Young gun set for talks, Blues duo wait, Swan keen to play on

Check out all the latest trade news from around the League

L-R: Leo Lombard, Brodie Kemp, Dane Rampe. Pictures: AFL Photos

Get all the latest news in the trade, free agency and draft landscape in Inside Trading, AFL.com.au's dedicated column for player movement. Find out the latest on contracts, deals, trades, draftees, rules, agents and who is going where from the AFL.com.au team.

SUNS KEEN TO EXTEND GUN YOUNGSTER

GOLD Coast will look to get into negotiations to extend Leo Lombard's deal with the club as the round six block on first-round contracts is lifted.

Lombard was a first-round pick for the Suns last year as an Academy player, with the 18-year-old already on the standard three-year deal with the club to the end of 2027.

But talks will pick up on extending that further into the future for multiple years to lock Lombard in for a longer-term deal before he has played at AFL level.

The No.9 pick looked set for an early-season debut this year but injured his shoulder in a pre-season practice match against Sydney, forcing him to miss around three months.

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Under the AFL's current Collective Bargaining Agreement, players in their first year cannot re-sign beyond their initial contract until round six has passed.

The Suns are set to follow their recent hauls of Academy players with more graduates this year, with Dylan Patterson and Beau Addinsall impressing last week for the Marsh AFL Academy and Zeke Uwland tipped as a top-five pick contender. – Callum Twomey, Riley Beveridge

Leo Lombard in action during Gold Coast's match simulation against Brisbane on February 20, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

INJURED BLUES YET TO START TALKS

CARLTON had yet to kickstart contract talks with sidelined pair Nic Newman or Brodie Kemp before the duo suffered their long-term injury setbacks, with both coming towards the end of their deals at Ikon Park.

Kemp will miss the rest of the year after he ruptured his Achilles last Saturday, while Newman will likely be out of action for the majority of the season with a ruptured patella he sustained across the summer.

Newman faces a crucial month ahead in his bid to return before season's end, facing a number of strength markers he must pass, with the Blues expecting to know his availability for the rest of 2025 before the mid-season draft on May 28.

Carlton can open up a list spot for Kemp, and could open a secondary position if Newman is ruled out for the season, but has already filled two vacancies through SSP spots it used on Francis Evans and Will White.

Nic Newman speaks to Michael Voss during Carlton training on April 7, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

Newman, who turned 32 earlier this year, had been a Carlton regular before his unfortunate injury setback, while Kemp recently broke through as a permanent fixture in the side's forward line after flirting with a move to St Kilda last year. – Riley Beveridge

BOMBER TALLS IN TALKS

ESSENDON had been negotiating a new contract with Nick Bryan before the ruck ruptured his ACL on Saturday, while Tom Edwards has been offered a one-year extension.

Bryan will miss the rest of 2025 after scans on Monday confirmed the club's initial fears, but the 23-year-old is expected to sign a new deal which will take him through to free agency in 2027.

After playing 19 games across his first five seasons at the Bombers, Bryan was starting to entrench himself in Brad Scott's plans by playing the main ruck role in tandem with Sam Draper across the past month.

Nick Bryan is seen on crutches during Essendon's clash against Melbourne in round five, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Edwards also tore his ACL at the end of last month and has been recovering back home in Western Australia after undergoing a knee reconstruction at the start of April.

Essendon is understood to be finalising a deal for 2026 after signing Edwards in February during the pre-season supplemental selection period.

The 24-year-old kicked three goals on debut against Adelaide and played in the win over Port Adelaide the following week before suffering the season-ending injury at training during the bye. – Josh Gabelich

NEXT FREE AGENCY MOVES

WESTERN Bulldogs midfielder Ed Richards is expected to be the next big name to wipe his name off the free agency list.

Richards was one of just five remaining restricted free agents left on the AFL's official free agency list it distributed to clubs on Monday.

But rival clubs are aware Richards is intent on staying at the Dogs, with Gettable revealing this month that he was in discussions on a five or six-year extension that would see him join 'Club 2030' as the players around the competition signed to at least 2030.

Ed Richards in action during the Western Bulldogs' clash against Fremantle in round four, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Richards, Hawthorn's James Worpel, Carlton's Tom De Koning, Brisbane's Brandon Starcevich and West Coast's Oscar Allen are the only remaining restricted free agents in the pool.

