The 12 influential figures who will shape the 2025 Trade Period

HERE IT comes.

The Grand Final now done, the premiers now crowned, the football world turns its attention fully to the start of the exchange period.

The free agency window will open on Friday ahead of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period starting on Monday week.

Before a bumper player movement period kicks off, AFL.com.au has made its now annual list of the 12 most influential figures (not in any order) set to shape the trade period.

They are the players, agents, coaches and list bosses who will define what happens between now and the final minutes of deadline day on Wednesday, October 15.

Zach Merrett

Essendon has been adamant again as recently as last week that Merrett would not be going nowhere in this year's trade period. But how much harder and stronger will the gun Bombers midfielder push to leave the club after his meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell earlier this month? He has laid out his concerns and is hunting success as he turns 30 this week. He will attend this Friday's best and fairest, where he is expected to win his sixth Crichton Medal, but then the watch will be if he lodges an official trade request to get to the Hawks, who are his plan A, B and C despite Adelaide and other clubs enquiring. New Bombers president Andrew Welsh last week reiterated Merrett was going nowhere, leaving it over to the Hawks to get a deal done or for Merrett to walk back into the club.

Robbie D'Orazio

D'Orazio, as Charlie Curnow's agent at Connors Sports Management, will be central to this year's trade moves as Curnow tries to get out of Carlton and land at one of Geelong, Sydney or Gold Coast. Carlton has known about Curnow's frustrations and intent to move clubs for three months, and has made clear it wouldn't be open to letting him go unless quality A-grade players are coming back the other way. Sydney has been keenest so far on Curnow, but no significant talks have eventuated. Along with agent Paul Connors, D'Orazio has other players on the move – Jayden Laverde to Greater Western Sydney and Will Brodie to Port Adelaide – and the Suns are also looking at Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. But brokering a deal for Curnow to move, with four years running on his deal, will be D'Orazio's biggest task.

Dom Ambrogio

The significant chunk of Ambrogio's work has been done in recent months and will come to fruition from Friday, when the free agency window opens and Oscar Allen and Sam Draper officially join Brisbane. But the Lions - and their list manager - won't stop there. Jordan Ridley won't be coming, after committing to staying at Essendon, but the back-to-back premiers have their eyes on Gold Coast's Connor Budarick and could pivot elsewhere after the Ridley deal did not eventuate. Two-time flag winner Callum Ah Chee is expected to lodge a trade request to get to Adelaide, which will see negotiations on his value drag out, while Brandon Starcevich is weighing up a move to West Coast. If he heads there, it would be done as a trade so the Eagles don't dilute their Allen compensation pick. Ambrogio and the Lions will be in the thick of a few deals, whilst also keeping points up his sleeve to match a bid on top-five prospect Dan Annable at the draft.

Stephen Silvagni

St Kilda is the big swinger in this year's exchange period. They have gone whack and are looking to land five new faces to their list. Free agents Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni have been secured, while a trade for Greater Western Sydney defender Leek Aleer is making progress and will involve future picks. The same looks likely for Liam Ryan, who wants to join the club, while the Saints have their first pick – No.7 overall – on the table for Gold Coast midfielder Sam Flanders, who they met last week in Melbourne. Rowan Marshall is keen to get to Geelong, so seeing the price St Kilda list boss Silvagni and the Saints put on his head will be a key factor in the trade window, while St Kilda gun defender Callum Wilkie has the Western Bulldogs chasing him hard and the backman is weighing up their four-year offer. St Kilda - and Silvagni - will be front and centre of this year's trade window.

Damien Hardwick

How patient is Hardwick? It will be a question – and answer – that will shape this year's off-season. How close does the Gold Coast coach believe his Suns are from taking the next step after their semi-final loss to Brisbane, and does that mean landing a big name like Charlie Curnow or Christian Petracca? Curnow likes the idea of the Suns and it's mutual, but Gold Coast isn't prepared to trade one of its young guns - like Jed Walter, Bailey Humphrey or Ethan Read - to get it done. The Suns have tracked Petracca closely, too, in the past two seasons and this time he is considering more options outside Victoria. Both Curnow and Petracca have four years on their respective million-dollar deals, so their clubs hold the whip hand. The Suns have put forward their interest in Jamie Elliott, while they have four players either considering moves or on the way out – Sam Flanders, Brayden Fiorini, Malcom Rosas and Connor Budarick. How close Hardwick thinks his Suns are will be a driving force in coming weeks, including whether to take a punt on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

