Pies work on Oliver, Marshall talks continue, Crows firm on Ah Chee deal

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PIES TO CONTINUE OLIVER WORK

COLLINGWOOD will continue to work through its interest in Clayton Oliver, as the Melbourne midfielder weighs up whether he wants to head to Greater Western Sydney or stay in Victoria.

AFL.com.au revealed on Monday the Pies had emerged as a suitor for the 28-year-old.

The Magpies are set to step up their work on Oliver and what it would cost from a trade and contract point of view, considering the premiership Demon has five years left to run on his contract at Melbourne.

He met with Greater Western Sydney on Friday while in Sydney and has the Pies now considering their play for him.

"We're just going through our due diligence on that one. It obviously came through late last week, so we got the call from his management and thought we'd definitely do the work. It's a position of need for us so on face value, it's something to look into," Pies list boss Justin Leppitsch told Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio.

The Pies and Demons have had early conversations about Oliver, who is a regular trainer at their AIA Centre facility next door to Melbourne's AAMI Park headquarters.

"We had a brief chat with Melbourne about what a deal could look like. We want to get through the first parts – is he good for Collingwood and vice versa?" Leppitsch said.

Oliver's likely move from the Demons after being told to explore his options last week makes him one of the biggest names set to shift clubs, with the Giants also remaining interested. Their recruiting boss Adrian Caruso told Trade Radio the club was waiting to hear if Oliver was keen to head there.

"There's no doubt that given we were on the front foot trying to organise a meeting for Friday there is a level of interest at our end, but Clayton has a bit to work through himself and we're in the same boat," Caruso said. – Callum Twomey

MARSHALL TALKS CONTINUE

GEELONG and St Kilda have kicked off talks about a trade for Rowan Marshall, with the Saints expected to target a future pick as part of a deal.

The clubs spoke on Saturday and again on Monday around a potential deal sending Marshall to the Cats after his trade request became official last Friday.

The Cats hold picks No.18, 39, 59 and 77 in this year's pool and are remaining hopeful they can entice Charlie Curnow to the club, with their later draft hand meaning the Saints would be likely to focus on a future pick as part of trade talks.

"I had a chat to 'SOS' (Saints list manager Stephen Silvagni) on Saturday just to get something going a bit, but we'll follow up from that today and get a read on the situation," Cats head of football Andrew Mackie told Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio on Monday.

"He's got two years to go so they're never easy to do, they're a bit complex, but our intention is to try and bring Rowan in and we'll see how we go with that." – Callum Twomey

CROWS RULE OUT FIRST PICK FOR CAL

ADELAIDE has taken its first-round pick off the table in trade talks with Brisbane over a deal for Cal Ah Chee.

But the Crows have thrown open the possibility of shuffling their top pick, or getting other clubs involved, as they look to secure a move for the two-time premiership Lion.

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Ah Chee has already requested a trade to Adelaide, where he will take up a five-year offer, but the club has a gap in its draft hand after its initial No.15 pick.

The Crows also have picks No.47, 54, 56, 72 and 74, as well as their full suite of future selections, saying they'll be "open-minded" to moving picks around in order to get their deals done.

"It certainly won't be our first-round pick, that's for sure," Adelaide list boss Justin Reid said when quizzed on Ah Chee's trade price.

"There's a fair bit going on around us as well. We'll try and work in with some of those deals and see how we can better that hand."

Brisbane is likely to put a high price on Ah Chee, who played on a wing during the side's Grand Final victory over Geelong last month after starring roles at either end of the field during his six seasons at the club.

"His value is really high," Lions list boss Dom Ambrogio said.

"He's a two-time premiership player. He's played six years at our footy club and I think he's played in something like 90 wins in that time. He is a really versatile player, he plays a lot of roles and he's really selfless.

"If it feels like I'm listing his CV because I think he's really valuable, that's because I am. We really think he is very valuable. We'll work through that with the Crows and I'm sure we'll come to a conclusion that's mutually beneficial." – Riley Beveridge

NO IFS OR BUTTS

JORDON Butts is expected to remain at Adelaide after attracting interest from Victorian clubs ahead of his free agency season in 2026.

The Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne have explored a trade for the key defender in recent weeks to fill a hole in defence.

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Butts started and ended the 2025 season in the SANFL, playing 10 senior games around a five-week layoff due to a collapsed lung, before playing reserves in September while Matthew Nicks' team played two finals.

The 25-year-old has one year left on his contract and the Crows have made it clear they don't want to lose Butts.

The Western Bulldogs have been actively pursuing a key defender, meeting Jack Silvagni before he made his free agency call to join St Kilda, before pivoting to try and prise Cal Wilkie out of the Saints.

Butts was also considered by the Bulldogs – and they held conversations with the Crows – but they aren't planning on pursuing the contracted backman.

With Jack Buckley re-signing with Greater Western Sydney last month, Butts is set to be one of the most attractive key defenders in next year's free agency pool, along with Richmond’s Ben Miller. – Josh Gabelich

BOMBERS TO USE FUTURE PICK FOR SUN

ESSENDON is likely to part with a future third or fourth-round pick to land Brayden Fiorini so the club's free agency pick for losing Sam Draper is not diluted.

Fiorini made his decision on Monday to join the Bombers, having weighed offers from Port Adelaide and Gold Coast, before deciding on taking up the Essendon deal.

The Bombers gained an end-of-first round pick (currently No.20) for losing Draper to Brisbane and will execute a trade to get Fiorini so their Draper compensation pick doesn't lose value.

Under free agency rules, compensation picks are a result of net results of free agency, so if a player comes in as a free agent then the compensation for losing one is deemed less so.

A future third or fourth-rounder is expected to be sent to the Suns for Fiorini, who has been identified to play on Essendon's wing and to bring leadership to the Bombers. – Callum Twomey

DOCKERS LOOK TO SHUFFLE PICKS FOR MCVEE

FREMANTLE has started conversations with Melbourne on a move for wantaway defender Judd McVee, with the club open to moving picks around to help facilitate a deal.

The Dockers are currently due to start the draft with picks No.12 and 33, though McVee's value is expected to fall somewhere in between those initial selections.

But Fremantle is exploring ways to shuffle its top picks in order to satisfy Melbourne in a trade, after McVee requested a move late last month following almost 18 months spent weighing up a call on his future.

"It's still early days," Fremantle list manager David Walls told Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio.

"We're going to be open to a lot of different scenarios. Obviously, there's a fair bit to play out beforehand. But we'll look to move some picks around to try and find a compromise where both parties are happy."

Melbourne started conversations with McVee around a potential contract extension in 2024, with the defender ultimately opting to return home to Western Australia despite the prospect of a two-year deal to remain at the Demons.

"We're disappointed with that one. We've been trying to recontract Judd since the middle of last year," Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb said.

"We'll wait and see. We've had a couple of quick chats with Fremantle about that and we'll work through that over the coming days." – Riley Beveridge

THE DEVILS DOZEN

TASMANIA will be able to sign up to 12 17-year-old talents ahead of the 2027 and 2028 drafts in a significant detail to the Devils' list build concessions.

The AFL last week formally announced its list build rules for the club ahead of its proposed entry into the competition in 2028.

The League has given the Devils the ability to pre-list players in their 17th year, spread across two years, but did not reveal how many prospects that would be.

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However, it can be revealed as 12 across the two seasons, meaning the Devils have a leg-up on Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney's concessions, given both of those clubs only had one year's worth of access to 17-year-old signings.

That meant that the Giants had a significant advantage on the Suns given their draft crop that year was better than the Gold Coast haul.

Adam Treloar, Jeremy Cameron and Dylan Shiel were among the 17-year-old signings for the Giants before they reached draft age.

Players will be able to be approached by the Devils to sign as 17-year-olds and have the option to do so, but if they opt against and choose to wait until their draft the following season, the Devils will still have the chance to draft them with their big draft haul. – Callum Twomey

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