Trade talk, rumours & innuendo 2025

[one-eyed]

The bloke, who spent all last year claiming Dusty would be playing for the Gold Coast, is now claiming Richmond is one of four Victorian clubs after Zak Butters.

"There are now four Victorian clubs who are aware that his head may be turned, not next year during free agency, but at the end of this season."

Sam McClure with some big news on contracted Port star Zak Butters.

VIDEO: https://x.com/FootyonNine/status/1906651953813196996

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Four Victorian powerhouse clubs in race to sign under contract Port Adelaide superstar

Nic Negrepontis
Nine
March 31, 2025 - 9.40pm

Four Victorian powerhouse clubs will attempt to lure Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters this year, despite being contracted for 2026.

The back-to-back Power best and fairest winner becomes a free agent at the end of 2026, and Footy Classified's Sam McClure says Essendon, Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood believe he is gettable this year.

"There are now four Victorian clubs who are aware that his head may be turned not next year during free agency, but at the end of this season," McClure told Nine's Footy Classified.

"Now there is a myriad of reasons why they think that the Bacchus Marsh boy may do that. One being that Port Adelaide might not be the powerhouse that Zak Butters was hoping they would be, particularly going into this year.

"The second crucial element of this is that Zak Butters is one of a select few at Port Adelaide who has developed an extremely close bond to Ken Hinkley.

"Hinkley is leaving at the end of the year. It's not to say he doesn't have a good relationship with Josh Carr, but those four clubs think that he might be on the chopping block as soon as this year."

McClure added that the Power may be more likely to let go of Butters this year, given the significant compensation they would receive via a trade, as opposed to free agency.

"(They may let him leave) If Port don't have the year that they were hoping for and all of a sudden you're getting offered high-end draft picks, particularly by the likes of Richmond and Essendon, both of whom have two first round picks in the upcoming draft," he said.

Butters has missed the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery and is expected to miss up to another month.

He has also previously been linked with the Western Bulldogs.

https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/news-2025-footy-classified-trade-zak-butters-port-adelaide-collingwood-richmond-hawthorn-essendon-20250331-p5lo21.html

[Tiger Khosh]

No thanks. List is nowhere near where it needs to be to have the luxiary of trading multiple first rounds picks. We should be using all our first round picks for the foreseeable future.

[MintOnLamb]

No thanks. List is nowhere near where it needs to be to have the luxiary of trading multiple first rounds picks. We should be using all our first round picks for the foreseeable future.

100% agree

[Francois Jackson]

I stopped reading after I saw Mc lovins name

Move on.

[Andyy]

Rowell on the other hand...

[MintOnLamb]

Trading older players, I thing WCE and FREO are seeing the folly in this with Graham and Bolton, Baker is going OK and Dan Rioli is struggling.
Personally while we will have a lot of pain to come I prefer our modus operandi.

Pity about Davidson as he is looking to be pretty handy.

[Damo]

Trading older players, I thing WCE and FREO are seeing the folly in this with Graham and Bolton, Baker is going OK and Dan Rioli is struggling.
Personally while we will have a lot of pain to come I prefer our modus operandi.

Pity about Davidson as he is looking to be pretty handy.

Rioli struggling ??? Can’t be serious.
As for Bolton, he’s been injured and just getting rolling.

Give them more than 3 minutes before assessing.

As for the folly of trading for older players. Shame the Nank, Lynch, Prestia, Caddy etc experiment crashed and burned so badly. If only we won some flags to make it less of a folly. Oh, hang on.

[Diocletian]

Reid is the only player I would even consider giving up those picks for.....Butters fmd....good player but not two early first round picks good...

[Tiger Khosh]

Trading older players, I thing WCE and FREO are seeing the folly in this with Graham and Bolton, Baker is going OK and Dan Rioli is struggling.
Personally while we will have a lot of pain to come I prefer our modus operandi.

Pity about Davidson as he is looking to be pretty handy.

Rioli struggling ??? Can’t be serious.
As for Bolton, he’s been injured and just getting rolling.

Give them more than 3 minutes before assessing.

