The Replacements

6 down, 4 to go for the Essendon Football Club in its search of adequate replacements for the loss of 12 players to the drug saga for the 2016 AFL season.

Looking at the current crop of replacements from a like for like perspective identifies where the Bombers will most likely be focussing their efforts with their last 4 top-up players.

The story so far and how the Bombers have faired:

Ryan Crowley: Ready made replacement for Heath Hocking, despite spending all of 2015 on the sidelines due to his own drug suspension Crowley is one of the hardest trainers in the AFL and the most annoying tagger. Despite his age (31) Crowley is arguably an upgrade on Hocking and could be a very handy inclusion for this young Essendon midfield.

James Kelly: Essendon were always going to find it hard to replace the skills and leadership of Jobe Watson and Dyson Heppell, considered two of the premier midfielders in the AFL. However, a highly experienced James Kelly offers a bit of what each Watson and Heppell provided the team and can help the younger brigade with great leadership. The big question over Kelly is after slowing down so much in 2015 at Geelong does he have what it takes to play a strong season or will his age (32) result in further decline in performance in 2016?

Matthew Dea: As a Richmond supporter myself I know Matty Dea quite well and I was always a supporter of his to have more game time for the Tigers. Well that never came and despite winning the VFL best and fairest for Richmond, Dea was placed on the scrap heap. Although there are some questions over his skill level he is a strong defender who will improve significantly if given the opportunity to take over Michael Hibberds role at Essendon. I would say Dea is probably the best player available to fill Hibberds role, and despite rumours he was headed for the police force it appears Dea was lured to play another year of AFL.

Jonathan Simpkin: There's not a lot to say about Simpkin aside from he is an experienced senior player that will offer great leadership to Essendon's midfield. He is another player that will help fill the void in the midfield left by Watson, Stanton, Heppell, Hocking, Colyer, Howlett and Myers.

Matthew Stokes: Similar to Simpkin except Stokes offers forward support as well similar to Colyer and Howlett.

James Polkinghorne: Built a career battling to stay in the AFL, after winning Essendon's VFL best and fairest Polkinghorne is an obvious recruit for the club and will enjoy the opportunity of another shot at the big time at 27 year olds. Polkinghorne also plays a midfield/forward role like Stokes and will help replace the loss of Colyer and Howlett.

So far so good for the Bombers, the players may not be as good as those they are replacing but they are about the best available at this time of year. The big question now is what are the Bombers going to do with their last 4 players and how are they going to cover the loss of some of their KPP's.

Looking to the next 4:

Tom Bellchambers: Essendon will be thanking their lucky stars that they had already recruited ex-Lion ruckman Matthew Leuenburger during the free agency period. Leuenburger wants to be the No.1 man and this is his big opportunity. The only issue for the Bombers is that Leuenburger has been fragile in his career so far and will be very lucky to play 22 games this season. There are rumours that the Bombers have been chasing Mark Jamar out of retirement as a back-up. There other option may be ex Fremantle and Carlton ruckman Robert Warnock who at 29 may offer more durability as a back-up.

Hooker, Hurley & Pears: It's probably the second hardest position to find players in the AFL only to FF. The issue for the Bombers is they have lost 2 key defenders, had one retire (Fletcher) and there favourite back-up is also on the suspension list (Pears). There has been some talk about Matthew Watson who failed to impress enough at Carlton and the once high draft pick has been left high and dry with no club. Arguably he isn't going to be that great a replacement given Carlton didn't even want him but he may be about the best option. Ex St Kilda player Tom Simpkin could be an undersized option and Ex Giant Tim Golds being another option. Aside from this there isn't a great deal on offer and the Bombers could be really hurt by lacking defensive options this year.

The last of their recruits will possibly be another midfielder (if they choose not to take 3 KPD). One player they could look to for experience and a stronger body is ex Sun Danny Stanley. At 27 he is young enough and has been good enough in his career to belong in the AFL.

Overall, the replacements may be good enough to keep Essendon competitive against at least the bottom couple teams in the AFL but losing Key midfielders and defenders will result in significant structural issues for the Bombers. It is likely some massive losses will be inflicted.

Free Agency update - Matt Suckling to Richmond

The first day of the free agency period has been quiet in terms of signings, with not a single player officially switching clubs.

