{"id":78377,"date":"2025-10-07T14:14:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T04:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/?p=78377"},"modified":"2026-07-03T10:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T00:29:40","slug":"the-2025-trade-value-column-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2025\/10\/the-2025-trade-value-column-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2025 Trade Value Column: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I don\u2019t know if you can tell based on the truly insufferable coverage, but the trade period is on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even despite the fact that it\u2019s virtually impossible to microwave a team by paying sticker price for players other clubs are willing to let walk, don\u2019t let that stop the chat about whose fortunes Connor Budarick is going to singlehandedly change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973560700996849865&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In better news, it\u2019s trade value column time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just a word to the wise, this is a Bill Simmons gimmick that I\u2019ve totally ripped off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rules of the trade value column are pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a world where AFL player movement operates like a competitive market rather than the current racket where players sign contracts and then tell clubs they\u2019re upset and dictate the one club they\u2019ll be traded to, would you trade X player for Y player?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The question is meant to take into account age, contract status, positional value, and general value to the club you play for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the AFL, obviously, we don\u2019t know how contracts work or how much money players are on so contracts aren\u2019t really a factor other than length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kane Cornes will tell you that a long contract is always a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In general, I disagree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973560700996849865&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if we don\u2019t know how they are structured and whether they escalate with the cap, in general cost certainty long-term is a good thing for planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If someone is on a short- term deal and plays to the end of it, who knows what you might end up having to pay him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just ask St Kilda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1957277043667902753&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One last thing. Zach Merrett isn\u2019t on the list despite him being either the biggest or second biggest name that\u2019s likely to move this offseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973736408985792528&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s getting older, is a pure midfielder, and hasn\u2019t necessarily transformed his own good form into winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not that it\u2019s his fault, but if the market was competitive, I don\u2019t think he\u2019d get as big of a return as the 30 players I\u2019ve got here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/2024\/10\/guywholikessports-very-original-afl-trade-value-column-part-1\/\">Before we get into it, here\u2019s who\u2019s off the list from last year:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Charlie Curnow<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Caleb Serong<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tom Green<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mac Andrew<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jamarra Ugle-Hagan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jake Waterman<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lachie Neale<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hayden Young<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Harry Sheezel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Kids<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>30<\/strong>. Josh Weddle, 21, 1 year left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>29<\/strong>. Joel Freijah, 20, 1 year left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>28<\/strong>. Harvey Langford, 19, 2 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>27<\/strong>. Murphy Reid, 19, 3 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These ones are the flag plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are guys who play the kind of roles that look to me like they\u2019ll be valuable moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s buying stocks in 1993 and hoping one of them turns out to be Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reid looks like a speedy, high pressure forward half architect who should have been the rising star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Langford is a beast with explosiveness to be the 2.0 version of Clayton Oliver, whom they\u2019ll need to replace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973912129138012318&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Freijah is a mini-Bont.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Weddle is a speedy back half mover who might be able to be a souped up version of the intercepting defender who can provide some bounce the other way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like a mix of Harris Andrews, Jeremy McGovern, and Sonic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t know how bad these picks are going to look next year, but if I\u2019m their clubs I\u2019d be very reticent to move them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The \u201cI\u2019m Not Sure What to Do With You\u201d Crew<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>26<\/strong>. Luke Jackson, 24, 3 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>25<\/strong>. Tom De Koning, 26, 8 years left (post St Kilda offer)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the league is telling me I\u2019m wrong about these guys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I see two ruckmen who can pinch hit a bit as forwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t see the ruck as a premium position in any sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I see the ruck as a position where it only really matters at the poles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are excellent or terrible it can make a difference and if you have one of the middle 13 ruckmen, it basically doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could make an argument that Jackson is an elite ruckman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, I would make it because of his ability to follow up across the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I still wouldn\u2019t have traded what Fremantle traded for him, nor would I trade what Melbourne would have to part with if they get him back<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1679753774792077312&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But De Koning, especially, makes no sense to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Tom De Koning, I see a talented player who inherently limits what he can drive a team to do because he\u2019s not physical enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s a unicorn athletically whose midfield last year played better with him not in the ruck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But St Kilda has thrown the absolute maximum sticker price at him and would presumably be very <em>very <\/em>loathe to trade him so I think he has to be on the list?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973942427376554029&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t even know the rules of my own (read: Bill Simmons\u2019) gimmick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Prototypes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>24<\/strong>. Christian Petracca, 29, 4 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>23<\/strong>. Isaac Heeney, 29, 3 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>22<\/strong>. Marcus Bontempelli, 30, 4 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The key in footy today is this high impact, attacking midfield type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These guys, along with the great Dustin Martin, are the originals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re Leo in <em>One Battle After Another.