ALL EYES ON BONT

MARCUS Bontempelli‘s contract talks are set to heat up as the next key domino to fall into place at the Western Bulldogs.

The Dogs champion has so far resisted entering contract discussions, but talks are expected to be kickstarted soon – potentially by the end of this month – as the club looks to lock in its captain and coach.

Luke Beveridge‘s admission this week that his own talks around an extension at the club was edging closer will leave Bontempelli with the full picture of the future at the Bulldogs, following big re-signings Ed Richards and Sam Darcy in recent months and a strong start to the season despite injury and personnel challenges at the club.

The 2016 premiership coach has made clear in recent weeks his keenness to get into extending his time at Mission Whitten Oval. The Dogs’ upcoming bye in round 12 is shaping as a pivotal period for both key figures in their contract discussions.

With Beveridge’s tenure – be it two or three more seasons – to be worked through, the length of Bontempelli’s next deal is also a fascination given his unrestricted free agency status in a year he turns 30.

After signing a four-year deal last time he was out of contract as a free agent, and since then the eight- and nine-year deals and offers becoming more common in the market, clubs are looking at his major free agency contract as being split in two.

A ‘double up’ deal seeing Bontempelli land a four- or five-year extension to stay at the Dogs until his mid-30s is considered the likely length according to rival clubs. – Callum Twomey 

EAGLES FIRM FOR TALENTED TIGER

RICHMOND VFL prospect Tom McCarthy is widely expected to be taken as the No.1 pick in next Wednesday night’s AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, with West Coast now guaranteed to hold the first selection.

As revealed on AFL.com.au‘s trade and draft show Gettable last month, the 24-year-old McCarthy has long been viewed among AFL recruiters as the top prospect in this season’s mid-year rookie pool.

The 187cm midfielder, who is also capable of playing across half-back, continued to impress at VFL level at the weekend to finish with 24 disposals and three clearances in Richmond’s two-point loss to North Melbourne.

Subiaco’s 20-year-old key forward Archer May is another likely to go early, with the 198cm goalkicker attracting interest from North Melbourne, Carlton and Collingwood among others.

Essendon has tracked 27-year-old Claremont tall Oliver Eastland as it searches for potential ruck depth, while 20-year-old North Adelaide ruck Alex Van Wyk is another tall prospect that clubs have watched.

North Adelaide forward Ewan Mackinlay also has fans, with Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs linked, while Carlton has been strongly paired with Norwood small forward Jacob Newton.

Gold Coast has been linked with high-flying forward Caleb Lewis after an exciting stint with Dingley in the Southern Football Netball League, while the Suns have also monitored Eastern Ranges defender Rod Ali.

Richmond VFL forward pair Massimo Raso and Sam Toner, and Peel Thunder midfielder Michael Sellwood are others that clubs have tracked closely through the start of the season. – Riley Beveridge

DOCKER TO LAND NEW DEAL

ISAIAH Dudley didn’t have an AFL contract until February, but now Fremantle has rewarded the mature-age recruit with a two-year extension.

The Dockers are finalising a deal that will tie Dudley to the club until the end of 2027, following a surprise rise out of the SANFL.

Fremantle invited the small forward to trial for a spot on the rookie list in December, before signing him late in the pre-season supplemental selection period ahead of the game against the Indigenous All Stars.

Justin Longmuir picked the 22-year-old to make his debut in the Western Derby in round three and has kept picking him since.

Fremantle list manager David Walls tracked Dudley for years, like a lot of clubs, after he was named an All-Australian at the under-16s national championships. But it wasn’t until he starred in the SANFL last year at 21 that the Dockers were prepared to offer him a trial.

Now Dudley is up to eight AFL games with more to come in 2025 and beyond. – Josh Gabelich

AGENTS ACCREDITATION COURSE

ANNA Scullie is undertaking the AFL Players Association’s course to become an accredited agent, which would see her be able to manage Christian Petracca‘s football contract negotiations.

Melbourne superstar Petracca, who will play his 200th game for the Demons this week, joined Scullie’s agency earlier this year. He has four more years on his deal with Melbourne after this season, through to the end of 2029, but last year sought a trade out of the club in a tumultuous period.

Scullie, who received special dispensation from the AFL to oversee contract talks for former great Eddie Betts as his wife and for Geelong forward Tyson Stengle last year as his legal guardian, is undertaking the AFLPA’s accreditation course which started this week.

A three-day course this week will lead into an exam for the aspiring agents. – Callum Twomey

YOUNG PUP SIGNS NEW DEAL

THE WESTERN Bulldogs have re-signed untried ruck Lachlan Smith, tying away the youngster for the 2026 season.

Smith, 19, remains one of the few ruck deputies behind All-Australian tall Tim English at the Dogs and has shown promising development across his first two seasons on the club’s list.

The 203cm youngster is averaging 15.7 disposals and 37 hitouts per game at VFL level for Footscray this year, emerging as one of the best young ruck options at state league level.

Smith’s re-signing follows the one-year extension handed to Rory Lobb in recent weeks, ensuring the defender’s future at the club until 2027, as well as the mega five-year deal signed by gun free agent Ed Richards last week. – Riley Beveridge

CARLTON is likely to only take one pick into next Wednesday’s mid-season rookie draft, with the club expected to give defender Nic Newman every chance to return from a ruptured patella later this season.

The Blues had been weighing up adding Newman to the long-term injury list, but already have an open spot for the mid-season draft courtesy of the season-ending Achilles injury suffered by Brodie Kemp in round five.

While the club is yet to confirm whether Newman will indeed return later this year from the patella injury, sustained in January, the veteran is already being integrated into various drills at training and could still feature deep in the season.

A number of clubs will consider opening additional list spots ahead of the mid-season draft, with Gold Coast (Elliott Himmelberg), North Melbourne (Darcy Tucker), Port Adelaide (Xavier Walsh) and the Western Bulldogs (Cody Weightman) among those to have suffered season-ending injury blows across recent weeks. Collingwood could also open a second pick with a decision to be made around Harvey Harrison as he recovers from his knee reconstruction.

Essendon could create as many as four list vacancies having been cruelled by season-ending injuries to ruck duo Sam Draper and Nick Bryan, as well as young pair Tom Edwards and Lewis Hayes. – Riley Beveridge

EXTENSION EXPECTED FOR PORT YOUNGSTER

PORT Adelaide’s pre-season supplemental selection period addition, Josh Lai, is likely to add another year to his deal at the Power.

Lai joined the club as a February signing after impressing over a summer training block, with Port expected to extend his deal until the end of 2026 by rolling it over for a second season.

The 19-year-old was spotted playing at local level with Cheltenham in Melbourne’s southern league and took the eye of Port’s scouts there. His athletic traits stood out whilst playing on the wing.

Lai is yet to debut and is currently sidelined with a hand injury for one to two weeks, having averaged 15 disposals a game at SANFL level so far this year.

Port this week tied up last year’s mid-season success story Logan Evans on a three-year deal through to the end of 2028. – Callum Twomey