The two restricted free agents, Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Selwood, have been the headline of day one with Geelong looking to acquire both of them. It appears that Adelaide and Geelong have nearly come to terms on a trade for Dangerfield as Adelaide threatened to match any free agency offer for Dangerfield to ensure they get more than a first round compensation pick. It has been reported that Geelong are looking to offer their first round pick in this years draft and their second in next years draft to acquire Dangerfield.

The more interesting name in this saga is Scott Selwood who recently informed West Coast of his intention to join his brother Joel at Geelong. A contract has been offered to Selwood by Geelong leaving West Coast 72 hours to decide whether they will match the offer to force a trade. It is likely that the contract will net West Coast either a second round pick or end of second round pick to West Coast which is almost the same as West Coast are 17th in the draft order. The big question is whether West Coast will match Geelong's offer to force them to trade something more valuable for Selwood. If they do Geelong may be in an awkward position given the picks they have on the table to offer Dangerfield.

The implications of the Dangerfield and Selwood moves (if they happen) could be huge for Geelong who also have their eyes on Lachie Henderson and Zac Smith. Now they are unable to obtain Dangerfield through FA and possibly Selwood, they are unlikely to have the compensation required to trade for Henderson and Smith, and possibly won't be able to obtain either without a first round pick or pair of seconds. This could open up trades for other clubs as Henderson has quit Carlton and Zac Smith is looking to move back to Melbourne.

Back in free agency world there hasn't even been a whimper from the unrestricted batch currently available. Western Bulldogs reportedly offered Hawthorn's left foot sharp shooter Matt Suckling a three year contract, however, it is understood this deal is stalling for more reasons than just Suckling's loyalty to Hawthorn. Suckling has a good relationship with Richmond head coach Damian Hardwick and is very interested in becoming a Tiger should Hawthorn be unable to meet his wage requirements. It is believed that Richmond will also table a three year offer to lure Suckling away from Hawthorn.

Will Richmond land no one?

With each day we get closer to the start of the trade period it seems more likely that Richmond will not pick up any notable players via free agency or trade?

Richmond have already been linked to every second name that comes up as being available for trade or free agency but so far have seemed to only continually be ruled out of the race for many players.

In short Richmond have had interest in Patrick Dangerfield (heading to Geelong), Adam Treloar (heading to Collingwood), Harley Bennell (heading to Fremantle), Scott Selwood (staying at West Coast or going to Geelong), Matthew Kreuzer (re-signed with Carlton) and Hamish Hartlett (re-signed with Port Adelaide).

The only player Richmond are even a chance of getting at this stage appears to be Chris Yarran from Carlton but this is seeming more unlikely with each day as Richmond have no intention of meeting the high trade requirements of Carlton.

Most Richmond fans remain pessimistic that no gun player is coming to the club and it'll likely be a fringe player that has been delisted or of very low trade value that comes to the club. Instead it is expected the club will head to the draft (in a weak draft year) and try to bolster their youth stocks despite needing some senior players to help get them past the first round of finals, if they make it.

All that aside there is still a small glimmer of hope that Richmond will acquire some one of note with much talk the recruiters have been leaking false information to the media to ensure they don't catch wind of their plans. It will be very interesting to see if there is any fruition in these claims or if they are just an excuse for the lack of interest players have in joining the Richmond Football Club.

Free Agency compo formula, is it fair?

The AFL has revealed that the new formula it will be using to decide free agency compensation in 2015. The formula is based around the size of the contract offered in comparison to the contracts of all players 25 years and over.

In short the compensation will be issued as follows:

1st round pick - contract is within the top 5%
End of 1st round pick - contract is within the next 10%
2nd round pick - contract is within next 15%
End of 2nd round pick - contract within next 20%

However, if the club receiving the compensation is received by a club that also gets another player through free agency than an unexplained points system will be used to determine what, if any, compensation the club will receive.

Once again the AFL have left a particularly grey area in free agency compensation that ensures their ability to manipulate the system to suit their interests as opposed to keeping it fair for all the clubs.

