Collingwood father-son prospect Nick Daicos in action for Oakleigh Chargers earlier this year. Photo: AFL MEDIA

The trade component of the annual AFL exchange period didn’t exactly kick off with a bang on Monday, with just one deal completed.

And it didn’t feature any player swaps, with Collingwood loading up on a whole stack of extra picks this year in order to accumulate enough points to match any bid for promising father-son selection Nick Daicos.

Daicos is widely viewed as the best talent of the 2021 crop of youngsters, and will almost certainly be bid on by North Melbourne or GWS, who currently have picks one and two overall respectively (ironically, GWS received that pick from the Magpies last year in a trade deal).

That expected course of action will require the Magpies to match the bid, and to be able to do that, they need enough equivalent points in the bank.

And they’ve achieved that target by giving up future second, third, and fourth-round selections to Gold Coast in exchange for picks 22, 46, 58, 79 and a future fourth-round selection.

Pick No.1 is worth 3000 points, while No.2 is worth 2517 points, but with picks 22, 36, 41, 43, 46, 48, 58, 78 and 79 now in Collingwood’s grasp, as well as the 20 per cent points discount for father-son bids, the Magpies are capable of staving off competition for Daicos’ services.

Elsewhere, Western Bulldogs defender and makeshift ruckman, Lewis Young has requested a trade to Carlton, and according to AFL Media, that has prompted the Dogs to show interest in Hawthorn swingman Tim O’Brien, a player who had last week been linked with a potential move to Port Adelaide.

Meanwhile, St Kilda midfielder Seb Ross has rejected free agency and put pen to paper on a new two-year deal with the Saints.

There are still plenty of other players expected to switch clubs over the next couple of weeks during the trade/free agency period, with North Melbourne veteran Robbie Tarrant set to join Richmond, Fremantle’s Adam Cerra nominating Carlton as his preferred next club, and Sydney’s Jordan Dawson requesting a trade to Adelaide.

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Dawson’s pathway back to his native South Australia doesn’t look like it will be a smooth one, though, with the Swans digging their heels in over the 24-year-old, who enjoyed a brilliant 2021 campaign which saw him finish third in the Bob Skilton Medal.

“We are really disappointed. Jordan is a fantastic person, he has developed really well in our system for six years now,” said Sydney chief executive Tom Harley in a statement.

“It is important to note that Jordan has requested a trade, he is not a free agent, and there are rules in place for free agency where players can ultimately nominate where they want to play their football and that is after eight years of qualification, so that is not Jordan’s case.

“He doesn’t tick that box, but we acknowledge he has requested a trade to South Australia. (Sydney general manager of recruiting and list strategy) Kinnear Beatson and (Sydney football manager) Charlie Gardiner will work their way through that.

“But I think it’s important for everyone to know that he was and is a big part of our future. We had big plans for Jordan and it was reflected, certainly from an offer that we put in front of Jordan, so if there is to be a negotiation there, we would expect that to be respectful and to reflect his standing at our club and the standing in the competition and potential.”

Sam Petrevski-Seton, Jarrod Brander, Callum Coleman-Jones, Patrick Lipinski, Luke Dunstan, Darcy Macpherson and Jordan Clark are just some of the other players who are expected to find new homes as well, with North Melbourne, according to AFL Media, offering Richmond a future third-round pick for tall forward Coleman-Jones.

COMPLETED DEALS
1. Jake Kelly (Adelaide) joined Essendon as an unrestricted free agent. Adelaide received pick 42 (AFL) as compensation.
2. Mabior Chol (Richmond) joined Gold Coast as an unrestricted free agent. Richmond received pick 38 (AFL) as compensation.
3. George Hewett (Sydney) joined Carlton as a restricted free agent. Sydney received pick 39 (AFL) as compensation.
4. Collingwood traded a future second-round pick, a future third-round pick and a future fourth-round pick to Gold Coast in exchange for picks 22, 46, 58, 79 and a future fourth-round pick