Adam Treloar: Unwanted by Collingwood, could he find a new football home with the Western Bulldogs? Photo: AFL MEDIA

The Adam Treloar saga was always going to be one of the most fascinating watches of this year’s trade period.

To borrow a line from The Clash – would he stay or would he go?

Only three days in, and the answer to that question might just start to be getting clearer, with a potentially huge twist in the plot coming to the surface.

From the moment word emerged of Collingwood’s stunning intention to offload their star midfielder with five years still to run on his contract, Treloar has been adamant that he does not want to play his football anywhere else.

Even with his partner Kim Ravaillion moving interstate with their infant child after she accepted a contract to play netball with the Queensland Firebirds, Treloar insisted Collingwood was his desired home.

It made all the more bizarre and eyebrow-raising the Magpies using their concern about Treloar, who has publicly admitted to battling anxiety, playing at his optimum level while being apart from his young family, as an excuse to try to trade him.

But after weeks of resistance to Collingwood’s intentions, which appear most likely to be born out of mismanagement of its salary cap, Treloar sounds as though he is finally resigned to his fate, with Fox Footy reporting that he has told teammates his future is no longer in black and white.

Gold Coast list manager Craig Cameron has told Trade Radio that Treloar has no interest in joining the Suns, and St Kilda has all but ruled itself out after signing up Adelaide’s Brad Crouch as a free agent. But a contender for his services has emerged from the pack – the Western Bulldogs.

“We’ll definitely monitor the Adam Treloar situation,” Bulldogs list manager Sam Power told Trade Radio – and who could blame them?

After initially expressing a strong stance that Josh Dunkley was a required player, following the premiership midfielder’s request to be traded to Essendon with two years still to run on his contract, the messaging out of Whitten Oval has softened in the last 24 hours.

If the prospect of acquiring Treloar’s signature becomes more real as the trade period goes on, you can expect the Doggies’ stance on Dunkley to resemble a bowl of jelly in quick time.

Treloar as a replacement for Dunkley? That wouldn’t be bad at all. They’re different players, of course, but the Bulldogs already have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to inside midfielders (hence Dunkley’s trade request), so if they could add the class, smarts and blistering pace of Treloar on the outside, the top four all of a sudden doesn’t look so far out of reach.

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Treloar is on big coin, with his contract at the Magpies reportedly worth $900,000 per season, but across his 173-game career, he has averaged 28 disposals, 11 contested possessions, five tackles, five clearances and half-a-goal. Those are phenomenal numbers over a long period of time.

The dynamic former Giant was one of Collingwood’s best players in its narrow loss to West Coast in the 2018 grand final, and also has a top-five finish in the Brownlow Medal to his credit, so the Dogs would welcome him with open arms.

Meanwhile, another Magpie could be flying the nest, with AFL Media reporting that Hawthorn is pursuing speedster Tom Phillips as a readymade replacement for Isaac Smith, who joined arch rival Geelong as a free agent.

And after being rumoured to have toured Essendon’s Tullamarine facility recently, St Kilda midfielder Seb Ross is categorically not going anywhere, according to St Kilda list manager James Gallagher, who told Trade Radio as much.

But the Bombers are in the box seat to recruit forgotten Gold Coast key forward Peter Wright, Cameron confirming that the Suns had no reason to talk to any other club about Wright because discussions with Essendon were going so well. Future draft picks will probably get that deal done.

The Dons are desperate for firepower up forward with Joe Daniher joining Brisbane, Orazio Fantasia requesting a trade to Port Adelaide, and Shaun McKernan delisted.

McKernan joined the Saints as a free agent in the only confirmed player movement for Friday.

COMPLETED DEALS
1. Rory Atkins (Adelaide) joined Gold Coast as an unrestricted free agent. Adelaide received pick 36 as compensation.
2. Isaac Smith (Hawthorn) joined Geelong as an unrestricted free agent. Hawthorn received pick 42 as compensation.
3. Joe Daniher (Essendon) joined Brisbane Lions as a restricted free agent. Essendon received pick 7 as compensation.
4. Zac Williams (GWS) joined Carlton as a restricted free agent. GWS received pick 10 as compensation.
5. Aidan Corr (GWS) joined North Melbourne as a restricted free agent. GWS received pick 30 as compensation.
6. Zac Langdon (GWS) traded to West Coast in exchange for pick 54.
7. Oleg Markov (Richmond) traded to Gold Coast in exchange for future third-round pick.
8. Jesse Hogan (Fremantle) traded to GWS in exchange for pick 54.
9. Brad Crouch (Adelaide) joined St Kilda as a restricted free agent. Adelaide received pick 23 as compensation.
10. Kyle Hartigan (Adelaide) traded to Hawthorn in exchange for future fourth-round pick.
11. Shaun McKernan (Essendon) joined St Kilda as a delisted free agent.
* Pick 43 (Brisbane) and future fourth-round pick (Brisbane Lions) traded to Melbourne in exchange for pick 53 and future third-round pick.