In 2013 Hawthorn lost Lance Franklin through free agency to the biggest contract ever signed in the history of the AFL ($10 million over 9 years). For this Hawthorn received the maximum compensation a club could receive which was a 1st round pick after their first round pick. As Hawthorn won the Grand final in 2013 they only received pick 19 despite losing one of the best players in the AFL at the time. While this wasn't really a big issue for the premiers it did highlight that free agency compensation was not full compensation for the loss of player, or so we thought.

The following year (2014) Hawthorn signed free agent James Frawley from Melbourne on a contract reportedly worth up to $2.2 million over 4 years. While this contract was reasonable in size it was by no means in the top tier of contracts in the AFL. In fact, based on the recently released schedule for the 2015 free agency compensation Frawley's contract would struggle to fit into even the end of 1st round compensation bracket. However, the AFL ensured Melbourne (the ever constantly struggling club) received the highest possible compensation which for them turned out to be pick 3. Essentially Melbourne lost a previous pick 12 in the AFL draft that was a good but not elite player who received a mid-high contract and provided them with a pick that represent the 3rd best available player in the draft. In this case the compensation was higher than the value of the player and shows just how the AFL can manipulate any system they introduce to suit their agenda.

On top of this is the fact that Hawthorn were not penalised in any way because they received their compensation via free agency in 2013 and then obtained a player via free agency in 2014. Had these occurred in the same year Hawthorn would have not received any compensation but once again the free agency compensation system shows how unfair it is for some clubs.

In my own opinion I don't believe there is any place for free agency compensation but all players should be restricted free agents to ensure that if a club wishes to keep a player the other club should be made to trade with them or risk trying to obtain them in the national draft. I am unaware of any other sports that reward compensation for free agent loses, instead it is just recognised as a teams responsibility to keep players where they can and use free agency to replace players they lose.

Can Geelong trade their way back into contention?

In the changing of an era of dominance Geelong missed the finals in 2015 for the first time since 2006.

Has their long period of success come to an end or are they ready to turn it around with a few key acquisitions?

At the end of 2015 season Geelong delisted aging stars James Kelly and Steve Johnson, and had senior players Matthew Stokes, Hamish McIntosh and Jared Rivers all retire. Geelong are also expected to lose aging stars Jimmy Bartel, Andrew Mackine, Tom Lonergan and Corey Enright in the next year or two.

However, it is not all bad news for Geelong!

In 2015 they managed to get a significant number of games into their younger brigade of up and coming players and could turn their fortunes around sooner rather than later. In the up coming trade period they are 99.99% to get superstar Patrick Dangerfield from Adelaide through either free agency or a trade, they are also likely to get key position forward/defender Lachie Henderson from Carlton, and are the likely suitors for Joel Selwood's younger brother Scott should he choose to leave West Coast as a free agent.

While these additional players do not offset the number of stars they have lost recently, the quality of Dangerfield, Selwood and Henderson, and the developing young brigade at Geelong could be enough to lift Geelong back into contention.

The only road block for Geelong is how tough Adelaide deal with them in regards to Patrick Dangerfield. Dangerfield has stated he will not go to any other club than Geelong but Adelaide, who do not believe the free agency compensation will be enough, have hinted they will match any offer from Geelong. What this will mean is that Dangerfield will have to be traded to Geelong or risk going into the AFL draft. Either way Geelong will have to part with something other than money to obtain the services of Dangerfield which is not in the best interests for their other potential trades.

It will be interest to see how it all transpires with only 3 sleeps until the free agency period begins!

Melbourne to be very active this trade period

Melbourne have already reportedly offered Essendon player Jake Melksham a 4 year contract believed to be worth $400,000 a year to move to the club during the trade period. It has also now been reported the club are seriously working to obtain young midfielders Ben Kennedy from Collingwood and Thomas Bugg from Greater Western Sydney (GWS).

Melbourne are looking to add to the depth of players in the 21-24 age bracket to assist fast track the development of their up and coming list. They have a plethora of talent coming through the ranks and if they get their recruitment right they could be expecting success in the near future.

The clubs reported offer to Jake Melksham is certainly an interesting one with many believing the 24 year old is only a fringe player at best and would struggle to get a game at many of the stronger clubs in the AFL. What will be even more interesting is what Essendon ask for him as they have a history of overvaluing their players and being difficult to deal with on the trade table. In 2010 Essendon lost Bachar Houli to the pre-season draft after they failed to come to terms with the Richmond Football Club despite a fair offer being made.

