The 2025 AFL Trade Period is done and dusted – and have we ever seen a more dramatic end to deadline day?
A host of deals, as always, went through in the dying embers of the final day as clubs finally got their act together – but this Trade Period seems destined to be remembered more for the moves that didn’t get done rather than those that did.
Zach Merrett’s ill-fated trade attempt to Hawthorn is, of course, the daddy of them all, but Rowan Marshall was another big name as Geelong, surprisingly, struck out on their two main targets – the St Kilda ruckman, and Charlie Curnow, who Carlton ended up sending to Sydney for a far better offer.
On the other side of the coin, St Kilda made good on their promise to be aggressive, landing four key new faces to go along with the freshly re-signed Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera and re-committed Callum Wilkie; while a pair of contenders seem set to go from strength to strength.
Here’s your official trade period wrap, where I rank every team’s performance from 1 to 18.
>> Check out the full list of 2025 trades
1. Gold Coast
IN: Christian Petracca (MELB), Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (WB)
OUT: Ben Ainsworth (CARL), Connor Budarick (WB), Sam Flanders (STK), Malcolm Rosas (SYD)
2025 Draft Picks: 15, 18, 24, 28, 29, 36, 52, 92, 110
Three years ago, I deemed Gold Coast ‘bumbling idiots’ after a horror Trade Period saw them give up Jack Bowes and their first-round pick in the deal, so dire was their salary cap situation.
Fast forward to now, off the back of their first finals appearance, and the Suns might have just made the trade move that wins them a flag.
Christian Petracca, for all the difficulties he endured in his last two years at Melbourne, is a bona fide matchwinner, and the Suns’ midfield has the depth to use him in a far more attacking role than the Demons could ever afford to. It’s a huge coup, having beaten out Adelaide to secure his signature, and well worth the significant draft pick price paid.
But the Suns didn’t just achieve that – they also ensured, thanks to the loss of Sam Flanders, Connor Budarick and Ben Ainsworth – all good, solid players but ultimately replaceable – that the trade for Petracca didn’t rob them of the picks they’ll need to match a bid for Academy gun Zeke Uwland.
The cherry on top? A perfect no-lose scenario for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, on essentially a base wage and with no lock-in beyond 2026 should he spiral. At worst, they gave up pick 74 for him; at best, the Suns have got a game-changing forward on their hands (and some insurance should Ben King test the trade waters in a year’s time).
Well done, Suns.
Grade: A+
2. St Kilda
IN: Tom De Koning (CARL), Sam Flanders (GCS), Liam Ryan (WCE), Jack Silvagni (CARL)
OUT: Max Heath (MELB), Jack Steele (MELB)
2025 Draft Picks: 50, 65, 86, 104
St Kilda’s message throughout the year was that it was time to be bold and try to force their way up the ladder – and their Trade Period certainly followed through.
The Saints promised plenty – and risked alienating their playing group – to bring in Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni, with the result a need to placate Callum Wilkie with extra money and retain Rowan Marshall against his will.
The uncertainty over the latter has cost the Saints top spot in these rankings, but it’s the only blemish – even not following through on trading for Leek Aleer, while morally questionable, makes perfect sense, given they committed to him before Sam Flanders and Silvagni became available and their contract offer to him was questionable to begin with.
Losing Jack Steele was a sad end to the Trade Period, but they did secure him a home he’s happy with, and free up the midfield to be taken over by Flanders and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. Already, it looks a stronger crop.
You’d be hard-pressed to leave the Saints out of your eight next season – more than anyone else, their list looks substantially improved by their trade haul.
Grade: A+
3. Sydney
IN: Charlie Curnow (CARL), Malcolm Rosas (GCS), Jai Serong (HAW)
OUT: Jack Buller (COLL), Ollie Florent (CARL), Will Hayward (CARL)
2025 Draft Picks: 31, 32, 42, 63, 88, 106
Of the three major trades that went down to the final minutes on deadline day, Sydney were the only ones to stick the landing.
Why? Frankly, they were the only ones keen enough on their target – Charlie Curnow – to make an offer beyond draft picks for his services. Losing a rock-solid contributor in Will Hayward is a blow, while the Swans’ draft haul has also been hit hard for the next few years – but the reward is a two-time Coleman Medallist who continues a long list of champion forwards to take to the SCG, from Warwick Capper to Tony Lockett to Barry Hall to Lance Franklin.