Nick Austin

It is a very big few weeks for the Carlton list manager. Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni have left the Blues for significant free agency deals at St Kilda, and Charlie Curnow wants out. The Blues have had three players request trades to join them – Campbell Chesser from West Coast, Liam Reidy from Fremantle and Buku Khamis from the Western Bulldogs – and must do it all whilst protecting their draft hand for this year to match an early bid for father-son Harry Dean, and also gain some more draft collateral for next year to match an even earlier bid on 2026 prospect Cody Walker. That's why their De Koning compensation pick (set to land at No.10) is on the trade table. How Austin and the Blues navigate their ins and outs, whilst holding firm on a high price for the wantaway Curnow, will be a big part of the overall trade machinations.

Christian Petracca

A focal point last off-season, Petracca is again in the spotlight but this year as one of a number of high-profile names looking at his options. With four years left to run on his contract, the Melbourne midfielder would need the Dees to agree to a trade for him to move, but there is a sense among rivals that a move is more likely than last year. Adelaide is pursuing Petracca, and Gold Coast has also been interested, while the Norm Smith medallist has Hawthorn as a potential landing spot as well. Petracca, who turns 30 in January, finished second in Melbourne's best and fairest and has plenty of football left in him as he finds himself in the web of big name midfielders looking at new homes.

Ned Guy

The figure that fans won't see, but one who is crucial to the workings of the trade and free agency period. Guy, formerly a player agent and Collingwood's list manager, has been the AFL's player movement boss for four years and leads all things behind the scenes. Clubs go to him for advice on rules and regulations, he is a part of the online meetings clubs hold when every trade is lodged and on deadline day he leads the League's team in making sure every transaction is processed correctly and above board. Plus, with an eye on some big free agency compensation calls this year with Oscar Allen, Sam Draper, Jack Silvagni and more, Guy will be central in delivering the picks for the clubs with outgoing players.

Tom Petroro

As Merrett's agent at TGI Sport, Petroro is charged with navigating the most high profile and controversial move in some years if the Essendon skipper is to jump ship to arch-rival Hawthorn whilst under contract. How that deal would look and get done is difficult to envisage now given Essendon's strong public stance, but it will require plenty of manoeuvring to see how all the pieces of the trade puzzle fit. Petroro will have that view as the head of the TGI agency, which has Judd McVee wanting to join Fremantle, Brandon Starcevich weighing up West Coast's offer, Sam Flanders keen to return to Victoria, Jamie Elliott considering his future and the likes of Jack Silvagni and Charlie Spargo already locked in to free agency moves.

David Trotter

It looms as a busy trade period for player manager Trotter, who has been in contact with clubs about their interest in North Melbourne skipper Jy Simpkin, who is exploring a move from the club as he looks for more midfield time. With four years to go on a lucrative contract at the Roos, it shapes as an intriguing trade watch. Trotter also has a stack of other players in the mix for moves under his watch at Hemisphere Management Group, with Rowan Marshall keen to get to Geelong and Melbourne's Steven May told to look for a third club, despite being contracted at the Dees for next year. Trotter also looks after young Hawks pair Sam Butler, who is receiving strong interest from West Coast, and Jai Serong, who has Essendon and North Melbourne interested, while Zane Duursma has been frustrated at the Roos. Trotter will be one of the busiest agents right up until deadline day.

Sam Mitchell

The Hawks won't stand still. And their coach is at the head of that approach and mindset in every way, including the club's aggressive pursuit of opposition stars. After Hawthorn's preliminary final loss, where the screws were turned on midfield gun Jai Newcombe, the coach conceded adding star power to his engine room made sense. It is why the club caught up with Zach Merrett and want him to be its difference maker, having already been linked to interest in Zak Butters this year and also offered Harley Reid an 11-year deal. The Hawks look set to lose James Worpel as a free agent to Geelong, but will not want to go into 2026 without having improved their midfield. Merrett is priority No.1, with Christian Petracca also a consideration.

Tim Lamb

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