North Melbourne will not always confirm or deny trade rumours and the details relating to the club in this article have not been approved or ratified by it.
A late trade that saw Bernie Vince join Melbourne in exchange for the Demons' free agency compensation pick capped off a busy day of trades to end the free agency period.
On a Friday that brought back memories of the old-fashioned trade week, four players changed clubs:
- Vince moved to the Demons for pick No.23 (compensation for losing free agent Colin Sylvia to Fremantle)
- St Kilda's Nick Dal Santo joined North Melbourne under free agency
- The Sydney Swans' Shane Mumford joined Greater Western Sydney in exchange for pick No.35
- Melbourne landed exciting Giants youngster Dom Tyson and picks No.9 and No.53 in exchange for pick No.2 and No.20.
The tortuous negotiations between St Kilda, North Melbourne and Dal Santo's manager Tom Petroro went close to the deadline with the deal only guaranteed last night when Saints list manager Ameet Bains rang his North Melbourne counterpart Cameron Joyce.
Finally, and just before the 2pm deadline to end the free agency period, Dal Santo became a Kangaroo, bringing an end to his 12-year, 260-game career with the Saints.
Latest indicative draft order: what picks does your club have?
St Kilda is expected to take a breath before beginning negotiations to secure Luke Delaney from North Melbourne – with a deal on that expected early next week.
An early fourth-round pick would be likely to secure the deal but the Kangaroos could push for a third-round selection from the Saints.
The club also hopes to secure Greater Western Sydney's Josh Bruce but that deal appears to be moving slowly.
St Kilda now has four picks within the first 25 selections, with the possibility of further later-round picks being exchanged to complete the Ben McEvoy trade.
Melbourne made good on its promise to trade pick No.2 when it secured Greater Western Sydney midfielder Dom Tyson. The deal was first mooted on Monday when the Demons approached Tyson's manager at ESP Sports, Nick Gieschen.
By Wednesday, Tyson had made his way back from Hawaii and met with the Demons. By Friday morning the deal was done.
Meanwhile, the Giants and the Sydney Swans slipped through a trade, with Swans premiership ruckman Shane Mumford seeming a relative steal at pick No.35.
Elliot Yeo remains poised to become a West Coast player but his move appears dependent on a swap of picks between the Eagles and Collingwood.
AFL.com.au understands West Coast has discussed trading its pick No.6 to Collingwood in exchange for the Magpies' pick No.11 and No.27.
The Eagles, who would also send their pick No.40 to Collingwood, would then trade pick No.27 to the Lions for Yeo.
The deal was expected to gain momentum after the announcement of compensation picks on Friday evening, with likely confirmation on Monday.
Yeo has been West Coast's No.1 priority through the Gillette AFL Trade Period, but the club needed to find another second-round pick to secure the 20-year-old midfielder, prompting its talks with Collingwood.
The deal for Sam Docherty, expected to happen this week, looks like waiting until after the Yeo and Jared Polec deals are completed. Port Adelaide is working very hard to find a way to gather early enough selections to satisfy the Brisbane Lions.
The Giants have been struggling to strike the right deal to satisfy Collingwood as they attempt to secure Heath Shaw. The Magpies want a straight swap for Taylor Adams while the Giants want to sweeten the deal with an exchange of picks.
Collingwood is in a good position to hold its nerve as Shaw remains contracted with them for two years.