Curnow’s arrival ensures the Swans don’t lose out from having Jack Buller depart to Collingwood, Jai Serong offers an at times threadbare backline some depth, especially with Dane Rampe nearing the end, and Malcolm Rosas as a nippy small forward was an early-identified target they followed through on swiftly. Who’s to know how much they gain from having Hayward and Ollie Florent’s long-term contracts off the books, either.
With Charles in charge up front, the Swans look a good bet to improve dramatically from missing the finals in 2025. How much they rise might depend on the former Blue, who could easily be their own Jeremy Cameron … or prove an all-time bust.
Grade: A
Far bit to play out… fair bit to look forward to. 2026 loading
— Sydney Swans (@sydneyswans) October 15, 2025
4. Brisbane
IN: Oscar Allen (WCE), Sam Draper (ESS)
OUT: Brandon Starcevich (WCE)
2025 Draft Picks: 17, 23, 44, 51, 59, 68, 79, 97, 115
By the end of Week 1, Brisbane were clearly the number one seed in these rankings.
Not only had they secured Oscar Allen and Sam Draper, key pillars slotting right into next year’s best 22, for nothing via free agency, they’d also made the very best of Brandon Starcevich’s departure by wrangling a top-25 pick out of West Coast for him.
The planets aligned perfectly for the Lions, and consequently they should have no trouble matching a high bid for Academy gun Dan Annable.
The only blemish? Their inability to get a trade done with Adelaide for Callum Ah Chee, meaning, in all likelihood, he will join the Crows in the pre-season draft and leave the Lions with zilch, when at least a future second- and third-rounder would have earned them something in return.
More than that, there’s something about forcing a two-time premiership hero leaving for pretty understandbale financial reasons to go through the uncertainty of six more weeks of waiting that feels rather disrespectful, and frankly, very un-Brisbane like.
Grade: A
5. GWS
IN: Clayton Oliver (MELB)
OUT: Jacob Wehr (PA)
2025 Draft Picks: 12, 35, 91, 109
We’ll find out in due course just how much of Clayton Oliver’s substantial salary the Giants are leaving on Melbourne’s books, but securing a player who, at his rather recent peak, was one of the premier midfielders in the game for a future third-rounder is the type of bargain that would have been scarcely believable even 12 months ago.
With Josh Kelly to miss much of 2025, Oliver should walk into the Giants’ best midfield, and a fresh start outside the Victorian bubble should do him the world of good, just as it has for old teammate Jesse Hogan. If he can return to even three-quarters of the player he was, GWS will have an incredible bargain on their hands.
That and that alone meant the Giants’ Trade Period was a success, but they were also handed another break when St Kilda withdrew their offer for Leek Aleer, a player they were always happy to retain – and at a substantially lower price than what the Saints were offering.
Jacob Wehr, as a fringe player, is no big loss, either.
Grade: A
6. Essendon
IN: Brayden Fiorini (GCS)
OUT: Sam Draper (BL)
2025 Draft Picks: 5, 6, 21, 27, 30, 83, 101
Let’s focus first on the player that actually moved: getting a top-25 compensation pick for Sam Draper is more than handy for the Bombers, given he has been out the door for six months and hasn’t played since doing his knee back near the start of the year.
Brayden Fiorini, too, cost next to nothing for a genuine best-22 player to fill an outside midfield void – and as a genuine ball magnet at his best, he’ll be a major asset complementing Sam Durham, Jye Caldwell and that bloke in No.7 on the inside. Two picks in the top 10, courtesy of a trade with Melbourne last year, is likewise a boost for the rebuilding Bombers.
Of course, the most divisive part of Essendon’s Trade Period was the brouhaha surrounding Zach Merrett over the last month, and specifically the chaos that unfolded over the last two days as Hawthorn tried to get a deal done.
The critics will say, not without cause, that the Dons are idiots for holding onto a 30-year old that doesn’t want to be there whose value will only go down from here, like Clayton Oliver at Melbourne, and they’re condemning their list to a toxic influence that could make their attempted rebuild all the more painful.
But you know what? Kudos to the Dons – they made their stance clear from the moment Merrett’s meeting with Sam Mitchell became public, didn’t waver, demanded a quality player from the Hawks which never ensued, and in the end refused to bow to the pressure of getting a deal done, as so many previously strong positions have when push has come to shove. One has to wonder whether Adrian Dodoro would have shown the balls that Matt Rosa has in his first major test as Dons list manager.
