Geelong has acquired Luke Dahlhaus and Gary Rohan during the early stages of the AFL trade period.
Dalhaus, a 26-year-old 2016 Western Bulldogs forward, joined the Cats as an unrestricted free agent. It meant Geelong did not have to trade for the 154 game former Geelong Falcon.
Dahlhaus signed a four-year deal at GMHBA Stadium.
Rohan, also originally from the Geelong Falcons, was traded by Sydney for pick 61.
Rohan played 106 games over nine injury-plagued seasons in Sydney.
The 27-year-old joins the Cats on a two-year deal.
Lincoln McCarthy was traded by Geelong to Brisbane for pick 42, which was then used on South Adelaide forward Nathan Kreuger.
Geelong secured Kreuger after trading pick 42 to Carlton. Under new AFL rules, the Blues had the opportunity to pre-list two players who have previously been eligible for the draft. Kreuger was eligible for last year’s national draft.
Kreuger is a 19-year-old, 195cm key position player capable of playing at either end of the ground. He broke through to make his SANFL debut in 2018, and went on to kick 22 goals in 13 games.
“We have been tracking Nathan through the year and have been impressed by his athleticism, skill and versatility,” Geelong’s national recruiting and list manager Stephen Wells said.
“The new rules allowing Carlton and Gold Coast to sign mature players has given us the opportunity to secure Nathan ahead of the draft. We would have been happy to select him with pick 42 but have been able to reach a fair deal with Carlton.
“Nathan played well at senior level this year for South Adelaide and we are excited to add him to our list.”
Meanwhile the tug of war between the Eagles and Geelong for the services of Tim Kelly remained in limbo at the time the Indy went to print.
Kelly, who tied for runner-up in Geelong’s best and fairest this year, has requested a trade back to Western Australia with a year to run on his contract and the Cats are prepared to play hard ball for the midfielder, who had a stunning debut season.
Kelly has three young children and has requested the trade to be closer to his family support network with the reigning premiers the front runners to secure his signature. Kelly’s manager has made it clear his client does not want to go to Fremantle.
But Geelong has made it clear they will not trade Kelly unless a top 10 pick is offered and West Coast’s top pick this year stands at 21, meaning the Eagles would need to trade into the top 10 to get Kelly.
Geelong has said if a suitable trade cannot be arranged, they will hold Kelly to his contract and risk losing him the following season.
