AFL Trade Period 2026 - News, Rumours & Whispers

• Zak Butters is leaving Port Adelaide, with the Western Bulldogs his preferred home, though the Dogs are yet to lodge his free agency paperwork.
• Brisbane won a third straight flag and now has no senior coach, after Chris Fagan stepped down on 1 October.
• Suspended Swan Nick Blakey is meeting rival clubs this week as a Sydney exit looks increasingly likely, with five suitors in the frame.
• Ben King looks set for Hawthorn on a reported seven-year deal, but Gold Coast can still match it and force a trade.

Four days into the 2026 AFL trade period and the competition has already redrawn three midfields, moved a GOAT and handed Geelong a Grand Final-winning forward for nothing more than a compensation pick.

The window opened on Monday 5 October and closes at 7:30pm AEDT on Wednesday 14 October. Free agency paperwork has to be lodged by tomorrow afternoon, which gives two of the biggest names in the competition a runway measured in hours rather than days.

Halfway through the trade period there has been plenty of movement already, but plenty more to come before the October 14 deadline.

Sometimes the offseason can be just as exhilarating as the footy.

Who will be the biggest movers for the 2027 AFL Season? Find out here, see the latest AFL Trade period news, rumours and whispers as of 8 October, 2026.

AFL Trade Period News

Zach Merrett to Hawthorn

Hawthorn did not wait. On day one, Essendon's captain was traded to Waverley Park for Picks 15, 25 and a 2028 second-round selection, ending a saga that had been building since the middle of the year.

A clean, early strike for a club that finished fourth and lost a preliminary final to Brisbane. It also emptied most of Hawthorn's draft cupboard, which matters a great deal for the deal they're still chasing.

Jordan Ridley to Geelong, Jack Bowes to Essendon

The one trade to get across the line on Wednesday and a four-pick job at that. Geelong received Ridley, Pick 60 and a 2028 fourth-rounder. Essendon received Bowes, who had requested the move, plus a 2027 first-round selection and a 2028 second-rounder.

Two bumper deals in three days has left Essendon holding the deepest hand of draft capital in the competition. Not sure it’ll be enough to turn their fortunes around in 2027. 

Toby Greene to Geelong

Formalised on 2 October through free agency, with GWS receiving Pick 26 as compensation. The Cats added a premiership-winning forward without surrendering a single player.

Jesse Hogan to Collingwood

The GWS key forward joined the Magpies on day one for Pick 75. Yes, Pick 75.

Lachie Neale to Collingwood

Brisbane's three-time premiership midfielder left as a free agent, with the Lions collecting Pick 39 in compensation.

Scott Pendlebury to Gold Coast

The games record-holder was traded north for Pick 65. Smart business from the Suns, who kept their Ben King compensation pick untouched in the process.

Joel Amartey to Carlton

A free agency move completed on 2 October, with Sydney receiving Pick 36.

Kieren Briggs to Richmond

The Giants ruckman joined the Tigers via free agency, with GWS receiving Pick 46.

Nathan O'Driscoll to Richmond

Richmond's second piece of business, trading for the Fremantle winger on Tuesday in exchange for Pick 61.

Jordon Butts to the Western Bulldogs

Completed on 3 October via free agency. Adelaide received Pick 33 as compensation.

AFL Trade Period Rumours & Whispers

Legends leaving, bad boys moving on and future superstars switch clubs; we love the AFL’s end of season trade window, but that’s the tidy part. Now the soap opera.

Zak Butters to the Western Bulldogs

Butters told Port Adelaide in August he would exercise his free agency rights and return to Victoria. Six weeks later, nobody can tell you which jumper he'll be wearing.

The Bulldogs are his preference and have been all year, with list boss Michael Regan describing him as "priority number one and two", which is either excellent recruiting or poor counting.

The mechanics are the holdup. Port can match the Dogs' offer and force a trade, or decline and bank Pick 5 as compensation.

