Roo to sign new deal, Tiger set to hit trigger, Pie hopes to stay - Hamara Watan Sports National and international

NORTH TO LOCK IN WHITLOCK

NORTH Melbourne will look to lock in draftee Matt Whitlock for an extra year on his deal fresh from his early-season debut.

Whitlock is on a standard two-year deal at the Roos through to the end of 2026, having not been in the top-20 of last year’s draft to trigger a three-year deal, but a one-year extension is expected soon to get him to the end of 2027.

Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the third-year deal for draftees is also standardised and can be activated seamlessly without financial negotiations.

North traded its 2025 first-round pick to Richmond for pick No.27 to take Whitlock at last year’s draft, plus getting the Tigers’ second-round pick for this year’s draft.

He impressed over summer and made his AFL debut in round four against Sydney.

Clubs are able to officially sign last year’s draftees to deals now that round six has passed, which is the opening point for the League to process any deals for the previous year’s intake. – Callum Twomey

TIGER REWARD IMMINENT

JAMES Trezise is about to hit a trigger to secure another contract at Richmond for 2026 after a decent start to the season at Punt Road.

The 22-year-old has played the first six games of 2025 after featuring in the final six of last season.

Trezise was selected at pick No.13 in the 2023 Mid-Season Rookie Draft after being recruited to the Tigers’ VFL program from Tooradin-Dalmore in the West Gippsland League.

Richmond’s VFL program has helped launch more than a handful of careers in recent years, including Sam Durham, Tylar Young, Massimo D’Ambrosio, Mykelti Lefau, Jake Aarts and, most recently, Sam Davidson.

Small forward/midfielder Massimo Raso and defender Tom McCarthy are the latest VFL Tigers on the radar of AFL clubs ahead of next month’s Mid-Season Rookie Draft. Trezise now has 14 games next to his name and counting. – Josh Gabelich

TOP YOUNGSTER INVITED TO INDIGENOUS ACADEMY

THE POTENTIAL No.1 pick in 2026, Dougie Cochrane, has been invited to be in the AFL’s National Indigenous Academy in a significant step for his Next Generation Academy status.

Cochrane is the son of former Port and North Melbourne player Stuart and younger brother of current Power forward Tom, who debuted this season after being rookie-listed last year.

Stuart last year wrote to the AFL regarding his exploring of his Indigenous background and to see if his sons could join the Power’s academy program, having had a later discovery of Indigenous lineage. That process is understood to have recently been ascertained in regards to his heritage.

If approved by the League, that would open the door for Port to have access to Cochrane if his metropolitan region was included within their region as the AFL’s ongoing review into NGA zoning continues.

Cochrane will be in the Marsh AFL Academy as well as the National Indigenous Academy, with the youngster also interested in the cultural immersion and identity part of the Indigenous Academy program.

The League will still need to tick off the NGA application for Cochrane before any draft access is confirmed, with that process proving to be a long one in recent cases.

Dougie Cochrane was the standout player of last year’s under-16s championships and started his 2025 campaign with a bang, including kicking 6.2 from 20 disposals in round four of Central District’s U18 season. –

CLUBS TO SEE TASMANIA LIST RULES

WHETHER Tasmania should get pick No.1 in its initial draft will be debated as clubs meet with the AFL on the proposed Devils list build rules.

The League is this week starting its visits and catch-ups with clubs for discussions on the player movement and draft landscape, giving rival clubs opportunities to provide feedback.

As part of the discussions the Tasmanian list concession package will be on the agenda.

AFL.com.au revealed the proposed Tasmanian list build rules last month as the AFL worked with the Devils to settle on the proposed concessions, which will include approximately 10 first-round picks over three drafts, with some having caveats to trade.

The Devils are also set to get access to uncontracted players as ‘free agents’ across two seasons, with a sign-on bonus fund of more than $1 million, as well as the ability to on-sell rights to talented teenagers in a ‘mini-draft’.

Draft access to Tasmanian father-son selections and local products as Academy players, as well as priority list of eight-to-10 17-year-old prospects ahead of their 2027 draft year, is among the expected concessions. Multiple early rookie and mid-season draft selections and extra picks at the start of rounds two onwards in the draft will also be part of the list package.

The AFL has so far planned not to give Tasmania the No.1 pick at its first draft – proposed to be in 2027 – and instead tabled a suite of picks including No.3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. However the club feedback in coming weeks could shift that if a strong response suggests the Devils should hold the top pick that year.

CATS MAKE ATKINS OFFER

GEELONG has a two-year contract offer for midfielder Tom Atkins after a strong start to the season for the midfielder.

Atkins is out of contract this year, with the versatile Cat garnering rival interest after his hot opening to 2025, which has seen a return to the midfield and some standout games including a best-afield performance in Gather Round against Adelaide.

The Cats’ offer would take Atkins, 29, through to the end of the 2027 season when he would reach free agency.

The 2022 premiership Cat has added an extra defensive blend to Geelong’s midfield and worked closely with new recruit Bailey Smith and gun midfielder Max Holmes.

He picked up 10 coaches votes for his 23-disposal and nine-clearance game against Adelaide in round five. – Callum Twomey

TALKS RUMBLE ON FOR IN-FORM PIE

COLLINGWOOD ruck Darcy Cameron is hopeful his future will be at the Pies, as discussions around a potential contract extension beyond his existing deal at the club rumble on.

The in-form Cameron is contracted through to 2026, though a number of clubs have signalled an interest in the premiership player as negotiations on a potential extension at the AIA Centre continue to simmer.

West Coast has been keen on Cameron, who is from Western Australia, while Carlton and St Kilda are among the clubs with a watching brief pending an outcome on the future of star free agent Tom De Koning.