Also, the sheer audacity of going back to Hawthorn with five minutes to go in the Trade Period and asking for FOUR first-rounders for him? That’s a middle finger if ever I’ve seen one.
Grade: B+
Zach Merrett contemplates another year at Essendon. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
7. Port Adelaide
IN: Will Brodie (FREM), Corey Durdin (CARL), Jacob Wehr (GWS)
OUT: Nil
2025 Draft Picks: 49, 85
Oh yeah, Port Adelaide were involved in this Trade Period!
The quiet achievers of the last two weeks, the Power never looked likely to have anyone leave – they and Zak Butters were firm on their stance throughout despite the expected scuttlebutt surrounding his future – and while none of the three players they added move the needle much, you’d expect all to be best 22 in Round 1 next year.
Brodie is an inside bull and ball magnet who adds some badly needed depth to Port’s midfield beyond Butters and Jason Horne-Francis, while Durdin is a low-risk option as a pressure small forward to help fill the void left by Willie Rioli. Jacob Wehr, you’d expect, will make a wing his own.
Port don’t have anything like a decent pick at this year’s draft – but given they seem likely to try to trade out pick 49, it seems they’ve already given up on the looming crop.
Grade: B+
8. Richmond
IN: Patrick Retschko (GEEL)
OUT: Tylar Young (WCE)
2025 Draft Picks: 3, 4, 38, 81
The Tigers promised on Day 1 of the Trade Period that they’d be very inactive – in stark contrast to last year’s empahtic blowing up of the joint – and they were as good as their word.
Getting pick 38 for Tylar Young off the back of just seven games in 2025 is a handy bit of business – especially if the Tigers can land a bargain at the draft – while God knows if Patrick Retschko is any good (he’s the most anonymous traded player I can remember), but for pick 99, they’ve basically just saved themselves the trouble of needing to take him in the rookie draft.
To be honest, the Tigers aren’t in a position to start trading to fill needs yet – with picks 3 and 4 in the draft courtesy of last year’s swap with North Melbourne, Richmond’s focus is still firmly on stockpiling young talent.
Grade: B+
9. West Coast
IN: Brandon Starcevich (BL), Tylar Young (RICH)
OUT: Oscar Allen (BL), Campbell Chesser (CARL), Liam Ryan (STK)
2025 Draft Picks: 1, 2, 13, 34, 41, 53, 58, 80, 98
File this under ‘making the best of a bad situation’.
The optics of the captain of the wooden spooner heading to the reigning premiers are seriously ugly, and with question marks over this draft, who knows if pick 2 is the windfall it appears – though it gives them the best chance of profiting from Oscar Allen’s loss.
They overpaid, by all accounts, for Brandon Starcevich and Tylar Young, just as they did for Liam Baker last year – but the lure of adding players to the game’s worst list who want to be there must be hard to turn down. Liam Ryan’s loss is one more farewelled piece of their 2018 premiership team, while they should be annoyed to lose Campbell Chesser just when he was starting to emerge as an AFL-standard prospect.
Grade: B
10. Fremantle
IN: Judd McVee (MELB)
OUT: Will Brodie (PA), Liam Reidy (FREM)
2025 Draft Picks: 20, 47, 69, 90, 103, 108
The Dockers could easily be further up on this list – but to be honest, this Trade Period doesn’t move the needle a whole lot for a team that needs a deep September run in 2026.
Brodie and Reidy’s departure barely causes a ripple, while McVee is certainly in Freo’s best 22; but even though the early 20s pick they gave to get him is more than reasonable, he’s solid as a rock but not a game-changer for a side looking to improve to take the next step up to the big dogs.
Fine and acceptable? Yep. A touch underwhelming? I’d argue yes as well – but you can’t go hard every year.
Grade: B
11. Collingwood
IN: Jack Buller (SYD)
OUT: Brody Mihocek (MELB)
2025 Draft Picks: 39, 45, 56, 61, 77, 95, 113
The Pies are a bit like Fremantle – nothing done in this Trade Period is going to make a material difference to their ladder position in 2026. It’s all down to the stocks on the list already.
Mihocek, a premiership hero, was given easy access to take on a superior offer at Melbourne – Brisbane fans: this is exactly what I’m arguing should have been the process with Callum Ah Chee – while Jack Buller essentially fits straight into his key forward spot, but with his best years ahead rather than behind.
As for Jy Simpkin, the Pies simply didn’t have the draft capital to get a deal done – their offer of a future second-rounder for North Melbourne’s captain was just as laughable as the Roos wanting two first-rounders for him.
