The views in this article are those of the author and not those of the AFL or its clubs.

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.


North Melbourne has joined Collingwood in the chase for out-of-contract Brisbane Lions midfielder Patrick Karnezis.

The 21-year-old, who was selection No.25 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, has played 21 games in three seasons at the Lions, after making his debut in round 13, 2011.

He has played in just three wins at the club and expressed a desire to return to Victoria during 2013. He played only three senior games during last season.

Karnezis would add depth to both Collingwood and North Melbourne's midfield, although he was not a high priority for either club in the early weeks of the trade period.

Collingwood has secured Jesse White, plus an exchange of picks and is continuing to negotiate with Greater Western Sydney to secure Taylor Adams in exchange for Heath Shaw.

North has moved onto other matters after landing Nick Dal Santo as a free agent last Friday and trading key defender Luke Delaney to St Kilda for pick No.77 on Tuesday morning.

Collingwood will take pick No.6 and 10 to the draft. Its next pick is selection No.67. It could also hold out until after the trade period to punt on securing Karnezis.

North Melbourne has used its father-son selection on Luke McDonald and is expected to use pick No.30 at the AFL draft. However it has picks 47 and 65 ahead of Collingwood if it chose to pursue Karnezis vigorously.

AFL.com.au understands North has put forward pick No. 47 as a possible trade option for Karnezis.

The Lions are trying to work on several deals with Billy Longer, Jared Polec, Elliot Yeo and Sam Docherty all looking for new homes during this trade period.

Longer looks headed to St Kilda, Polec to Port Adelaide, Yeo to West Coast and Docherty to Carlton but no deals have been officially completed.