Righto, I think the coast is clear for this evening in terms of trade moves, so I shall bid you farewell.

As we did this morning, Dean will take the new ball and I'll come on hoping to reverse swing it later in the day.

Thank you for all your comments and nifty trade ideas as always and I shall catch you tomorrow!

We've got one last move before I shut this thing off for the day!

Fremantle has signed former Bulldogs forward Dom Bedendo, per AFL.com.au's Riley Beveridge.

Bedendo played two games for the Dogs in 2022, kicking one goal, but had an excellent season in the VFL for Port Melbourne this year, kicking 38 goals.

Essendon has confirmed the addition of Jack Bowes this afternoon in a club statement.

The Bombers have reportedly registered their interest in Nick Blakey, but if these quotes from list boss Matt Rosa are anything to go by, they won't be blowing up their draft hand.

"We're in a phase where bringing in young talent is the priority," he said.

"We hold picks No.1, 15, 19 and 25 in a draft we love this year, and adding Geelong's first-round pick means we'll have two first-round selections next year as well."

Lots of questions about this deal, and the Saints in general.

If it were up to me, I'd be comfortable with parting ways with a non-top-10 first-rounder from this year for Marshall.

He's a quality ruckman who is down to a year left on his contract.

I think Carlton's big point of business during this trade period will be the potential acquisition of Lachie Whitfield.

The Blues are crying out for good users of the footy and Whitfield is just about as good as they come.

Whitfield will be 33 next year, so isn't a spring chicken, but he is still coming off a season averaging 28.1 touches per game.

You'd guess he's still got at least two more good seasons in him, if not more.

It's very, very quiet around the traps so far today, outside of the Jordan Ridley deal.

News of that one emerged late last night. I wonder if we'll get any sort of heads up about a tomorrow move in the next hour or so before we shut up shop for the evening.

This is going to be very interesting to see, definitely.

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Essendon is paying a portion of it in order to allow Geelong to fit him in its cap.

That would explain the amount of assets the Bombers have gotten back in this deal.

It certainly does seem strange that Jake Stringer could well not be on a list in 2027.

I think the best use for Stringer is to be a gun for hire on a team that is chasing a premiership. It is in that environment that you'd get the best and most motivated version of him.

On a team like Richmond that is likely to lose a lot of games next year, I cannot see Stringer being a worthwhile add.

Jordan, you're correct in the sense that the Geelong first doesn't hold a whole lot of value in a compromised draft.

However, I think it is doubly more valuable for Essendon purely for the purposes of points required to match a bid on Koby Bewick.

That alone makes the deal a major win for the Bombers.

Brisbane has revealed who will be charged with making the call on the club's next senior coach.

Lions chairman Andrew Wellington, CEO Sam Graham and GM of football Danny Daly will be joined by Leigh Matthews, Simon Black and former Australian basketball coach Phil Smyth.

They'll also have a psychology background on the panel in the form of leading sports psychologist Matti Clements.

Black and Clements were also on the panel that selected Chris Fagan to be Brisbane's coach in 2016.

Here's what Graham, Brisbane's CEO, had to say about the panel:

“The appointment of our next Senior Coach is an important decision for the club’s future, and I am pleased we have assembled an experienced and highly skilled panel to lead a thorough and considered process,” Graham said.

“I am also pleased to confirm Danny Daly has accepted an elevated role as General Manager Football to lead our football program, recognising both his first-class leadership and his role overseeing our high performing football environment. 

“Danny has decided not to pursue the Senior Coach role and will play a key role in selecting and supporting the new coach as the club enters the next phase.

“We will now work through this process methodically and take the time required to identify the best person to coach our AFL team into its next chapter of sustained success.” 

This has the potential to be a real win-win deal, in my opinion.

From the Essendon side of things, they get a second first-rounder next year that will help them match a bid for Koby Bewick, who is widely tipped to be a top-five pick.

Jack Bowes will add some much-needed veteran experience and he will hopefully be able to impart some Geelong IP into Essendon's youngsters.

From Geelong's side of things, if they can get Jordan Ridley's body right, there is a superb player in there who has the potential to be one of the game's best intercept defenders.

