HAWTHORN will consider other proposals for its pick No.9 after Essendon rejected its first official offer for Zach Merrett on Tuesday.

The Hawks put forward their top pick this year, their 2026 first-round selection, a future second-round selection in either 2026 or 2027 and one of pick 62 or young midfielder Henry Hustwaite to land Merrett.

The Bombers responded to the proposed deal after 7pm and have remained resolute on their stance of not trading the six-time Crichton medallist.

“Our position has not changed,” a club spokesperson told AFL.com.au after the Hawks lodged their offer.

The Hawks have thrown up pick swap deals to rivals in recent days that have included trading out pick No.9 for a future first-rounder and will look at options overnight as they head into the final hours of the trade period with Merrett still hoping to join the brown and gold.

Merrett’s hopes of joining the Hawks look set to go down to the final minutes of the trade period on Wednesday as Hawthorn seek different ways of appeasing the Bombers’ high demands for their captain and gun midfielder.

While he has not made an official trade request, the 30-year-old Merrett has made it clear he wants to join the Hawks and did again on Monday when he met with the Bombers and his management. – Callum Twomey

SWANS BUILD CURNOW OFFER

GEELONG knocked back Carlton’s hopes of one of three young guns – Max Holmes, Ollie Dempsey and Connor O’Sullivan – to be a part of its trade offer for Charlie Curnow, as the Swans close in on the Blues star.

The Cats tabled three first-round picks for Curnow last week, having rebuffed the Blues’ hopes of one of their rising stars to be a part of any deal. No other Cats players, including Gryan Miers who has been linked to discussions, have been requested by the Blues.

Geelong has not wanted to include any of its players as part of the play for Curnow, with Sydney pushing Will Hayward and Ollie Florent into considering their futures at the club despite four-year deals on the table.

Hayward and Florent were both reluctant to move clubs but have both come around to being a part of the switch to Carlton, and are parts of the deal Sydney will propose to Carlton for Curnow, alongside pick 11 this year and next year’s first-round selection.

The Swans would be keen to land Curnow and Carlton’s pick No.22 in return. The offer is yet to be tabled with no discussions between the clubs yet on Tuesday.

If the Swans’ future first-round pick and the Blues’ No.22 selection were to almost cancel each other out, with the club likely to be a flag favourite if Curnow heads there, the essence of the deal can be nutted down to Curnow for pick 11, Florent and Hayward.

The pick No.22 element is set to be bartered between the clubs on Wednesday. There are also salary cap implications for the Swans as they manage the potential million-dollar inclusion of Curnow, with Hayward and Florent set to tally more than $1.2 million next year, with the discussions on the financial sides of the deals the anticipated hold-up in the official tabling of any offer to Carlton.

Geelong is expected to renew its interest in Rowan Marshall as well before the deadline strikes, with the ruckman remaining keen to leave St Kilda for the Cats. The Saints have been adamant on keeping Marshall, after knocking back the Cats’ offer of pick 19 last week. – Callum Twomey

GWS MAKE DEES OFFER

GREATER Western Sydney has tabled its future third-round pick for Clayton Oliver as negotiations trickle on over the Melbourne midfielder’s move to the Giants.

The Giants are keen to land Oliver for the cut-price deal, with Melbourne set to contribute a sizeable portion of his remaining five-year contract.

Oliver, 28, met with the Giants shortly after the Demons told him he is free to explore his options as they changed their midfield under new coach Steven King.

He then toured the club and nominated them as his preferred destination ahead of Collingwood, which also spoke to the 205-gamer.

With the financial element of the deal needing to be worked through, the negotiations have so far been slow on Oliver’s move. – Callum Twomey

FUTURE TRADING RULE REMINDER

CLUBS have been reminded they are able to trade any future picks one year in advance without restrictions as huge deals hinge on final-day talks.

Under previous rules before clubs could trade two years in advance, they were only permitted to trade their first-round pick if they held their second- and third-round selections.

However, with this being the first year clubs are allowed to trade two years in advance, those requirements only have to be met for two years down the track.

The AFL has noted these rules at the end of last year to clubs and again earlier this season, but ahead of a frantic last day of the trade period, the League wrote a reminder to clubs they could dip into more selections in 2025.

“We have had several queries confirming the freedom to trade any future selections one year in advance (i.e in 2025 a club is able to trade a 2026 first round, 2026 second round and 2026 third round picks),” the memo said.

“For the sake of clarity … in relation to the relevant national draft one year in advance, a club may trade their future first, second and third round picks without restriction.

“As previously communicated, the restrictions on the ability to trade a future first-round or future second-round and future third-round picks only applies to the national draft two years in advance.” – Callum Twomey

WHY HUMPHREY WANTED VIC MOVE

GOLD Coast trading away other contracted players was the catalyst for Bailey Humphrey attempting to return to Victoria, according to his manager Michael Oakes.

Humphrey met with multiple Victorian clubs in the lead-up to this year’s trade period, including a public catch-up with Melbourne coach Steven King, but Gold Coast has been resolute that its star player will not be leaving.

