Melbourne made a pragmatic decision to give up pick No.23 for GWS defender Sam Frost rather than risk missing out on the 21-year-old in the pre-season draft after St Kilda made a late play for him on the last day of the trade period.
The Demons also received picks No.40 and No.53 in the deal but their hand was forced when it became clear St Kilda was likely to pick Frost in the PSD if Melbourne did not complete the trade.
The Saints have the first pick in December's pre-season draft and are now likely to use it on Sydney Swans forward Tim Membrey. However, on Thursday it became clear St Kilda might be able to obtain Membrey as a delisted free agent and therefore would be in a position to use its first pick in the pre-season draft on Frost.
The late competition provided Greater Western Sydney with a good return for the talented defender but the Demons were content to land Frost and eliminate any risk he might not be available when their pick came in the pre-season draft.
Melbourne had identified Frost as the best developing key defender in the game during the season and was set on getting him. Frost finished 11th in the Giants' best and fairest in 2014 and will hit the ground running with the Demons on the first day of pre-season.
The Demons would also have been conscious of the fact they missed out on Fremantle ruckman Jack Hannath in 2012 when the Dockers chose him ahead of Melbourne. Hannath was on the training track on a pre-season training camp in Darwin with Melbourne when the news came through that he was heading to Fremantle.
It was a day when most of the expected trades were completed - Hawthorn's Kyle Cheney and Luke Lowden joined Adelaide, Mitch Hallahan moved to Gold Coast, Liam Jones switched to Carlton, Shane Biggs was snapped up by the Western Bulldogs and Adam Cooney and Jonathan Giles joined Essendon.
The most unfortunate player was Gold Coast ruckman Daniel Gorringe, who did not make his way to Port Adelaide despite his wish to join the club and the Power’s interest in him.
Despite being targeted throughout the season by Port, he was left on the table after the Power made it their priority to get Ryder.
AFL.com.au understands Port Adelaide was not capable of making a formal offer to Gold Coast for Gorringe as it wanted to hold pick No.37 over for the Ryder deal.
It was a disappointing outcome for Gorringe but he has pledged to attack pre-season with the Suns with renewed vigour and will be playing under a new coach.
— Daniel Gorringe (@DGorringe) October 16, 2014Adelaide was a late mover in the final day, securing Lowden and Cheney from the Hawks in the final half-an-hour before the deadline.
The Crows set a course to secure a ruckman to support Sam Jacobs and secured a player who has pace and can take a mark up forward. Lowden has only played one AFL game but he performed well and showed he was up to the standard.
Carlton also managed to secure a Jones in exchange for pick No.46, with the Bulldogs having to reluctantly accept that pick as Jones would have otherwise been lost in the pre-season draft. Carlton did not secure Jason Tutt and the Bulldogs have indicated they may try to hang on to the 23-year-old.
Hawthorn also accepted two third-round picks – No.47 and 49 – for Hallahan. The Hawks had hoped the Suns might be able to package the picks for a selection higher up the draft order but accepted the two picks in the end.
In the final trade, Geelong managed to move up to the draft order after exchanging selections with Adelaide. The Cats now have pick No.10 and pick No.47 after Adelaide agreed to swap those picks for selections 14 and 35.
The Crows believe they can get the player they want with pick No.14, while they also have a pick inside the top 40.
TRADE EXPERTS PETER RYAN AND NICK BOWEN MARK YOUR CLUB:
Adelaide: Picked up a couple of Hawks and reshuffled their draft picks. Score: D
Brisbane Lions: Picked up two jets, but no live draft picks until the fourth round. Score: A
Carlton: Lost veteran key forward, but traded in a couple of young key talls. Score: B-
Collingwood: Heavily involved - lost a-grader, improved draft position. Score: B-
Essendon: Got another ruck to replace Ryder, plus a first rounder and a Brownlow medallist. Score: B-
Fremantle: No action from the Dockers. Score: C
Geelong: Christensen and Varcoe out the door, got talls to help Tomahawk. Score: C
Gold Coast: Picked up two hard bodies to assist their young list and kept their early picks. Score: B+
Greater Western Sydney: Got busy - lost some youngsters, gained some elite talent and more top picks. Score: C
Hawthorn: Shored up their defence and picked about a young mid, got Crows' second round pick. Score: A
Melbourne: Massive compo for Frawley and snared a speedy goalsneak on the cheap. Score: B
North Melbourne: Gained a couple of free agents, but lost a solid citizen. Score: B-
Port Adelaide: Got their man and Matthew Lobbe finally gets some help. Score: B+
Richmond: Medical scared them away from the former Dees skipper. Score: C
St Kilda: Kept pick No.1 and now has three picks in the top 22. Score: B
Sydney Swans: Ridiculous AFL decision killed their chance of any action. Score: N/A
West Coast: No action from the Eagles. Score: C
Western Bulldogs: Finally got a decent forward, but lost their skipper. Score: B