“I think so,” Cameron said when asked if he sees his future at Collingwood.

“My manager’s in constant conversations with Collingwood. He’s catching up with them and talking with them almost weekly, then he’s reporting back to me every couple of weeks about where it sits. Hopefully, we can get something sorted out. But I’ll let him sort that out.”

Having averaged 18.5 disposals and 28.5 hitouts to begin this season, Cameron hasn’t let the speculation around his future impact his form and has said his attention remains firmly fixed on his football.

“I just like to focus on my footy,” Cameron said. “My manager … he’ll come back to with anything that needs to be said. I just like to focus on footy and try and let that do the talking.” – Riley Beveridge

BOMBER YOUNGSTER KEEN TO STAY

ESSENDON defender Zach Reid hopes to sign on at the club as he starts to emerge as a key talent at the Bombers.

Reid is out of contract at the end of this season, having signed a three-year deal midway through his second year at the Bombers.

The No.10 pick has played every game this season after four injury interrupted seasons to begin his career at Essendon, but said he was keen to remain in the red and black.

“Yeah that’s the plan,” Reid told AFL.com.au. “I haven’t really started anything yet, but I’m sure that will play out in the next however long.”

The 204cm backman has showed his poise and talent to start this season and is an important plank in Brad Scott’s plans.

MID-SEASON PROSPECTS’ CHANCE TO IMPRESS

MID-SEASON rookie draft contenders Floyd Burmeister, Rod Ali, Zac Walker and Adrian Cole are among the 23-player squad selected for Saturday’s Young Guns game.

The team was picked based on club recruiters’ feedback on which overage players overlooked at last year’s draft should be given a chance to impress ahead of the mid-season rookie draft.

The Young Guns will take on a Vic Metro squad on Saturday morning at Werribee’s Avalon Airport Oval.

Burmeister has put himself firmly in the No.1 pick mix for the mid-season draft, while Calder Cannons’ Gus Papal, Murray Bushrangers’ Zac Harding and Western Jets ruckman Ayden McCarroll have also been picked.

Noah Yze, son of former Demons star and current Richmond coach Adem, is also in the team, while Sandringham small Charlie Rozenes is another who has shown his dash at the start of this year to be in mid-season considerations. – Callum Twomey

FUTURE PICKS COULD BE PIE SOLVER

THE ABILITY to trade a set of future picks will help Collingwood’s hunt for points as the Pies and Brayden Maynard‘s management are due for contract talks in coming weeks.

Maynard was keen to get through the opening block of Collingwood’s season before concentrating further on his contract decision. With that time passed, the premiership Pie is expected to dig deeper into his call as North Melbourne loom with interest.

The Magpies have father-son prospect Tom McGuane and NGA talents Zac McCarthy and Jai Saxena in this year’s draft but currently only hold their second and third-round picks.

Under the League’s expanded trading rules, as Inside Trading revealed last week, they would be allowed to trade their future first-round pick for a first-round selection this year but also have a suite of selections in 2026 and 2027 to use to bolster their points hand and buy more picks to cover bids on the trio.

McCarthy has risen into first-round calculations as a key forward/ruckman with the Oakleigh Chargers, while Saxena has also emerged as a NGA surprise after booting five goals in a recent Coates Talent League game. –

LION’S TALKS HEAT UP

DISCUSSIONS are progressing on a deal for Brisbane flag hero Callum Ah Chee as he comes to the end of his current deal.

Ah Chee is signed to the end of 2025 and has been in talks on a contract extension with Brisbane.

The premiership forward, who kicked four goals in the Grand Final win over Sydney last year, joined Brisbane for the 2020 season and is due to play his 150th AFL game this week against St Kilda.

His agent, Ben Williams from Players Ink Management, told Gettable that the former Sun was settled with the premiers.

“Catching up with (Lions list manager) Dom Ambrogio regularly. Talks are progressing well and [I’m] not expecting that to be too hard,” Williams said.

“Obviously he’s got his wife Laura and two kids up there and he’s got a great support network up there as well so he’s happy in Queensland.” – Callum Twomey

EX-LION IN KEY TALENT ROLE

FORMER Brisbane defender Reuben William has been appointed the new Western Jets talent lead.

The 27-year-old played for Footscray and Werribee in the VFL after being delisted by the Lions at the end of 2017.

William was born in South Sudan and arrived in Australia via a Kenyan refugee camp and has worked as the multicultural talent programs lead at the AFL since 2022.

The Western Jets have been searching for a talent lead since Luke Williams landed a role as a recruiter with the Western Bulldogs in March, joining new player acquisition manager Michael Regan at the Whitten Oval.

Former St Kilda and Sydney forward Trent Dennis-Lane coached the Jets in 2024 before joining Greater Western Sydney as a development coach over the off-season. – Josh Gabelich

BROTHER OF CATS STAR EMERGES

HUNTER Holmes, the younger brother of Geelong gun Max, has caught the eye as a draft prospect in the early stages of the under-18 season.

Holmes is playing for the Oakleigh Chargers in the Coates Talent League, where his run and carry has been on show in the opening month of the campaign.

The 18-year-old wingman had 19 disposals, six tackles and kicked a goal against the Calder Cannons in round one, before collecting 22 touches in round two against the Northern Knights.

His athleticism and running capability has taken the eye of scouts, who see upside in Holmes, despite a quieter match in last week’s trial game.

Max Holmes was the bolter of the 2020 draft crop, having come from the clouds to be a first-round pick late in the COVID-impacted year to join the Cats. The Geelong star is now one of the best midfielders in the game.