All Quiet On The Trading Front (The Lost Weekend)

Ryan O’Keefe looks good in navy blue but is still a Swan…well, for now anyway!

Not much to write home about as a result of AFL trade week…though it was always going to be an extremely difficult year to pull off any substantial deals. With the Gold Coast Sluggos claiming a large number of draft picks next year and talk of a seriously talented group of kids coming out this year, it would have taken an extraordinary deal for a first-round draft pick to be exchanged. And sorry, but none of these Kangas can be filed under ‘extraordinary’!

So, exactly how many deals were done in this year’s trade week? Six! Ryan O’Keefe didn’t get to Hawthorn and now might be stuck in the middle of a ‘who’s dick is bigger’ tug o’ war between Essendon and Carlton. Andrew Lovett couldn’t find a way to get to Geelong so has a big preseason ahead of him back at Windy Hill. And Brad Green stays with Melbourne even though he reckons we was never leaving anyway…that might be a tad more believable if it was said, say, last Tuesday rather than after the trade deadline!

Yep, that was worth five whole days of carry-on…

• It all started last Thursday with Port Adelaide’s Adam Thompson heading to Richmond in exchange for the Tiger’s third-round pick (no.42). Thompson will probably challenge for a spot in the Tiger midfield right now and with coach Terry Wallace about to enter the final year of a five-year deal, ‘right now’ is what he would be after!
• Shaw is traded! No, not that one…big brother Rhys moves to Sydney and takes Collingwood’s fourth round pick (no.61) with him in exchange for a third rounder (no.46). The Swans always pick up an experienced ‘fresh start’ guy in the trade period for fear of bottoming out and the resultant drop-off in supporters…but no, Sydney is really, really ready for a second team!
• Michael Voss mustn’t think too highly of Anthony Corrie…he basically gave him away to the Pies for nothing! Unless that juicy six round pick (no.93) which went to the Lions has the name ‘Ben Cousins’ written all over it. No, we don’t think so either…
• The Bulldogs selected Farren Ray in 2003 with the fourth overall pick…now they’ve packed him off to St Kilda for pick 31. Will Ray become a regular midfielder at the Saints or the next Aaron Fiora? Either way, the Doggies will be hoping that pick 31 turns into a tall forward!
• With all their recent success, the Cats just can’t keep them all… so Brent Prismall makes his way to Essendon for a third-round pick (no.39). But be patient Bomber fans, there is that whole knee reco thing to recover from first!

Ahhh, so that is what Robbie Warnock looks like…

• Robert Warnock gets his way…and Carlton have a brand spanking new ruckman! Fremantle get pick 24 and a whole heap of spare change but, seeming as though Warnock hasn’t really achieved much and is no guarantee to be worth whatever he is getting paid at the Blues, the Dockers might even have the better of this deal in the long run. If they did, it would be a rare win for them on the trading table…