day is keen to hold off talks deep into the season but will get the midfield time to allow him to turn into a top-six player at the Hawks.
Chad Wingard is the highest rated player out of contract (seven in the ultimate ratings) and while he turns 30 in July the Hawks clearly can’t get rid of more established talent.
The Hawks need to make a free agent splash and keep
their first overall pick, which on round 1 form could secure them Harley Reid.
They have the Dogs second-rounder but have traded away their own second-rounder in the Josh Weddle deal.
MELBOURNE WARNING SIGNS
THE top 10 on the ultimate player rankings are all signed away. The No.11 player is the worry.
Kysaiah Pickett is going to get ridiculous offers to return to SA or WA.
The Demons are confident he will stay and sign a four or five-year deal but the better he plays the more clubs will ponder offering him $5 million over six years or deals of that scope.
Trent Rivers and James Jordon must be re-signed but it’s all about the Kosi show.
NORTH MELBOURNE ATTACK MODE into
Let’s get glass-half-full mode.
Despite their round 1 win the Roos are probably still a bottom-five team.
Ben McKay will be offered ridiculous money elsewhere. So if he leaves they get two top-six picks in a superdraft, a year after turning Jason Horne-Francis’s loss into Harry Sheezel and George Wardlaw.
It would limit their capacity to bring in another free agent,
but they probably want players in a younger age demographic anyway.
PORT ADELAIDE SITTING PRETTY
IF the Power keep surging up the table playing the kind of football they played against Brisbane, Mitch Georgiades and Miles Bergman won’t be going anywhere.
But everyone will come for Georgiades - Victorian clubs and WA-based clubs - so they will have to pay up.
Out of contract forward Charlie Dixon just gave the Power another reminder of his class in round 1 as he looks for another quality contract despite turning 33 this year.
The industry discussion is that the Power might try to drag home Kysaiah Pickett or a similarly talented player.
But their best draft pick is Collingwood’s second-rounder (they traded their first and second picks of 2023) and the Pies selection will likely be 30 plus.
It makes big fish trades difficult unless they trade off a Josh Sinn type as part of the deal.
RICHMOND SITTING PRETTY
ONLY Jack Riewoldt of the top 15 is out of contract from the ultimate player rankings.
But loyal free agents Nathan Broad and Kamdyn McIntosh need to be locked away.
Their free agency status will mean they are paid a premium to stay but with Trent Cotchin and Riewoldt likely to retire, there is cap space available.
If the Tigers want to bring in talent it might have to be through free agency given they don’t have a first-rounder and their best pick might be in the early 30s.
ST KILDA ATTACK MODE
FREE agent Jade Gresham is the only real issue from the top 10 of the player ratings (No.8) and while he isn’t in a hurry to sign on, no one at St Kilda is overly concerned.
Hunter Clark started the season with enough promise to believe he might flourish with a fresh start after his aborted trade, while Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera must be locked away on another two-year deal to allow him to flourish.
St Kilda loves Carlton’s Tom De Koning and will surely be asking about Mitch Georgiades as a foil for Max King.
SYDNEY ATTACK MODE
THE Swans will finally be able to consider acquisition rather than retention this year given an improved cap picture.
So it is no surprise that the Swans are prepared to have a huge crack at Tom De Koning with speculation of an eightyear deal being offered.
They were keen on Griffin Logue last year but missed out to North Melbourne, so watch this space as they try to improve their ruck and key position stocks at both ends.
WEST COAST ATTACK MODE
AS usual West Coast looks in list limbo with some young kids emerging but their highlypaid stars still taking up the lion’s share of the salary cap.
Jeremy McGovern is keen to sign a new deal as his monster seven-season contract comes to an end, with talks to kick off soon.
Veterans Luke Shuey, Shannon Hurn and Jamie Cripps are all out of contract.
Thankfully the Eagles not only have their first two selections, they have the Power’s second-rounder too.
WESTERN BULLDOGS SITTING PRETTY
LIST boss Sam Power has already done a lot of his heavy lifting this year by signing free agents Tom Liberatore and Ryan Gardner as well as second-year phenom Sam Darcy on a two-year extension.
Next on the priority signing list is Ed Richards with restricted free agent Bailey Williams surely not a flight risk.
Aaron Naughton is signed to 2024 and will have a long list of suitors but his manager Andrew McDougall is adamant he isn’t interested in a move back to Perth at the end of this year. jon.ralph@news.com.au