Could the Pies have tried to get a first-round pick for, say, a Jordan De Goey? Maybe – but Craig McRae and his team have come too far trusting in the old to start trading out key pieces for youngsters whose best years are too far ahead to matter for this current squad.
Grade: B
12. Western Bulldogs
IN: Connor Budarick (GCS)
OUT: Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (GCS)
2025 Draft Picks: 14, 33, 70, 74, 89, 107
Nearing the bottom of this list, a few teams stand out not for who they signed and who they let go, but rather for what they missed out on.
The Bulldogs are the least disappointing of that group – sure, they didn’t line up a key defender, their most obvious weakness, but their stance on not wanting to deal for a second-tier option like an aged Steven May or contracted Jordon Butts is a reasonable one, while they were always unlikely to land either Callum Wilkie or Jack Silvagni on such short notice. And hey, Sam Frost is always available if they want to take a punt in the rookie draft.
As for who actually arrived and departed, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan’s year has been so stress-inducing for everyone at the kennel that getting his drama off the books and not having to pay him a cent next year might as well be a win at this stage. Connor Budarick, too, is a smart and capable footballer who should fit snugly into the defence and be an upgrade on Luke Cleary or late-career Taylor Duryea – and to do it for the price of sliding two first-round spots in a weak draft was a nice bit of business.
Grade: B
13. North Melbourne
IN: Charlie Spargo (MELB)
OUT: Finnbar Maley (ADEL)
2025 Draft Picks: 25, 26, 46, 57, 82, 100
North have long since given up hope of ever acquiring an A-grader, so it was little surprise that the Roos basically watched on this Trade Period, aside from picking up Charlie Spargo as a free agent – a nice add to a forward line in need of pressure smalls, it must be said.
Letting Finnbar Maley go was a surprise, given the promise he showed as Nick Larkey’s foil at times in 2025, but it makes sense if they’re putting their faith in Cooper Trembath and Matt Whitlock playing that role moving forward.
And if there was ever a year to not have a first-round pick, courtesy of last year’s swap with Richmond, it might be this one!
Grade: B
14. Carlton
IN: Ben Ainsworth (GCS), Campbell Chesser (WCE), Ollie Florent (SYD), Will Hayward (SYD), Liam Reidy (FREM)
OUT: Charlie Curnow (SYD), Tom De Koning (STK), Jack Silvagni (STK)
2025 Draft Picks: 9, 11, 43, 54, 67, 72, 87, 105
Like West Coast, Carlton just about made the best out of a bad situation. They’ve added five players who should slot straight into the best 22 next year – and in a wide array of roles – while two first-round picks in each of the next three years is a surefire way to expedite a rebuild if 2026 goes belly up, and takes Michael Voss with it.
On the other … imagine telling a Blues fan 12 months ago that Charlie Curnow would be out the door. For all the difficulties of his 2025, bona fide matchwinners are hard to find, as are two-time Coleman Medallists. As for how many of his issues are his own and how many are on the heads of midfielders who couldn’t lace him out at the Blues, we’ll find out at Sydney next year.
With Tom De Koning and Jack Silvagni – key pillars both – also out the door, albeit giving a handy compensation pick each, you couldn’t possibly have the Blues as winners this Trade Period. And for a coach who is squarely under the pump going into a new year, Voss would be hard-pressed to argue the squad he currently has is better than the one the Blues started the year with.
Grade: C+
15. Adelaide
IN: Finnbar Maley (NM)
OUT: Nil
2025 Draft Picks: 16, 48, 55, 64, 73, 75, 93, 111
This would have been a solid B had the Crows stuck the landing for Callum Ah Chee with the deal offered to Brisbane – they were well within their rights to stand firm, and should get him for even cheaper in the pre-season draft, but it doesn’t qualify as part of the Trade Period, so it’s out of the jurisdiction of my rankings.
The Crows’ chances of getting an A ended with Christian Petracca choosing Gold Coast instead – and it was a touch underwhelming, considering how desperately they need A-grade midfielders, that they didn’t have a serious crack at anyone else. Why not try and make an offer for Jordan De Goey, or even a James Rowbottom … or maybe, just maybe, see if Zach Merrett only had eyes for Hawthorn?
Even if they’d failed, it would have been a Bulldogs-esque failure – they’d at least have tried something to fix the weakness that cruelled their finals push.