List boss Jason Cripps has told the Dogs to pay up, and the Power need draft capital badly with Essendon expected to bid Pick 1 on academy prospect Dougie Cochrane.

Complicating it further, the AFL has warned clubs that side deals can't prop up a compensation pick unless the trade stands on its own merit. The Dogs still hadn't lodged his paperwork as of this morning.

Ben King to Hawthorn

Hawthorn lodged King's free agency paperwork on Tuesday, with the Gold Coast key forward reportedly offered a seven-year deal worth around $9 million. As a restricted free agent, the decision now belongs to the Suns, who have until 4:15pm AEDT tomorrow to match and force a trade or accept Pick 7 as compensation.

Here's the squeeze. Having sent Picks 15 and 25 to Essendon for Merrett, Hawthorn has very little left to sweeten a trade if Gold Coast plays hardball. Matching the offer and keeping a 143-game key forward is a real option for a club already stocked with Jed Walter, Ethan Read and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. Taking Pick 7 is the likelier outcome.

Nick Blakey to Somewhere

The biggest name in play wasn't on anyone's list a month ago. The suspended Sydney Swan has five years left on his contract and Sydney has repeatedly stated that none of the suspended players are available.

The market hasn't accepted that answer. Cal Twomey reported that Blakey will settle on a destination by the end of the week, with Gold Coast meeting him in Melbourne this morning and St Kilda, Essendon and North Melbourne lined up next.

Tom Morris has narrowed the field to five, with Geelong understood to be Blakey's own preference and Essendon best placed to satisfy the Swans in a trade.

The catch: Sydney is reportedly reluctant to send him to Geelong specifically; on the grounds the Cats are a direct premiership rival. For a club insisting nobody is leaving, that's a remarkably specific objection.

Brisbane's Coaching Vacancy

Not a trade, but the biggest off-field story going. Fagan stepped down on 1 October after 10 seasons and three flags, finishing with 148 wins from 243 games, a better record than fellow Lions three-peat coach Leigh Matthews.

Football boss Danny Daly and assistants Cam Bruce and Dale Morris are the internal candidates, and the club has considered approaching Nathan Buckley as part of the process. Whoever lands it inherits a four-peat attempt, something nobody has managed since Collingwood between 1927 and 1930.

Rowan Marshall to Geelong

The St Kilda ruckman has staked his off-season on a move to Kardinia Park, but the Cats' trade collateral thins with every deal they complete, and they're now circling Blakey as well.

Carlton and GWS both need a ruckman if Geelong can't make it work. Gryan Miers, meanwhile, is staying put at Geelong, closing off one avenue West Coast had been exploring.

Aidan Schubert to Gold Coast

The Suns want the young Hawthorn forward and have been firm that any Schubert deal would be handled separately rather than bundled in with King. Whether Hawthorn sees it that way is the question.

Zane Duursma to Melbourne

Linked to the Dees all week. The sticking point is finding a package that satisfies North Melbourne for Duursma, who has all the makings of a future superstar.

Lachie Whitfield to Carlton

Quiet, but not dead. The Blues are understood to believe they can land the GWS half-back with second-round picks and futures rather than touching their first.

Jack Viney to West Coast

The Eagles are keen. Viney is weighing whether to take the move or fight it out at Melbourne, and that call is his.

Trent Rivers to West Coast

A second Melbourne name linked to the Eagles, though Rivers is yet to formally request the trade.

Sam Marshall to St Kilda

The Saints have the midfielder's commitment. Brisbane is holding firm on what it wants in return.

Luke Pedlar to Port Adelaide

Pedlar wants out of Adelaide and Port is the destination. No movement yet.

Nick Murray to North Melbourne

North has interest in the Adelaide defender, but there's been nothing resembling progress. File this one under a long shot.

Tomorrow afternoon settles the free agency questions. Everything else gets decided by 7:30pm AEDT on Wednesday 14 October, and in recent history, most of it will happen in the final two hours.