As the midway point of the AFL season draws closer, negotiations will ramp up with the league’s remaining free agents. Jon Ralph assesses the state of play and reveals several left-field options.
Jon Ralph assesses 15 free agents who are still on the market including some left-field options:
1. Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne)
In the NFL this season Sam Darnold was paid US$7.5 million to be a back-up quarterback who actually started third on the depth chart before playing six games.
Goldstein is 35 in July but he’s on a tear, averaging 108 SuperCoach points, 15 possessions, 32 hit-outs and 4.4 clearances.
With Alastair Clarkson already showing his hand – dropping him for Tristan Xerri in round 1 – does he sign another one-year deal and potentially play VFL next year?
Or sign a two-year deal at a club like Collingwood which wants a $400,000 back-up ruckman and back himself to get into the starting line-up?
How many games would he have played at Collingwood this year? All of them.
Goldstein ranks second for hit-outs to advantage across the league and is the third-highest rated ruckman.
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Could this be the year Todd Goldstein leaves Arden St?
2. Nathan Broad (Richmond)
There isn’t massive interest yet in Broad because he’s 30 and will sign at the Tigers if they offer a three-year deal on massive money.
But he is an unrestricted free agent, he is durable, he can play tall or small, he has all of the intellectual property from the Richmond premierships and he is just a damned good player.
The evidence? He held Jack Silvagni and Jack Martin goalless in round 2, held Izak Rankine to one goal in round 2, held Jake Waterman goalless in round 8, held Jeremy Cameron goalless.
If the Cats were prepared to give up pick 30 for Shaun Higgins as a 32-year-old someone would be mad not to explore if they could acquire Broad.
His midfield teammate Kamdyn McIntosh is also an unrestricted free agent but is likely to hit a games-based trigger that gives him a contract for 2024.
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3. Mason Cox (Collingwood)
Cox is going to get paid again, isn’t he?
After signing a three-year deal then hitting the trigger for the fourth year he got paid about $550,000 a season until 2021, then signed another deal and hit a trigger for 2023.
His best is off-the-charts good and right now lots of clubs are looking for ruck insurance.
So the Pies need him and rivals would circle if they didn’t start talks mid-year, which is the current plan.
On track for game 100 in round 12, he is a goal-a-game forward who averages only nine hit-outs a game but his best is so good there will always be a market for him.
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Mason Cox has hit form at the right time.
4. Mason Wood (St Kilda)
St Kilda isn’t in a hurry to sign up its long list of players given its new list bosses haven’t seen enough of them and you would imagine they will eventually reward unrestricted free agent Wood for his exceptional season.
But he is 29, he is a free agent, and he rates elite for metres gained, marks, score assists and score involvements. They are all the sexy stats that help teams win games of footy.
Can he keep it up all year and give himself significant leverage?
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5. Mason Redman (Essendon)
Just can’t imagine Redman leaving the club despite the interest of Adelaide and multiple rivals.
But he goes from strength to strength – 30 disposals and 10 intercepts against Brisbane – and will only get better when Essendon has an elite full back to help bring the ball to ground.
Essendon might have to pay over $700,000 a year for him so only if they get into a contract impasse would rivals believe they are a chance to snare him.
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Can the Bombers hold onto Mason Redman?
6. Jade Gresham (St Kilda)
Gresham is going to be well paid by someone given he is a free agent, still only 25, is a renowned goalkicker (eight so far this year), can play as a centre square midfielder and has pace.
He has been good rather than great this year before a knock to his PCL in round 8 so he will want to dominate before he signs a new deal.
That will give rivals the chance to assess his impact, waiting to sniff any opportunity if St Kilda and Gresham can’t come to terms.
But everyone wants a centre square mid who can kick goals and Gresham has that potential and the time at 25 years of age to develop further.
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7. Matt Flynn (GWS)
The unrestricted GWS free agent has certainly timed his run, playing every game so far in a career-best season after 12 games in each of 2021 and 2022.
He is no superstar, but he ranks above average for hit-outs and hit-outs to advantage.
Finally getting games after so long in the system he will surely stay but with so many clubs looking for ruck depth his second half of the season will be important for his price and leverage.