As for the folly of trading for older players. Shame the Nank, Lynch, Prestia, Caddy etc experiment crashed and burned so badly. If only we won some flags to make it less of a folly. Oh, hang on.

Just depends on where your list sits. We are at rock bottom atm. Absolutely does not make sense to burn 2-3 real top end first rounders to trade a player in regardless of how good they are. For sides needed to take the next step then trading in talent is absolutely worth it. Freo and GC (although I’ll die on the hill that no half back is worth 2 first round picks) wont be complaining and neither were we with all our ins around the 2016-2020 years.

We should be hitting the draft hard over the next few years with all our first rounders and target free agents and players we can trade in with 2nd rounders and beyond imo.

[Damo]

Trading older players, I thing WCE and FREO are seeing the folly in this with Graham and Bolton, Baker is going OK and Dan Rioli is struggling.
Personally while we will have a lot of pain to come I prefer our modus operandi.

Pity about Davidson as he is looking to be pretty handy.

Rioli struggling ??? Can’t be serious.
As for Bolton, he’s been injured and just getting rolling.

Give them more than 3 minutes before assessing.

As for the folly of trading for older players. Shame the Nank, Lynch, Prestia, Caddy etc experiment crashed and burned so badly. If only we won some flags to make it less of a folly. Oh, hang on.

Just depends on where your list sits. We are at rock bottom atm. Absolutely does not make sense to burn 2-3 real top end first rounders to trade a player in regardless of how good they are. For sides needed to take the next step then trading in talent is absolutely worth it. Freo and GC (although I’ll die on the hill that no half back is worth 2 first round picks) wont be complaining and neither were we with all our ins around the 2016-2020 years.

We should be hitting the draft hard over the next few years with all our first rounders and target free agents and players we can trade in with 2nd rounders and beyond imo.

Agree with a lot of that TK
Was more in response to what Mint said, which I thought was mostly nonsense.

We should be hitting drafts hard. One thing I will say is that I'd have no problem trading draft assets for players that fit the timeline, like Reid etc.

Zero point in trading for older players currently.

[one-eyed]

Richmond will be one of the clubs monitoring Henry Hustwaite’s availability if his playing time situation doesn’t improve by seasons end.

The midfielder has been in electric form in the VFL and will find it hard for a seniors place in the midfield.

Richmond were big admirers of Hustwaite in his draft year but went in another direction

One to watch!

#GoTiges

https://x.com/CameronHicks__/status/1906912666045890922

[pmac21]

Just go to the draft again, let the others teams fight over players for now. 
The time to bring in players will be 5 years time and via free agency, not trades. 

[WilliamPowell]

Richmond will be one of the clubs monitoring Henry Hustwaite’s availability if his playing time situation doesn’t improve by seasons end.

The midfielder has been in electric form in the VFL and will find it hard for a seniors place in the midfield.

Richmond were big admirers of Hustwaite in his draft year but went in another direction

One to watch!

#GoTiges

https://x.com/CameronHicks__/status/1906912666045890922

I really dont know why anyone pays any attention to what this blokes says... he spins a lot, repeats things that are posted on socials and then claims it as inside info and his own

[Andyy]

Pass on Henry and Rosas from GCS

[MintOnLamb]

Trading older players, I thing WCE and FREO are seeing the folly in this with Graham and Bolton, Baker is going OK and Dan Rioli is struggling.
Personally while we will have a lot of pain to come I prefer our modus operandi.

Pity about Davidson as he is looking to be pretty handy.

Rioli struggling ??? Can’t be serious.
As for Bolton, he’s been injured and just getting rolling.

Give them more than 3 minutes before assessing.

As for the folly of trading for older players. Shame the Nank, Lynch, Prestia, Caddy etc experiment crashed and burned so badly. If only we won some flags to make it less of a folly. Oh, hang on.

Damo, I don’t want to get into a statistics fight over this

As Denuto said it’s a vibe thing, and it really doesn’t matter because those ex RFC guys will only get worse, plug it has happened and better to put a positive read on it than a glass half empty.

But respectfully take your comments on board