Next week will be the start of the 2009 AFL Trade Week.
Things we already know, Joel Bowden and Kane Johnson have retired and Nathan Brown, Kayne Pettifer, Mark Coughlan, Cleve Hughes and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls have all been delisted.
Also Shane Tuck and Andrew Raines are both been informed they will be traded, Raines is set to be traded to Brisbane for a third round pick, at this stage Richmond still need to find a partner to trade Tuck.
On a coaching front new head coach Damien Hardwick has given the marching orders to Jade Rawlings, Craig McRae, David King, and Brian Royal. The only coach that Hardwick has kept around is Wayne Campbell who has two years remaining on his current contract.
Both Ben Cousins and Matthew Richardson will be back next week season, Richmond also has extended the contract of vice-captain Nathan Foley and re-signed Will Thursfield and Andrew Collins.
The unavailability of 17-year-olds with the Gold Coast having access to the best 12 in the country, has AFL teams recruiters declaring the 2009 national draft to be somewhat thin after the first fifteen odd picks.
Because of this it is going to be one of the busiest trade week in history with many well known players around the league being thrown around as trade bait as all teams try to improve their list, players like Luke Ball, Leon Davis, Shaun Burgoyne and Chris Tarrant.
Then there is players like Bulldog Brian Lake who might go into the draft of a new contract can’t be worked out and of course the Blue’s Brendan Fevola who now looks like he may be on the way out, with his monster contract number there is only one or two clubs who could potentially trade for him. Don’t be surprised if he returns to Carlton.
Next week should be fun to watch.
