AFL: Is today the day Jack Viney gets to the Eagles?
The Melbourne veteran is among a string of players league-wide who enter the final days of the trade period with their futures unclear, with plenty of potential deals in the works ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
Follow all the news and developments on the third-last day of the AFL’s trade period here!
Key Events
Eagle in the making?
In case you missed it yesterday, WA draft prospect Harper Banfield spoke to media after performing at the state draft combine (the draft is only about six weeks away, after all)!
Despite West Coast turning down the chance to match a bid on his brother Charlie last year, Banfield says it remains his “dream” to play for the Eagles.
And while the son of two-time premiership star Drew is hoping he will have his own chance to pull on the blue and gold, he revealed the club had not yet given him any guarantees they would use their rights under the father-son rule to pick him up next month.
Butters on why he chose Dogs
Zak Butters has opened up about his reasons for picking the Western Bulldogs over Geelong and other rival clubs upon his exit at Port Adelaide.
In his first public comments since finalising the trade last Friday, Butters said a visit from Dogs list manager Michael Regan was pivotal in him realising that home was where his heart was, with the club the closest to his home town of Darley in Melbourne’s west.
“’Reegs’ came out to my place and I had a really good chat with him. He probably knew coming around that day at that point in time, Geelong probably was my preference,” Butters said on the AFL website.
“We sat and spoke for an hour and he asked me questions about what I wanted to get out of footy and the bigger picture as well, and what you want to be remembered for and how going home and coming home were different things.
“Like, you can come back to Melbourne and play for a club you’re not really aligned to or have any connections to. But coming home and actually going to where you’re from is a bit more powerful.”
DONE DEAL: Schubert & Butler get to Suns
We’ve got our first trade of the second week of the period!
The Hawks have sent both Aidan Schubert and Sam Butler north to Gold Coast, as had been touted.
The duo and a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick head to the Suns, in exchange for a 2028 first-rounder and two second-rounders across each of ‘27 and ‘28.
Blakey latest
Seven’s Tom Morris is reporting on North Melbourne’s latest trade offer for Nick Blakey, in their attempt to prise him out of Sydney.
The offer is reported as Pick 6 and a pick in the 30s - which they don’t yet own - in exchange for Blakey and a pick in the 50s.
It would appear unlikely that’s going to get the job done.
What’s in store today?
We’re just 50-something hours out from the trade deadline, and there’s a fair bit of action that’s expected to play out.
Nick Blakey is firmly in North Melbourne’s sights as what would be the headline act of the second week of the trade period.
All eyes are on Jack Viney from a WA point of view as he weighs up interest from West Coast, while the likes of Lachie Whitfield, Zane Duursma, Nick Murray, Gryan Miers and Trent Rivers could all be on the move too.
As the clock ticks down, we’ll keep you across it all.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the third-last day of the trade period!
Stick with us throughout the day as we keep you up to date with every deal and development that takes places as Wednesday’s deadline fast approaches.
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