Grade: C+
16. Geelong
IN: James Worpel (HAW)
OUT: Patrick Retschko (RICH)
2025 Draft Picks: 19, 40, 60, 78, 96, 99, 114
Geelong? Miss the landing?
We’ve become so used to seeing the Cats, one way or another, secure their trade targets big and small, that the sight of them leaving the 2025 Trade Period virtually empty-handed was shocking.
It’s the peril of being so good for so long – the Cats just didn’t have good enough picks, or any likelihood of falling to make their future picks more appealing, to satisfy Carlton for Charlie Curnow or St Kilda for Rowan Marshall.
James Worpel is an interesting get as a free agent given how well the Cats’ midfield functioned in 2025 – does he play alongside Tom Atkins, or allow Mark Blicavs to play more key-position roles, or does Chris Scott have something different planned?
It was hardly a failure for the Cats – but if missing out on Curnow is understandable, they might end up kicking themselves for not going a bit harder for Marshall, a player who could significantly move the needle for them as a No.1 ruckman.
Grade: C
17. Melbourne
IN: Max Heath (STK), Changkuoth Jiath (HAW), Brody Mihocek (COLL), Jack Steele (STK)
OUT: Judd McVee (FREM), Clayton Oliver (GWS), Christian Petracca (GCS), Charlie Spargo (NM)
2025 Draft Picks: 7, 8, 37, 66, 71, 84, 102
Is this where Essendon will be in 12 months’ time?
After talking a big game and holding Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca to their contracts, seeing both premiership heroes walk out the door – and Oliver for next to nothing – must be painful to witness for Demons fans.
This is still a controversial spot to have the Dees – there’s a reasonable argument they did very well, given they added three first-round picks, including two in the top 10, for Petracca, plus added a capable Oliver replacement in Jack Steele for the same price they lost their champion mid for, and with significantly less off-field baggage.
All the same, it feels like mixed messaging from the Dees: on the one hand, their draft haul suggests investing in youth, as does moving on Oliver and Petracca … but then why trade for a rapidly ageing Brody Mihocek, or even Steele for that matter?
I’ve ranked Hawthorn and Richmond near the bottom of these rankings in recent years for trading out stars en masse to fast-track a rebuild. I have no qualms about judging Melbourne equally harshly. Let’s see how this all turns out.
Grade: C
A star from the very first moment.
— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) October 15, 2025#DemonSpirit pic.twitter.com/aZRleiJpkY
18 Hawthorn
IN: Nil
OUT: Changkuoth Jiath (MELB), Jai Serong (SYD), James Worpel (GEE)
2025 Draft Picks: 10, 22, 62, 76, 94, 112
Imagine telling a Hawthorn fan at the start of September, a day after Zach Merrett met with Sam Mitchell, that the Hawks would be the only team to end the Trade Period without a single new recruit?
The Hawks are last on this list for two reasons: we’ll get to the Merrett situation in time, but losing Changkuoth Jiath, Jai Serong and James Worpel impacts their depth, with Worpel in particular hurting an already shaky midfield. It’s a step backwards in a league where the main contenders – Gold Coast and Brisbane in particular – are only getting stronger; while an improved draft position shouldn’t matter much for a side in the premiership window right now.
Merrett, though, is the reason the Hawks sit dead last. I have argued, virtually since the Essendon captain was linked to the brown and gold, that it was in their best interest to move heaven and earth to bring him in. He would be an upgrade to every Hawks midfielder, and even the sacrifice of losing a Josh Ward, Connor Macdonald or Mitch Lewis – or even a combination – would have made Hawthorn stronger for the next two years of a serious premiership push.
Maybe they’ll try again in 12 months’ time, and maybe this time they’ll get it done – but Josh Dunkley and Christian Petracca are recent examples of wantaway players who had different homes in their sights a year on from deals falling through. And even if he does arrive, what if it comes a year too late for crucial cogs Jack Gunston and Tom Barrass, and the Hawks miss the boat?
Forget the bad PR of dealing with a rival star and then not getting a deal done. Forget whether the trade offers made to the Bombers were reasonable or not.
Hawthorn had a golden chance to do as they did with Brian Lake in 2012, and add a missing piece to turn them from contenders to premiers. Not sticking the landing could easily cost them a flag.
Grade: D
Tim Millerhttps://https://ift.tt/ynPqe7u Trade Period power rankings: Suns’ finest hour, Saints supreme … but have the Hawks cost themselves a flag?
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