The recruitment of big bodied inside midfielder Thomas Bugg appears to be a move to replaced retired veteran Daniel Cross who offered a couple of years of solid service to the club after he was delisted by the Western Bulldogs. Bugg has managed 65 games over his four years with GWS and has been a solid contributor in both their midfield and in defence. His recruitment would certainly lift the Melbourne midfield which already has gun players Bernie Vince, Nathan Jones and Dom Tyson in it, along with young guns Angus Brayshaw, Jack Viney and Christian Petracca (yet to play a game) who is expected to return fit and firing from his tragic knee injury he suffered prior to the season proper.

The recruitment of speedy midfielder Ben Kennedy appears more of a value play as the youngster is looking for more opportunities after only managing 5 games with Collingwood in his 3rd season at the club. The former first round draft pick has managed 25 games over 3 years but may be looking for an opportunity to establish himself as one of the top midfielders and have a fresh start at a new club.

It will be interesting to see how the trade week plays out with Melbourne keenly interested in these two players but both surely to attract interest from other clubs. Melbourne do have a history of outbidding their opponents in trades to ensure they get the players they want, and with their provisional draft picks for the 2015 draft to include pick 6, 25 and 43 they look capable of orchestrating some trades involving multiple clubs to ensure they get their players.

On the other side of things, it appears likely that Melbourne will retain the services of former number 1 pick Jack Watts for at least another season and have indicated that free agent Colin Garland will re-sign with the club in the coming days. The only concern for the club is high flying Jeremy Howe who may look at his options as he searches for a better contract offer. It is expected that Howe is unlikely to attract the money that has been suggested he is after, up to $600,000 a year, but whether that means he will remain at Melbourne may depend on his ambitions for success.

Ben Lennon

There has been much talk about the contract status of Richmond young gun Ben Lennon. After 2 seasons with the club since being their first pick in the 2013 AFL draft Ben Lennon remains out of contract heading into the AFL Trade period.

It has been rumoured that Lennon may be looking to move to another club after being overlooked in Richmond's elimination final loss to North Melbourne despite showing good form in the lead up to the game. It has also been suggested that Lennon is after more money than the club is currently offering.

Carlton and their fans have suggested Lennon as part of a trade for Chris Yarran, however, neither the Richmond Football Club  nor their supporters would have any interest in parting ways with Lennon for such a low return.

In good news for the Richmond Football Club Lennon has attended the club's best and fairest tonight, all be it on crutches. It is expected an announcement regarding Lennon's new contract with the Richmond Football Club will happen within the next few days despite reports (mentioned) to the contrary. It has also been confirmed that Richmond will not part with their first round pick as any part of a deal with Yarran as they believe his value does not exceed their second round pick and will hold firm on this offer.

We will be following the progress of Ben Lennon in the coming days but at this stage it looks like he is safe for now Tiger fans.

Choosing the draft over trading away your picks

What is the key difference between taking on a young draftee over an established player?

It is a combination of both luck and patience.

Generally, when a club trades for a player they have a reasonably good idea of what they are going to receive. Although their performance may vary considerably to what they were at their previous club, their overall game style would have been witnessed in the games they had played at AFL level (provided they played some).

On the other hand young draftees have only played against players their own age or senior players at a lower level. Their ability overall is less well known and they are still in a physically developing stage of their life and could undergo a number of changes before they reach their physical peak. 

So what are the risk?

The first risk is you pay too much in a trade and the player performs below or around the same level as at their previous club, or they do not fit into your team chemistry and struggle to have an impact. They also have less time left in their career so the benefit you gain is reduced overall.

The positive is you still have a good idea about what to expect from them.

The risk with young draftees if they can best bust as an early pick or become stars from late picks. However, if they do become stars the benefit will be over 10 years for the club (if they keep them) and therefore is much more valuable than a trade.

In my opinion there isn't much difference provided you assess the value of the both the draft and existing footballers successfully to ensure that you don't waste picks either way. Often it pays to be frugal on the trade table as it results in better value overall for the club.

Should top finishing teams be restricted during Free Agency and Trade periods?