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still truly great, still the goal for everyone else around them, but heading into the elder statesman phase of their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1972071336370659420&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a>But only one of them is actually looking to get traded, so let\u2019s focus on him.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973875780829786506&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>What is Christian Petracca at this point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By player rating, he had his worst year since 2019 and averaged two coaches votes per game which is his worst rate since 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s not the player that he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, he was still involved in about 30% of Melbourne\u2019s scores with 7.3 a game and still kicked about a goal a game while attending about 70% of centre bounces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1901489630299799572&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He also still looked explosive and powerful after his injuries, and still had a significant competitive edge which was a big question heading into the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the whole, he\u2019s slightly diminished from his peak, but for a club like Gold Coast who is looking for extra juice in the front half of the field, he could be perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And with four years left on his deal, they\u2019re going to have to part with a king\u2019s ransom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it\u2019s Bailey Humphrey, it\u2019s mutually beneficial as each club gets a player that fits their timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1973906333222252831&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Gold Coast gets the more mature version of the player that Hardwick\u2019s system needs, while Melbourne\u2019s second wife looks like their first wife\u2019s picture from 10 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Key Forward Hopes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>21<\/strong>. Logan Morris, 20, 2 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>20<\/strong>. Ben King, 25, 2 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>19<\/strong>. Josh Treacy, 23, 5 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Footy runs on key forwards, and this year I spotted that we might be moving into a world where they\u2019re coming back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the top-20 goal-scorers this year, eight were key forwards aged 25 or under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These three, to me, are the pick of the non-Darcy and Thilthorpe ones from a trade value perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though Treacy wasn\u2019t quite as good this year as he was last, his bullocking forward presence combined with his value as a pressure player and his long-term contract makes him the most valuable of the three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Logan Morris is stylistically the most interesting as this group is a bit jocks v nerd, and Morris is the nerd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1966804920079938026&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He looks like a jazzed up Jack Gunston who will thrive in teams that move the ball well and can hit his leading patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s not going to define games with his physicality, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s possible, given the game\u2019s move away from pure territory and back to prioritising better entries inside 50 that the ripped beasts become less valuable than the androgynous skinny guys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If that happens, footy will imitate Hollywood where there aren\u2019t any more Brad Pitts but there are more Timothy Chalamets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bedrocks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>18<\/strong>. Jacob Weitering, 28, 6 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>17<\/strong>. Harris Andrews, 29, 4 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>16<\/strong>. Sam Taylor, 26, 7 years left<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could make an argument that these guys should be the top-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t, because I think the ability to score is more reliant on players than system whereas the opposite is true of stopping scoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, these are three guys that you can build that defensive system around, which is invaluable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These three are equally good at zoning off and defending for everyone else, or playing on the other team\u2019s best forward and blanketing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They just do what the team needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year again, defence showed how important it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final four teams were in the top-six total defences with each of them having one fairly strong intercepting player to centre their defence around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, only one of those players belongs on the list: Harris Andrews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s clearly the best intercepting defender in footy and is clearly the best player to build a defence around. I would have handed him Norm Smith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1971900246352712175&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The other three teams\u2019 players just aren\u2019t on the level, however, or Taylor and Weitering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the thing to notice here are the ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If footy is returning to the kinds of power forwards like Treacy and King, not to mention some guys that are coming later in the list, and if we\u2019re going to remain in this world where you need a high intelligence player to be able to build around, where is the next generation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I flirted with Josh Worrell or Mark Keene, but neither of them have the one on one chops, as well as being an elite interceptor like these three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1961184516153778573&#038;dnt=true&#038;lang=en_AU&#038;width=500&#038;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.neds.com.au%2Fblog%2F2025%2F10%2Fthe-2025-trade-value-column-part-1%2F\" scrolling=\"no\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" loading=\"lazy\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" style=\"border:0;\" title=\"X Post\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I wondered about Ben Miller as well, but decided my bias was clouding my judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s like comedies in Hollywood now, where\u2019s the next one coming from? <a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can\u2019t just be all gritty dramas with a few jokes like <em>One Battle After Another.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"One Battle After Another  - Official Trailer - Warner Bros. UK &amp; Ireland\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/feOQFKv2Lw4?start=1&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If they don\u2019t come, the AFL is going to need to change how it defends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I don\u2019t know if you can tell based on the truly insufferable coverage, but the trade period is on! Even despite the fact that it\u2019s virtually impossible to microwave a team by paying sticker price for players other clubs are willing to let walk, don\u2019t let that stop the chat about whose fortunes Connor Budarick is going to singlehandedly change. &quot;He&#39;s toured Arden Street and the Whitten Oval and it is down to those two clubs.&quot; @JoshGabelich breaks down where Connor Budarick could play in 2026 on the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio: https:\/\/t.co\/CX6xu3ke56 pic.twitter.com\/1qTyA5sPg6&mdash; AFL (@AFL) October 2, 2025&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":78393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8298,598,344],"tags":[29,8260],"hub_post_cat":[],"class_list":["post-78377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-rules","category-guywholikessport","category-special-interest","category-sports","tag-afl","tag-guywholikessport"],"acf":{"md_tip_date":"","md_tip_date_end":"","md_market_url":"","tip_date":"07\/10\/2025","event_country":"Australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78377"},{"taxonomy":"hub_post_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neds.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hub_post_cat?post=78377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}