The Cats will be mindful that Tom Stewart is not getting any younger, and a healthy Ridley will allow them to nurse Stewart through the season as they've done masterfully with Patrick Dangerfield.

The deal does appear to be generous from Geelong's perspective, but Ridley was contracted for three more years and therefore you've always got to pay a little overs.

(Getty Images)

I certainly take your point, and agree with your critique of King's strengths and weaknesses. He is very much a stay-at-home key forward, and I do wonder if there will be some early teething problems between him and Jack Gunston as their roles could in theory be fairly similar.

But he's also much too good a player for the Hawks to turn down. He is a potential All Australian in a team like Hawthorn, and along with Zach Merrett could very well be the difference between fourth and first in 2027.

Gunston can't keep doing this forever (or maybe he can — who knows?). Mitch Lewis is brilliant when fit but there will always be injury concern there. King is a big improvement on Mabior Chol, and now Calsher Dear will be allowed a few years of development before having to become the number one key forward in a flag-chasing team.

For no outlay trade-wise, it's a no-brainer in my eyes.

This is one of the most insane ideas I've ever read, and I don't understand how it would work at all... but I'm in.

Be like AFLX, but for real this time.

It doesn't look like St Kilda is in the market for a key forward this year unless they show late interest in Ollie Lord, which doesn't really seem to be the case at the moment.

As for Sam Marshall, the Lions seem to be looking for a pick somewhere around the 20-odd range, as that is where he went in the draft two years ago. Now, that does indeed seem optimistic. I think this one is linked to the Rowan Marshall trade, as the Lions will fancy some of whatever comes St Kilda's way from that deal.

I think Marshall has the potential to be a very good player for a long time.

Will McLachlan has requested a trade to Melbourne despite interest from Essendon. (Getty Images)

Brisbane forward Will McLachlan has requested a trade to Melbourne, per AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey.

McLachlan has a contract on the table from the Lions, but had been weighing up moves to either Melbourne or Essendon, having met with both clubs.

The 21-year-old has played seven games in the last two seasons, but won't come cheap, according to the Lions.

Here's what Brisbane list manager Dom Ambrogio said earlier today on McLachlan:

"We're hoping we can keep him. We think he's on a similar trajectory to Kai Lohmann. We're desperate to retain Will. There's just a bit of a queue in front him. We don't intend to give him up lightly."

Clive says all these players are washed anyway, so why should we follow the league?

In fact, lets just cancel sport altogether.

Am I doing it right?

I think you've answered your own question here Dan!

Realistically, I think this whole thing could be squeezed into a couple of days, but that would leave the AFL short of #content, so here we are.

I wouldn't say dire. There is still a stack of talent on the GWS list.

Toby Greene is a big loss on and off the field, given he has been the heartbeat of that club, and the class of Lachie Whitfield will also be missed, should he be traded as expected.

However, GWS is now transitioning into a different era where those foundational-type players are taking a back seat and the likes of Tom Green, Finn Callaghan and Aaron Cadman develop into the next set of leaders.

The plan will be to attack the draft for a couple of years to get a little younger before topping up once again.

Essendon is certainly happy for Darcy Parish to look around, but I'm not sure there are too many takers at this stage.

Parish is signed through 2029, and I wonder whether Tasmania might be an option at the end of next season as a veteran body to shield some of their youngsters coming through.

It certainly seems like midfield minutes will be at a premium for the Bombers next season, given they are prioritising the likes of Dyson Sharp, Sully Robey, Jye Caldwell and Sam Durham in there.

If Parish stays, he may well play the majority of the season in the VFL.

I can understand both sides of this, to be honest Jordan.

Marshall has a right to be annoyed that the Saints signed a more expensive player in his favoured position shortly after he signed an extension with the club.

If he was promised a move this summer after failing to get one last summer, then after putting together an excellent individual season, he is also right to be annoyed at the Saints playing hardball.

As for the whole playing alongside another ruckman thing, Marshall is at a distinctly different point in his career now compared to when Paddy Ryder arrived at St Kilda.

On the Saints side of things, it makes sense that they are trying to extract as much value as they can from an asset like Marshall.

I think the original sin is the Tom De Koning signing. I just didn't think they needed him, especially at that price.