Essentially the idea of a salary cap is to ensure that the gap between the top teams and bottom teams is relatively small as each club only has the ability to pay players a certain amount and therefore have to relinquish players when their overall talent pool is too great. 

But does this really happen?

Sydney won the 2012 AFL Premiership over Hawthorn. However, instead of losing players of particular note or being limited in their ability to obtain good players during the off-season, they were able to acquire Kurt Tippett from Adelaide at quite a high salary. Further to this the following year to rub salt in the wounds of all the clubs down the bottom of the ladder they acquired Lance "Buddy" Franklin in the largest contract in football history. The only player they parted with of note was ruckman Shane Mumford, who at the time was being beaten by fellow Swan Mike Pyke.

What is really being eluded to in these actions is the fact that Free Agency and Trades do not favour the weak teams at all. Instead it is an opportunity for players seeking more on-field success to move to better clubs. So far no club has really propelled themselves back into the top frame of the competition using free agency. Instead most clubs have struggled because the free agents have cost them a considerable amount of cap space and as a result they have lost existing players instead.

Overall, it is believed the system needs a complete overhaul that favours player development by clubs and ensures the big clubs don't control the market.

If you want Yarran or Henderson it will cost you a first!

Or so Carlton will have you believe...

Both players Chris Yarran and Lachie Henderson have essentially quit the club with Yarran's preference Richmond and Henderson's preference Geelong. While both players were previously first round draft picks who have shown they can be very good at the top level, both players are coming off arguably their worst season's of football for Carlton.

So who is going to pay a first for their services?

The answer is most likely no, with neither player drawing significant interest. The clubs that are interested have expressed that they will either want to trade player for player or no earlier than a second round pick. While Carlton think they can play hard ball it is unlikely to work as retaining these players is not an option Carlton should be taking.

It will most likely be a case of these deals dragging on the whole trade period until Carlton lose their hard line stance and accept what are considered reasonable offers. Carlton need to get their rebuild in action as soon as possible so two second round picks to go with their high first, second and third picks should see them recruit at least 5 youngsters that should help their cause going forward.

The major risk for Carlton is if they play too hard and the clubs pursuing these players back off even more and lower their offers. Only time will tell what will happen in this saga.

Player Trade Value

There is often much debate between clubs, supporters and media experts about the value of players when it comes to a trade, in particular when a player is traded for a draft pick.

Is a player more or less valuable as they get closer to their peak?

What is potential worth?

Is a chance at a star player worth more than a very consistent player?

What we usually see on the trade table is big name players going for a couple of high first round picks. Last year Melbourne offered Adelaide pick 2 and pick 3 in the draft for star Patrick Dangerfield, which they probably wish they didn't reject now.

The thing is Patrick Dangerfield was a former pick 10 and is already half way through his career. Dangerfield is regarded in the top 10 players in the AFL but is still just one player in a 22 man team. As a result of the rejection from Adelaide, Melbourne managed to obtain the two best young midfielders available in the draft; Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw. While Petracca was unlucky and did his knee prior to the start of the season both players appear likely to become very good to elite players within a few years. Was Dangerfield really worth that much?

Let's take a look at draft history from 2004-2008 (As we can clearly see the results)

In 2004 pick 2 and pick 3 would have gained Jarryd Roughead and Ryan Griffen. Both All-Australians in their careers and both extremely good players that have been considered elite by many during their careers. It is unlikely anyone would trade these two for Patrick Dangerfield.

In 2005 it was a little different, Dale Thomas promised to be a superstar but injuries have run his career down, and Xavier Ellis never reached the heights of his pick 3 status despite winning a Premiership with Hawthorn.

In 2006 you would have taken Dangerfield any day because Scott Gumbleton struggled to stay fit and Lachie Hansen has never lived up to his pick 3 draft pick.

In 2007 it's a pretty easy call Trent Cotchin and Chris Masten on their own don't trump Dangerfield but together are far too valuable.

2008, the final year of review sees Nic Naitanui and Stephen Hill. NicNat is equally as valuable as Dangerfield while Stephen hill is the cream on the cake.

Overall the score would be about 3-2 in favour of keeping the draft picks so it is really a matter of reviewing the strength of the top picks.