Clubs are watching with fascination on Bulldogs skipper Marcus Bontempelli's contract talks, with discussions not yet progressed.

The champion Bulldog is set to return from his calf injury this week against St Kilda but has been comfortable holding off his contract talks as an unrestricted free agent.

Clubs are showing interest in Adelaide's Wayne Milera as an unrestricted free agent and North Melbourne is circling Magpies premiership player Brayden Maynard, while Carlton's George Hewett will soon be off the free agency list as he gets closer to hitting a trigger for next year. – Callum Twomey

Bobby Hill and Brayden Maynard celebrate during Collingwood's clash against Carlton in round four, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

SWANS VETERAN KEEN TO PLAY ON

SYDNEY defender Dane Rampe has plans to play on into 2026 and beyond, with the club likely to sit down with its former captain midway through the year to finalise a new deal.

Rampe, who turns 35 this year, has made another consistent start to the season and believes he has the capacity to extend his 256-game Swans career "a couple more years yet".

Speaking on AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable this week, Rampe's manager Ben Williams from Players Ink said the veteran had made clear his ambitions to continue his career into next season.

"Yes, he does [want to play on]," Williams told Gettable.

"But, as you know with the more senior guys, they traditionally happen more in the second half of the season. The Swans and us have agreed to catch up in the mid-season break and start talks then."

Dane Rampe celebrates Sydney's win over Fremantle in round two, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Rampe didn't earn a spot on an AFL list until he was 21, having toiled away with Williamstown in the VFL and UNSW-Eastern Suburbs in the NEAFL, with Williams of the belief that his late start could be behind his longevity in the system.

"He's the Benjamin Button of football," Williams laughed.

"He just keeps going at a certain level at every stage. I don't know if that's out of dumb luck, professionalism or because he started in the system two or three years later than most players. It's probably a combination of all of the above.

"But he feels like he can keep performing at a certain level for a couple more years yet." – Riley Beveridge

Dane Rampe kicks the ball during Sydney's clash against Fremantle in round two, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

THIRD TIME LUCKY?

FORMER Collingwood and Geelong utility Nathan Kreuger is back on the radar of AFL clubs ahead of next month's Mid-Season Rookie Draft.

The 25-year-old joined Geelong's VFL program after being delisted by the Magpies last year and has starred while playing predominantly in defence across the first month of the season, averaging 15.7 disposals and eight marks to draw the attention of recruiters.

Kreuger played for the VFL in the state game win against the SANFL in the Barossa Valley on Saturday.

Nathan Kreuger laughs during a VFL training session on April 10, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Melbourne, St Kilda and Collingwood are understood to be a few of the clubs keeping tabs on the South Australian, who can provide readymade coverage at either end of the ground.

The Magpies delisted Kreuger at the end of last season after 13 games across three injury-interrupted seasons – following two appearances for Geelong in three years – but Craig McRae was a fan of the 196cm swingman and tight list spots were behind that decision.

Collingwood will have a spot available after Reef McInnes ruptured his ACL last month and is considering options for defensive coverage. With seven rounds to play between now and the Mid-Season Rookie Draft, other clubs could need key position depth by then. – Josh Gabelich

Nathan Kreuger celebrates a goal during the R16 match between Collingwood and Gold Coast at People First Stadium on June 29, 2024. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

MID-SEASON PICKS GROW

THERE are growing numbers of mid-season rookie draft selections after long-term injuries hit Carlton and Essendon over the weekend.

The Bombers already had one vacant spot open after the ACL injury for Tom Edwards, but now will have two spots for the mid-season draft after the same knee injury for ruck Nick Bryan.

Carlton also now has at least one vacancy after Brodie Kemp's Achilles injury, adding to a group of clubs with one spot currently available: Gold Coast (Charlie Ballard), Reef McInnes (Collingwood) and the Western Bulldogs and West Coast (both left one spot vacant in pre-season).

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It makes for a total of seven open spots at this stage, with Brisbane (Lincoln McCarthy) and Port Adelaide (Todd Marshall) likely to give their players with long-term injuries every chance to return.

Aside from mature-age state league prospects, there are a handful of 19-year-old talents who have caught the eye of clubs after strong starts to the season after being overlooked last year.

