Carlton has rejected Geelong’s offer of three first-round AFL draft picks for disgruntled Blues spearhead Charlie Curnow.
Despite having four years to run on his contract with Carlton, the dual Coleman medallist is desperate to leave Ikon Park.
The Cats are Curnow’s first choice given he grew up in Geelong and is close friends with the club’s star midfielder Bailey Smith.
Geelong has tabled its first-round picks for this year, as well as 2026 and 2027, in an attempt to lure Curnow to GMHBA Stadium.
But with the Cats coming off a losing grand final and expected to remain in premiership contention, their draft picks won’t be attractive to Carlton.
“The club’s position has been that we don’t want Charlie to be leaving Carlton,” new Blues football boss Chris Davies told Trade Radio on Friday.
The second part of this conversation is understanding what three first-round picks might actually look like and, for Geelong, those three picks are effectively going to be picks in the 20s.
“If that’s what the offer ends up being … I’m not sure anyone would think that’s a reasonable deal for who Charlie Curnow is.
“We value him far more than what some other people are suggesting around the competition he’s worth.”
Geelong is also trying to bring in contracted St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall, who is seeking a move due to the Saints recruiting Tom De Koning.
But the Saints are standing firm on the Cats’ advances for Marshall, believing he and De Koning can work together as a ruck combination.
Geelong re-signed veteran ruck Rhys Stanley in a sign its bid for Marshall could fail.
Meanwhile, Davies has suggested Carlton could pay out the final year of troubled utility Elijah Hollands’ contract.
The Blues have told Hollands, whose brother Ollie is a regular at Carlton, to explore his options after taking personal leave on two occasions this year.
But there has been little interest in the former first-round draft pick, who moved to Carlton from Gold Coast at the end of 2023.
“It is hard when you watch players – and I’ve had players like this at my former club (Port Adelaide) – who have loads of talent and for whatever reason aren’t able to put it on the field,” Davies said of Elijah Hollands.
“It is important that you give them the opportunity to amend their behaviour, that you give the player support to know there is a chance.”
GWS will begin negotiations with Melbourne about Clayton Oliver after the Demons premiership midfielder’s desire to be traded to the Giants.
New Melbourne coach Steven King told the contracted Oliver to seek opportunities elsewhere during a recent meeting.
Fellow Demons star Christian Petracca is also leaving, electing to join semi-finalists Gold Coast.
Collingwood premiership forward Brody Mihocek’s move to Melbourne is official, with a deal confirmed on Friday.
GWS football boss Jason McCartney also unloaded on St Kilda for controversially abandoning their long-term pursuit of defender Leek Aleer.
“This wasn’t a difficult trade negotiation,” he told Trade Radio.
“Leek is shattered. He’s incredibly disappointed.
“He loves our footy club and was in tears at the exit interview.
“There’s a contract there with us … he’s more than welcome to be playing at the Giants.”
