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GEORGE WARDLAW (North Melbourne)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cGeorge Wardlaw will sign a two-year contract. Paul Connors is his man, he gets the right deals. How much is he signing for across those two seasons?\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cHas to be $1.1 million a season. He\u2019s an outstanding player. We saw on the weekend he was involved in that crucial passage late in the game (against Gold Coast). If he gets some continuity, this guy, he is going to be a freak. Love the way he plays. He stays, he\u2019s bought in already.\u201d<\/p>\n
MITCH LEWIS (Hawthorn)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cClubs like Collingwood are very interested in the unrestricted free agent, who\u2019s kicked 17 goals in 11 games. Where\u2019s he going? What cash is he getting?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauren Wood says: \u201cI think he\u2019s got to look at the money, doesn\u2019t he, from a team like Collingwood. You\u2019d have to think he\u2019s $800,000-plus, right? I\u2019m not completely fudging the numbers there, am I? The unrestricted nature of it, I think there\u2019s players on the rise at Hawthorn, he\u2019s got Calsher Dear sort of nipping at his heels as well. It always makes me nervous when they\u2019re putting (talks) on hold, looking for that extra bit of form when Collingwood\u2019s lurking large.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zak Butters of the Power. Picture: James Elsby\/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
ZAK BUTTERS (Port Adelaide)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cGeelong might be $1.6 million, Dogs maybe $1.8 million, I think clubs like Melbourne and Richmond massively front-ended \u2013 maybe it\u2019d get closer to $2 million. Where will he finish up?\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cEveryone\u2019s talking the Bulldogs, absolutely, but I\u2019m just going to take a punt and say Geelong. They can pay him up to $1.6 million and I think the situation with Zak, he wants to play in a premiership, there\u2019s absolutely no doubt about that. So that chance might come better at Geelong than it does at the Bulldogs \u2013 even though he\u2019s been well and truly linked to the Bulldogs for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cIf he wants to win flags, he must go to Geelong. But I just think there\u2019s a Bontempelli factor, there is Luke Beveridge, there\u2019s the proximity to home, which is just a little bit closer to Geelong. I still think the Bulldogs have their nose in front, but it\u2019s intriguing.\u201d<\/p>\n
JED WALTER (Gold Coast Suns)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cHe\u2019s been offered a contract by Gold Coast, he\u2019s kicked three goals two weeks in a row, he\u2019s played 30 games off the last two years, so he can\u2019t say \u2018I\u2019m not being played by the Gold Coast\u2019 \u2026 I just think they can offer him nowhere near what an Essendon or a Richmond might want to offer him. If I\u2019m Essendon, I\u2019m thinking $1.5 million \u2013 that\u2019s a Tom Boyd style-deal \u2013 knock Gold Coast out of the park. I think that he has finally shown the potential that he had is being realised by talent. I just think look at him and Nate Caddy as the (Scott) Lucas-(Matthew) Lloyd model, takes them to the promised land in the next 10 years and it\u2019s something for the Essendon fans to hang their hat on. In seven or eight years, that $1.5 million will be chicken feed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cYou\u2019ve got me sold on that, I think, Essendon. I think that\u2019s what the Bombers need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jed Walter of the Suns celebrates kicking a goal. Picture: Josh Chadwick\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
BEN KING (Gold Coast Suns)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cA two-year deal is about to be signed. Is $1.3 million about fair rate?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauren Wood says: \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I would have said for Ben King. You talk about the P-word with Jed Walter, \u2018potential\u2019 \u2013 he\u2019s exceeded that and even more, hasn\u2019t he? He\u2019s just been brilliant for them. He\u2019ll come out at the end of \u201928 into that unrestricted realm \u2013 perfect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cScary money at 28 years of age. I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll see an unrestricted free agent of that ilk come out. He\u2019ll have signed a fifth two-year contract \u2026 He\u2019s probably worth $2.3 million at that stage over five years. We\u2019ll just be signing a new CBA and he\u2019s an unrestricted free agent \u2013 the club can\u2019t match it.\u201d<\/p>\n
MITCH McGOVERN (Carlton)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cChris Davies is a big fan of him. His manager Colin Young, I think, really keen for him to stay. A two-year deal at Carlton \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cAbout $700,000? If they give him two-year deal, you would think he would stay. He\u2019s been through the hard hall there. I spoke to him earlier this year and he wants to stay, but he\u2019s still got that little residual chip on the shoulder. But it\u2019s actually worked in the right favour for him and he\u2019s actually been playing pretty good footy. So I think he stays.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Sparrow of the Demons. Picture: Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