In actual sense a players value at their peak will usually outweigh draft picks provided they would improve the teams best 22 they are being traded to. That is why we see trades of either a number of high draft picks or later draft picks. Finding established stars is not always easy and their development takes time, while getting draft picks is also not easy so they aren't thrown away for mediocre players.

In saying that what is the value of current players up for trade in 2015;

Jack Redden - A good midfielder that hasn't taken the next step but still capable of being in any best 22 in the AFL. Pick 20-30.

Chris Yarran - A speedy HB/HF who is capable of some amazing footy but equally as capable of disappearing during games. Demeanor towards Carlton has also devalued him. Pick 15-35 (market will determine value most as clubs weigh risk/reward ratio).

Adam Treloar - Two firsts is a big call for a young gun midfielder that hasn't been center attention on many occasions but has the making of an elite player. Pick 5-15 and Pick 15-30.

Stay tuned for further valuations.

Who will Hawthorn steal this Trade and Free Agency period?

It is probably one of the biggest and most dangerous question on the minds of AFL recruiters this off-season. Which player are they going to miss out on as a result of a player seeking Premiership success over making more money?

It poses an interesting question for the AFL as over the last two off-seasons we have seen key free agents James Frawley and Lance Franklin sign with Grand Finalists over clubs that have offered more money. How can Grand Finalists afford star players?

There are many answers to these questions but one begs to suggest that the current system needs an overhaul to ensure clubs don't become a pit stop for success like Hawthorn appears to have been in recent history. It is almost getting to a point where Hawthorn may as well be handed the Premiership each year and if a player wants to take a pay cut they can win a Premiership with Hawthorn...

Anyways, the prediction for this off-season is that Chris Yarran heads to Hawthorn in exchange for a player and Hawthorn's second round pick. Although Yarran is expected to sign with Richmond I believe delays in the two clubs coming to an agreement will result in Hawthorn snatching Yarran and using him to help them secure their fourth straight Premiership.

How Hawthorn Traded for Success

Hawthorn completed their three-peat on Saturday to become one of the greatest team of all time but how much do they owe their success to trading and free agency?

Of the 22 players playing in Hawthorn's Grand Final winning team 7 players had come off the back of trading and free agency.

At the end of 2009 after having a mediocre year following their 2008 success Hawthorn made some major acquisitions on the trade table that would prove vital in their future success.

In 2009 Hawthorn traded picks 25 and 41 for North Melbourne player Josh Gibson and pick 69. At the same time Hawthorn was also involved in a 4 way trade to obtain Port Adelaide star Shaun Burgoyne. These two players became crucial cogs in Hawthorn's attacking defence that has lead them to 4 grand finals in a row, and the almighty three peat. 

However, it didn't end there.

In 2010 Hawthorn traded for North Melbourne ruckman/forward David Hale.

In 2011 they picked up young up and coming Adelaide forward Jack Gunston who has fast become Hawthorn's leading forward in the absence of the departed Lance Franklin.

In 2012 they obtained the much sort after Free Agent Brian Lake with a contract well below market value. Lake went on to win the 2013 Norm Smith Medal kick starting Hawthorn's three-peat.

In 2013 Hawthorn traded in another ruckman from St Kilda "Big Boy" Ben McEvoy.

And, most recently obtained the services of key defender James Frawley from Melbourne as a Free Agent.

All these players have become vital cogs of Hawthorn's success and have justified Hawthorn's decision to trade and use free agency over focusing heavily on the draft. Luckily for Hawthorn they have managed to obtain good players in the draft as well despite lacking high quality picks.

There have been many other players used by Hawthorn over the last few years that were traded into the club and further goes to show top draft picks aren't the only thing that can find you success in the AFL.

Richmond Tigers Wantlist!

Richmond have made a number of attempts to attract the signature of a gun player in the lead up to AFL Trade Week. 

Their first attempt was at GWS young star Adam Treloar who they were prepared to part with their 2015 and 2016 first round picks to obtain along with $3,000,000 over 5 years. Unfortunately for Richmond this attempt proved futile as the Collingwood Football Club swooped in with a better offer for both Treloar ($750,000 a year for 4 years) and his girlfriend (a job with an associate of Eddie McGuire). At this stage Treloar looks all but set to sign with Collingwood early in trade week provided they can satisfy the needs of GWS on the trade table.