Gippsland Power tall back Zac Walker's intercepting talents have impressed while Greater Western Victoria Rebels key forward/ruck Floyd Burmeister is also catching interest after being unlucky to not be drafted last year. Eastern Ranges defender Rod Ali, Calder Cannons backman Cooper Herbert, Northern Knight Liam Farrar and Western Jets tall Ayden McCarroll are other prospects who could be considered by clubs from the Coates Talent League.

The mid-season rookie draft will be held on Wednesday, May 28. – Callum Twomey

Cooper Herbert kicks the ball during the 2024 Coates Talent League Boys Round 3 match between the Calder Cannons and the Northern Knights. Picture: Rob Lawson/AFL Photos

FUTURE PICK FLOODGATES OPEN

CLUBS will be able to trade away all of their 2026 picks with the extension of future trading to two years in advance.

Under the new rules, clubs will be allowed to trade a full suite of their future picks one year ahead as the AFL this year introduces two years' worth of future picks being up for grabs in deals.

Under the previous future trading rules, clubs would need to retain a 'full suite' of second and third-round selections in their future draft hand to be permitted to trade their future first-round pick. That caused some challenges among clubs as deals were left hanging by the need to retain picks to meet the criteria.

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But with the advancement of future trading to two years, that rule now applies to the second year of future trading and no longer to the first.

For example this season, clubs will be able to trade their 2025 picks and all of their 2026 picks, but then have to carry their 2027 second and third-round selections to trade that year's first-round pick, or to trade out their 2027 second and third-round picks, they need to retain that year's first-round pick.

The AFL has kept its 'two-in-four' condition to future trading, meaning clubs must use at least two first-round picks over a rolling four-year period to be able to trade out their future first-round selections.

The extra hand of picks, plus no limits on the number of selections a club can trade one year in advance, means clubs will have far more assets to play with at the trade table this year. It is why many list bosses believe big deals can be arranged later than ever with more chips to play with and why clubs believed the AFL's call not to introduce the move last year stopped any chance of Christian Petracca being able to land anywhere as no clubs had enough assets to satisfy a deal. – Callum Twomey

PICK 1 CHANCE'S ESSENDON LINKS

POTENTIAL No.1 pick Cooper Duff-Tytler was just a year removed from being part of Essendon's Next Generation Academy, but the athletic 200cm ruck-forward is set to be available to all clubs in an open draft later this year.

Duff-Tytler has a Sri Lankan background and would have qualified for the Bombers as part of their Calder Cannons zone. However, his grandparents migrated to Australia one year before his father was born, ruling him ineligible to be part of the NGA process.

The teenager has subsequently become one of the best prospects in this year's draft class, emerging as a potential pick No.1 contender through his mobility and athleticism in a ruck role at Coates Talent League level.

"We've got the Sri Lankan background," Duff-Tytler told AFL.com.au's Gettable. "My dad's parents both grew up in Sri Lanka, so they moved a year before he was born. One more year in Sri Lanka and I probably would've been in [Essendon's NGA]."

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Duff-Tytler has been a standout for the Cannons this season, playing alongside Essendon's NGA-tied duo Hussien El Achkar and Adam Sweid, dominating in a round one victory over the Chargers with 26 disposals, 14 hitouts and two goals.

It followed a summer stint training at Essendon as part of the AFL Academy program, while he also represented Australia in last weekend's narrow defeat to Richmond's VFL side.

"[Training at Essendon] was an unbelievable experience," Duff-Tytler said. "It opened my eyes into the professionalism of the AFL environment. Out there on the track, just seeing the physicality of it from defenders to forwards.

"And you see how structured it is, with the footage they go over before and after training and being able to implement it … it's definitely much more structured than the junior game." – Riley Beveridge

Cooper Duff-Tytler celebrates during the Marsh AFL Academy's clash against Richmond VFL on April 13, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

FORMER PIE JOINS RECRUITING TEAM

EX-MAGPIE Matthew Lokan has joined Collingwood's recruiting network.

The 46-game Magpie found cult status at the club in 2003 when he emerged as a mature-age recruit to play every game in his debut season, including the club's Grand Final loss to Brisbane.

He played only two more seasons with the Pies but has had a long history with football since then, including coaching in the NEAFL and also returning to Port Adelaide as a coach of their SANFL side for several years.

Lokan has started as one of the Magpies' part-time recruiters based in South Australia.

He will work under former Magpies teammate Shane O'Bree, who is Collingwood's new national recruiting manager. – Callum Twomey

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