TOM SPARROW (Melbourne)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cHe\u2019s an unrestricted free agent, he\u2019s an Adelaide boy, he\u2019s the 21st ranked player in the comp in the last five weeks. Had a lot of interviews lately, says a lot about \u2018letting my manager do the talking\u2019, says a lot about \u2018letting the footy do the talking\u2019. He hasn\u2019t said a lot about wanting Melbourne to be his long-term club. Are you worried?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauren Wood says: \u201cI\u2019m definitely worried if I\u2019m a Melbourne fan. We talk about \u2018on hold\u2019 season for contracts, the non-committal season when it comes to your man who\u2019s out of contract. I think you\u2019ve got to look at what Adelaide has built and is building. You\u2019ve got (Izak) Rankine, you\u2019ve got (Josh) Rachele \u2026 you slot Sparrow in there on what could be a potentially high price \u2013 thinking in the $850,000 realm you would have to say, particularly over the last five weeks, he\u2019s built himself a really handy little purple patch \u2013 to maybe feather his own nest, pardon the pun, to get to Adelaide.\u201d<\/p>\n
LACHIE NEALE (Brisbane Lions)<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cI think he\u2019ll end up staying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cWhat if they win the flag? All of a sudden he\u2019s going for four \u2013 you can\u2019t walk away from that.\u201d<\/p>\n
TOBY GREENE (GWS Giants)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cMaybe Geelong? What are Geelong paying him, given that the Giants have offered about $2 million over three years?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lauren Wood says: \u201cA minimum $900,000, you\u2019d have to say. Maybe even a little bit more. Potentially the Zak Butters factor is going to play a little bit into that, but I think he ends up in Victoria, doesn\u2019t he? Young family, wants to get home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cHe says it\u2019s not a money decision \u2013 it tends to be a money decision in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ranking the best value off-season moves | 06:02<\/p>\n
DARCY WILSON (St Kilda)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cThe 44th best player in the comp right now, but he\u2019s hot, he\u2019s explosive, he\u2019s the prototype of the modern midfielder. He\u2019s got the Max Holmes-style stats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cSurely he has to stay. $1.2 million \u2013 is that too much? Not the way he is at the moment. I think that\u2019s probably the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
JOEL AMARTEY (Sydney Swans)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cA Sydney player who is a long way apart in contract talks. We\u2019ve been told maybe $1.2 million is the offer. Would Collingwood throw $1.2 million at him, given he\u2019s an unrestricted free agent?\u201d<\/p>\n
Glenn McFarlane says: \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of money, but they would think about it. They\u2019re obviously going to be looking around \u2013 they\u2019re looking around Jed Walter, they\u2019re looking around Mitch Lewis, they\u2019re looking around Joel Amartey. They need a forward, so they might stump up the money. We spoke to Collingwood earlier this year, they\u2019ve got a lot of money there, it\u2019s just a question of whether they hold fire or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
BUKU KHAMIS (Western Bulldogs)<\/p>\n
Jon Ralph says: \u201cCarlton is very interested in (him). What are you paying Buku, whose intercept numbers are great, gets a lot of goals kicked on him, but that\u2019s OK he\u2019s a third defender?<\/p>\n
Lauren Wood says: \u201cAt his best, he\u2019s really, really good and if he can find that consistency \u2026 is $800,000 too much? I mean, they\u2019ve had interest before, but I think they\u2019ve got to land one, don\u2019t they? They\u2019re clearly on the lookout for a coach \u2013 that might be a factor. But he\u2019s waxed and waned a little bit in form, particularly this year, which I think has caused him to maybe put those talks on the backburner.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The trade and free agency market is beginning to heat up. In the latest episode of the Midweek…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[18857,4403,23,133,14269,6637,18869,18858,4534,408,6522,18862,2120,2123,18855,14070,18854,4659,368,18676,1311,6507,407,403,14536,1435,260,2105,18856,18867,18868,18863,355,18866,120,18859,18865,7000,524,212,18860,18864,121,247,5009,18870,411,8357,7665,18861,68,3048,515],"class_list":["post-19469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-melbourne","tag-agency-market","tag-andrew-mcgrath","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-king","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-best-value-off-season","tag-bold-verdict","tag-brad-scott","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-charlie-curnow","tag-chris-davies","tag-christian-petracca","tag-clayton-oliver","tag-colin-young","tag-contract-talks","tag-darcy-wilson","tag-george-wardlaw","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-glenn-mcfarlane","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-jon-ralph","tag-lauren-wood","tag-luke-beveridge","tag-max-holmes","tag-melbourne","tag-michael-willson","tag-midweek-tackle","tag-mitch-lewis","tag-money-decision","tag-nate-caddy","tag-new-south-wales","tag-non-committal-season","tag-oceania","tag-off-contract-stars","tag-paul-connors","tag-pay-rise","tag-port-adelaide","tag-queensland","tag-residual-chip","tag-scary-money","tag-south-australia","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-swans","tag-tom-boyd","tag-trade-news","tag-two-year-contract","tag-two-year-deal","tag-uncontracted-stars","tag-victoria","tag-western-bulldogs","tag-zak-butters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}