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8. James Jordon (Melbourne)
Jordon was delisted at the end of 2020 then elevated back onto the primary list so now becomes an unrestricted free agent as his current contract expires.
He is a premiership Demon but would he be better served elsewhere given when the Demons are fit he is only on the periphery of their midfield?
He has played seven games this year but he is happy to hold off on talks for now and at 22 years of age has the leverage given his free agency position.
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James Jordon has found himself on the fringes at Melbourne this year.
9. Tom Doedee (Adelaide)
Adelaide believed they would sit down soon for contract talks on Doedee, but he doesn’t seem in any particular hurry.
When he was ignored as Adelaide captain it was seen as a reason he might consider a move back to Victoria along with his partner, but surely Jordan Dawson’s elevation as skipper would make him realise the Crows have the right man in charge.
Doedee is a complementary part to a backline rather than its star – averaging just on two intercept marks across his career, between 14 and 18 possessions.
But he would improve a backline that needs a rock-solid third defender at a club like North Melbourne or Carlton.
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Plenty of clubs could use a defender of Tom Doedee’s class.
10. Harry Himmelberg (GWS)
In a league where most of the elite intercept defenders are signed up, Himmelberg represents the best available option apart from Ben McKay as an available free agent.
His beauty is his versatility – this year he has played 68 per cent forward, 23 per cent ruck and eight per cent in defence.
He went back again on the weekend given the Giants’ defensive line is ravaged by injury but has been held goalless only once this year and ranks elite for score assists.
Richmond and GWS are keen.
Essendon will sign Darcy Parish but is hopeful it can get Zach Reid up for the last six weeks of the season to see if he is capable of holding down full back.
If not, they could emerge as a player for Himmelberg.
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11. Darcy Parish (Essendon)
Something would need to go badly wrong for Parish to leave Essendon, even as the Dons’ defensive woes mean we wonder if they need a key back more than another mid.
But he is in the perfect age demographic – 25 – he is a pure ball winner, he is working on his defensive play.
So he is available, but it would take a monster offer from a club desperate for midfield strength to change his mind.
Essendon will likely have to pay $800,000 a season for Parish, but that’s what he is worth.
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Darcy Parish seems more likely to stay at Essendon.
12. Jack Silvagni (Carlton)
Few players in footy are as hard to pigeonhole as Silvagni, who averages a goal a game and just 12 possessions across his career and finally hits free agency at a club with a top-heavy salary cap and deals to broker for Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning.
He isn’t lightning and he has just 19 forward-50 targets this year (Charlie Curnow 68, Harry McKay 52) yet he ranks above average for disposals, marks, forward-50 ground balls and score assists.
And the Blues clearly rated him more highly than De Koning as a forward before the ruck-forward’s concussion.
Neither party is in a hurry to do a deal for the free agent so his second half of the season shapes as vital to assess his price and any rival takers.
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13. Sam Menegola (Geelong)
Menegola’s currency depends upon how long you believe hard-running wingman can play into their 30s.
Isaac Smith is doing a fine job at 34 of it, with Menegola’s injury-prone past 18 months not helping his case.
As recently as 2021 he peeled off a 533 possession, 12-goal season and hits free agency this year.
He is still listed as TBC after knee surgery on the Geelong injury list so clearly getting back to full fitness is his chief concern before contract talks kick off.
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14. Jake Melksham (Melbourne)
Melksham’s future surely lies elsewhere given his lively form when in the side and the Demons’ significant forward-line depth.
Until Harry Petty’s injury all of Melksham, Ben Brown and Tom McDonald were in the VFL, with Melksham playing only 21 and 42 minutes in two of his four AFL games so far.
Melksham is 32 in August but still has more to give as a clever goalkicking half forward.
Jake Melksham has been starring in the VFL for Casey Demons.
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15. Scott Lycett (Port Adelaide)
Port Adelaide appears to be moving in a different direction to Lycett, who played the first five games of the season and is coming off a lucrative five-season deal.
Players like Lycett will have to wait until free agency to see where they fit into the ruck pecking order across the competition given the merry-go-round always spins for the 200cm talls.
Essendon’s Nick Bryan, currently uncontracted, and Richmond’s contracted ruckman Ivan Soldo are two names who are likely to feature.
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