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Trade live: Update on Curnow, Petracca, Flanders and more
SEN • September 29th, 2025 12:21 pm
AFL Trade Radio is up and running and hitting the airwaves every day.
Follow us live throughout the trade period and we will bring you all the breaking news.
9:13am - Post-season commences... where do we start?
As the AFL season comes to a close, the action hardly slows as the official AFL Trade Period edges closer and closer. Just one week away from the window's opening, a number of star players have already been rumoured elsewhere, with a handful of free agent commitments and trade requests well and truly underway.
AFL.com.au journalist Josh Gabelich joined Kane Cornes and David King on SEN Fireball to re-cap the player movement pool ahead of next week.
Charlie Curnow
“We heard from Andrew Mackie yesterday on Channel 7, and he confirmed Geelong’s interest in him.
“He said it’s going to be difficult to get a deal done, we know Charlie Curnow would love to get down there, it’s where he is from and it’s his priority.
“It’s still going to be one of the really difficult ones to get done. If it gets done, it’s got the last two, three, four minutes of trade period written all over it. Deadline day, for sure.
“I think he stays at Carlton in the end.”
Early movement
“I think there’s going to be a lot of movement this year. A lot of fringe players move.
“I think we might see a Will Brodie get done fairly swiftly.”
The Fremantle midfielder is expected to join Port Adelaide.
Christian Petracca
“Adelaide clearly looms. They are really interested in Christian Petracca, and he is becoming more and more open to moving interstate.
“That’s been the vibe over the last two to three weeks with him. Gold Coast as well… I think he would have loved to have got to Hawthorn, but they are going to be all in for the duration of the trade period on Zach Merrett.
“It’s going to be hard for them to pivot if he is held to Essendon. He’s contracted, so that’s the tricky bit. I still think it’s a 50/50.”
Zach Merrett
“I still think he gets to Hawthorn in the end.”
Magpies forwards
“I think Jamie Elliott ends up staying at Collingwood. Brody Mihocek, I believe will end up going to Melbourne.
“Collingwood has already raised their offer for Jamie Elliott; they can’t afford to lose him. It would be a disaster if they lost Jamie Elliott.”
Sam Flanders
“Sam Flanders met with four clubs last week in Melbourne – St Kilda, Melbourne, Essendon and Carlton.
“He’s got a couple of offers in; he’s going to wait for all four offers to come to his manager before he makes a decision. Got two years to run with the Gold Coast Suns, but the view is now he’ll return to Victoria and play for one of those clubs.
“I think Melbourne is in the box seat because of his strong relationship with Steven King. I think that certainly helps given the time they spent at the Gold Coats Suns, interim coach at the back end of 2023.
“He needs a fresh start, he wants to play more in the midfield, he’s been squeezed in the last 18 months under Damien Hardwick.
“As Sam Edmund reported late last week, St Kilda has come very hard for Sam Flanders, so that spending spree appears to continue.”
King:“For his football, should he go to St Kilda, or should he go to Melbourne? I just think he’s going to get more opportunity at St Kilda.
Cornes: “St Kilda is a better proposition for him. I’d rather be playing at St Kilda than Melbourne – they seem a complete mess the Dees, don’t they?”
King: “Complete mess is strong.”
Cornes: “Their best player (Christian Petracca) wants out, (Judd) McVee is gone, who’s pulling the strings? New coach comes in… I’d rather go to the Saints.”
King: “I agree.”
Gabelich: “Melbourne is clearly going to be a big talking point in the trade period. They are going to be as active as anyone for who’s coming and who’s going.”