Richmond's second attempt was at troubled Gold Coast Suns player Harley Bennell. Unfortunately, trouble has a habit of following people around and it appears after meeting with Harley and seeing his behaviour over his birthday weekend in Melbourne, the Richmond Football Club have pulled themselves out of the race for Harley Bennell.

Richmond have also been the only club linked to Carlton speedster Chris Yarran who has informed his club he will be leaving this off-season. While Richmond have not confirmed their interest in Yarran, they have not denied it either, they do appear to be front-runners for his services provided they can satisfy the needs of Carlton.

The other players on Richmond's radar have included Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong bound), Stephen Motlop (re-signed with Geelong), Jack Redden (asked to be traded to WA),  and Steven Johnson (Free Agent).

At this stage it appears almost as likely Richmond will end up with no one of note as they refuse to overpay at both the trade table and in the contract negotiations. It will be interesting if this tactic ever pays off for the club.

Harley Bennell Update

Today it was confirmed on the AFL website that Richmond Tigers have pulled out of the race for Harley Bennell.

In a strange turn in events, after Bennell was photographed enjoying his birthday with Tiger Dustin Martin, Richmond appear to have completed a backflip on what appeared to be a done deal.

There are two possible scenarios being reported by different sources close to the club.

The first is that Harley Bennell had been out partying with Tiger Dustin Martin until 5am on Saturday and had kicked in a cubical at a night club. This kind of behaviour was exactly that which Richmond wanted to curb if they were to employ the troubled young star. It is believed Richmond have opted to stay away from the risks associated with Harley,

The other scenario which has been reported by people close to the club that Richmond had indeed already tabled an offer to Harley Bennell which they have now removed as a result of playing "hardball". The offer was believed to start at $500,000 a year matching the young stars contract at Gold Coast. Richmond have made it appear they are not willing to part with $500,000 and a first round pick to obtain the young gun as the risk is too high. However, this could all be an attempt to reduce both his contract value and trade value to secure a bargain at the end of trade week.

This scenario will be monitored heavily with trade week opening this Friday.

Further, there have been suggestions that Richmond may be in talks with an unnamed star of the competition. While this information appears suspect this may explain the removal of any contract offer for Harley Bennell whilst they pursue this other player. There is speculation this player could be one of Sydney's young guns as there is expected pressure on their salary cap this off-season and a number of players already being paid well below their market value.

Chris Yarran

Chris Yarran looks set to join Richmond early in the trade period as it is understood Carlton are willing to accept an offer of Richmond's 2nd round pick in the 2015 draft to secure his services.

There was an expectation that Carlton would seek a better deal from Richmond in exchange for the former pick 6 but after shopping him around to other clubs it is believed Carlton have not received a better offer. Richmond were expected to hold firm on their offer of a 2nd round pick as their 1st round pick is likely to be tied up in a deal for Harley Bennell.

Chris Yarran has indicated his desire to join the Richmond Football Club and it is now expected this will take place very early in the trading period as Carlton and Richmond would like to focus their efforts to other players.

Latest on Gold Coast Sun Harley Bennell

Gold Coast young gun Harley Bennell looks set to call Richmond his home in 2016.

The well know news is that Harley Bennell spent Wednesday and Thursday at the Richmond Football Club, and enjoyed a nice 23rd birthday dinner with Richmond star Dustin Martin.

What is unknown are the details of whether Richmond has put forward an offer to secure the young star from Gold Coast.

It is understood that Richmond will offer Gold Coast their first pick in the 2015 draft (pick 12 currently) and maturing forward Ben Griffiths as part of the deal. It is believed Gold Coast are very interested in replacing departing forward Charlie Dixon with a mature forward. Gold Coast have already enquired about the forwards availability prior to Richmond's meetings with Harley Bennell.

Although there is no news out of the Gold Coast camp, it is believed they will send Richmond their 2nd or 3rd round pick in the 2015 draft along with Bennell.

Close sources to the Richmond Football Club have indicated the club are willing to part with $500,000 to secure Bennell, matching his current contract with the Gold Coast Suns.

More news to follow....