According to Oakes, Humphrey discussed the possibility of returning to Victoria in a post-season meeting with the Suns, saying their willingness to trade other contracted players made the thought of staying “more difficult” for the youngster.

Humphrey has also drawn interest from Hawthorn, Carlton and Collingwood, as well as Melbourne, but is under contract at Gold Coast through to 2028.

The Suns have traded Sam Flanders (2027) and Ben Ainsworth (2029) during this year’s window, despite both holding existing contracts at the club.

“Bailey’s a contracted player,” Oakes told AFL.com.au‘s Gettable.

“He’s always known that, while contracted, it’s in the club’s digression as to whether they let a player move or not.

“Obviously, we flagged the possibility with the Suns post-season and we were told it wouldn’t happen then. We’ve since seen other contracted players depart the Suns this trade period and that probably has made it a little more difficult in Bailey’s eyes.”

Speculation around Humphrey’s future continues to linger, particularly as Gold Coast’s negotiations with Melbourne around a deal for star midfielder Christian Petracca rumble on, but Oakes said hopes on a move back to Victoria were fading.

“I think the Suns have been consistently resolute in their comments on this,” Oakes said.

“I do understand that clubs come out with default comments at the beginning of the trade period on the availability of players who have requested or discussed trades. As we see, some subsequently do change their mind or change their stance in this period.

“We’ve seen this hasn’t happened with Bailey’s case at the moment. I’d say (he would be at Gold Coast), yes.” – Riley Beveridge

GIANTS PLAN LIST MANOUVRE

GREATER Western Sydney will delist and re-rookie Conor Stone, as the club attempts to juggle its list spots heading into the final 24 hours of the trade period.

The Giants are tight for list spots and will add Clayton Oliver from Melbourne on Wednesday, while they will also have to accommodate Leek Aleer‘s unexpected return.

They have subsequently informed Stone and rival clubs of their plans, with the Giants now aiming to bring the youngster back via the rookie draft despite him holding a contract for 2026.

The move means Stone will be eligible to be picked up by a rival club, but the Giants are confident he will return next season and see out his contract on the rookie list.

The Giants had been planning to use the list mechanism with Stone after Oliver became available earlier in the trade period, while they’re investigating further options given Aleer’s recent situation.

Aleer is set to re-sign at the Giants on a revised three-year contract, after St Kilda pulled its long-held interest in him last week and North Melbourne decided against pursuing a move for him on Tuesday.

The Giants currently have 35 contracted players on their senior list, but will add Oliver and re-sign Aleer before November’s national draft where more youngsters will be added to Adam Kingsley’s group. – Riley Beveridge

DECISION IMMINENT FOR LIONS BOSS

BRISBANE football manager Danny Daly is expected to decide his future in the next 24 hours as he weighs up staying with the premiers or moving to Gold Coast.

As reported by AFL.com.au in September, the Suns have made a bold bid to poach Daly from the Lions following the departure of Wayne Campbell, who has taken up a role with the Swans Academy.

Daly has been in demand over the past 12 months, knocking back approaches from West Coast and Melbourne to apply for its senior coaching positions, while also being approached by Collingwood about replacing Graham Wright as its footy boss.

Now he must decide whether to help Brisbane chase or a three-peat or the Suns hunt an inaugural premiership.

The 59-year-old has been a crucial cog in Brisbane’s back-to-back flag after taking over from David Noble in late 2020.

Daly has been the trusted sidekick to Lions coach Chris Fagan and critical to the club’s culture.

He has a strong relationship with Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick, stemming back to the five years they spent together at Richmond from 2010 to 2014 where Daly coached in a variety of positions.

Brisbane is doing what it can to keep Daly, having already transitioned the CEO role from Greg Swann to Sam Graham and lost forwards coach Stuart Dew to Port Adelaide. – Michael Whiting

FROST LOOKS FOR FOURTH HOME

VETERAN key defender Sam Frost is open to continuing his AFL journey at a fourth club, but is yet to meet with a suitor ahead of the trade deadline.

Clubs searching for key defensive depth will have a chance to sign Frost as a delisted free agent, via the Rookie Draft or during the pre-season supplemental selection period.

North Melbourne, Collingwood, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs are all clubs who have been in the market for a key defender in recent months without signing one.

Frost produced a career-best campaign in 2024, before the arrival of Josh Battle and Tom Barrass resulted in him managing only two senior appearances around 16 for Box Hill in 2025.

Sydney and St Kilda both pursed him last October, but the 32-year-old opted to remain at Hawthorn for the final year of his contract.

“I haven’t spoken to one yet,” Frost said on Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio.

“I do physically feel I could play another couple of years. My body is not what challenged me this year; it was more than mental and emotional challenge of not being in the team. That’s what made this year hard.

“If the right opportunity came up, I’m sure I could play; it was only 12 months ago I was playing the best footy of my career. Having no opportunities in front of me (right now) it’s impossible to know how I’ll feel until one comes.” – Josh Gabelich