Cats star opens talks, Dee’s quiet deal, Saint in no rush

SAINT NOT RUSHED

MARCUS Windhager will work into the season before getting to his contract decision after a strong start to 2025.

The St Kilda youngster had 25 disposals and two goals in his team’s win over Geelong last week while also playing a negating role on Cats star Max Holmes.

He is out of contract at the end of this season, with the fourth-year Next Generation Academy graduate not yet expected to get into his contract process as he lets the first block of the year play out.

Windhager, 21, has played 54 games for the club after being selected in the 2021 national draft.

He wasn’t a part of the Saints’ batch of re-signings earlier this year, which included extensions for Mitchito Owens and Jack Higgins (2029), Hunter Clark, Angus Hastie and Hugo Garcia (2027). – Callum Twomey

STACKED LISTS MAKE FOR LOW MSD PICKS

THERE are currently only four clubs with open spots ahead of the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.

With the majority of clubs filling their lists with last year’s strong draft crop and again finding final spots during the pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP), the numbers of mid-season rookie draft spots is low as the intake creeps closer.

The Western Bulldogs entered the season with a vacant list spot after deciding against adding any SSP candidates, while West Coast also has an open list spot after Dom Sheed’s season-ending knee injury and the decision to add one SSP player (Sandy Brock) and keep one spot available.

The recent ACL injuries to Charlie Ballard at Gold Coast and Reef McInnes at Collingwood have also opened list spots for both of those clubs.

Brisbane’s hope to get Lincoln McCarthy back deeper in the season by supporting his more radical knee surgery option means it is unlikely he would be placed on the inactive list to open a spot.

Melbourne, Carlton and Adelaide filled their lists with late SSP rookie signings.

Clubs can open spots right up until the days before the draft due to season-ending injuries and early retirements. Last year there were 19 picks used.

The mid-season draft has been staged between rounds 11 and 12 over the past four years and will be due for the same this season ahead of the bye rounds beginning.

As revealed in Inside Trading earlier this month, the League could turn to a match ratio ladder to determine the draft order given Gold Coast and Essendon will have played one fewer match due to the postponed Opening Round game. – Callum Twomey

GIANT TO WAIT UNTIL MID-SEASON

GREATER Western Sydney forward Callum Brown will wait until mid-season to assess his contract decision.

The Irishman garnered some rival interest last year and started this season in the Giants’ attack, booting two goals in Opening Round against Collingwood.

He will hold off on any decision until mid-year as he reviews where he is placed in the Giants’ forward pecking order, with clubs continuing to track the athletic 24-year-old.

Brown has played 44 games since debuting in 2021, with a squeeze coming in the Giants’ forward half this week with the return of Jesse Hogan and Jake Stringer from injury.

Inside Trading revealed this month the Giants had opened talks with Xavier O’Halloran, with Leek Aleer and Wade Derksen among the other remaining out-of-contract Giants. – Callum Twomey

RULE TWEAK ADDS CARRYOVER CASH

CARRYOVER emergencies will now collect match payments in 2025, increasing the earning capacity of players on the fringe.

Clubs often travel with a 24th player in the event of a late change, sometimes sending that player back as soon as the game starts so they can play in the reserves.

In an amendment to the collective bargaining agreement, players who are held over from a VFL, SANFL or WAFL game and don’t end up playing AFL, will now be paid under a sliding scale.

Sydney’s Caleb Mitchell is the first player to qualify under this change after being the travelling emergency to Perth on the weekend.

West Coast’s Harvey Johnston also travelled to Brisbane as a carryover, but like Collingwood’s Ed Allan a week earlier, doesn’t qualify because the WAFL season hasn’t started yet and practice matches don’t count.

First-year players who were selected in the top 10 will collect 70 per cent of their match payment. Every other player from the 2024 draft will be paid 50 per cent of their match payment, which is typically $4000 or $5000.

For all other players, another formula is used for carryover emergencies. If they played zero senior games last year, they will collect 50 per cent of their match payment, which rises to 90 per cent for those who played 16+ in 2024. – Josh Gabelich

AFL ACADEMY FACES VFL TEAMS

THIS year’s top draft talents will come together for two clashes against VFL opponents as part of the Mash AFL Academy’s program over the next month.

The AFL Academy will play Richmond’s VFL side at RSEA Park on Sunday, April 13 at 1.30pm in the first of the side’s VFL clashes for this year under coach Tarkyn Lockyer.

Then, two weeks later, the Academy is slated to play Coburg’s VFL side on Sunday, April 27.

The games have been a key part of the Academy’s talent program and give the prospects an insight into matches against senior opposition while playing alongside the best talent in the country, with the matches also valuable for recruiters in assessing the players in the step up.

The likes of Levi Ashcroft, Josh Smillie, Luke Trainor and Xavier Lindsay were among the first-round picks to impress in the Academy’s two games last season against Footscray’s VFL and Coburg. – Callum Twomey

INJURY SETBACK FOR DRAFTEE

SANDRINGHAM midfielder Jack Dalton will miss the start of the Coates Talent League after fracturing his forearms in a gym accident.

But Dalton is already progressing well in his recovery from the injury and is targeting a return for Vic Metro at the under-18 championships.

Dalton showed his elite running capacity recently at the Talent League testing day earlier this month, finishing second overall in the yo-yo test after reaching level 22.4.

That came before the unfortunate injury setback, which will see the hard-working and diligent midfielder miss the early stages of the CTL season. Dalton already has been on the radar since his under-16s season.

Sandringham starts its CTL campaign against the Western Jets on Sunday at RSEA Park but the Dragons don’t enter the year with the same likely number of early picks as recent seasons, having claimed three consecutive under-18 premierships. – Callum Twomey

ANOTHER ESSENDON ACADEMY PROSPECT EMERGES

AN EYE-CATCHING performance from Adam Sweid over the weekend has seen the Essendon Next Generation Academy talent emerge as a draft prospect.

In a trial game for the Calder Cannons against the Western Jets, Sweid, who missed last year with an ACL injury suffered at the end of 2023, took the eye of recruiters with his speed and workrate. He booted a goal from around 20 disposals.

The Bombers have first call on Sweid under NGA rules, with the club already having an eye on his Calder Cannons teammate Hussien El Achkar, who also qualifies under NGA rules. Both are of Lebanese descent.

Essendon’s access to the small forward/midfield pair will be a potential boost to their small forward stocks, with last year’s NGA graduate Isaac Kako already impressing in his first two AFL games.

El Achkar has been training with the Bombers this week as part of the Academy program and has shown his lively streak across recent seasons, having also been able to shift into the midfield at times. El Achkar kicked four goals in the trial match last week in a standout showing.

Sweid was viewed as a possible draft smokey after missing all of last season in his knee recovery but has sprung up quickly, with the Cannons to face the Oakleigh Chargers on Sunday at RSEA Park in the first round of the Coates Talent League. – Callum Twomey