Dogs’ bold trade bargain; brutal cost of injuries revealed — AFL players who’ve gained, lost value

Two young defenders are adding big bucks to their next deal, while a bargain Bulldog has emerged.

But there’s also been a cash cost for players dealt ill-timed injuries.

In the latest episode of the Midweek Tackle digital-only show ‘Tackle The Headline’, Herald Sun reporters Lauren Wood, Josh Barnes and Jon Ralph nominate the players who have increased — and decreased — in value so far this year.

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PLAYERS WHO HAVE ADDED VALUE TO THEIR NEXT CONTRACT

Zach Reid (Essendon)

Jon Ralph says: “The club is going to have to find a little bit of money, because they’re going to have to erect that statue for Adrian Dodoro! They were off him when they moved him on – everyone said those three picks (Nik) Cox, (Archie) Perkins and Reid – now they’re not worried about anyone else apart from the great Zach Reid! Because he looks absolutely exceptional. If he plays this type of football until the end of the season, you’d think he’s a $700,000 to $900,000 player. Now every club wants this kind of player – not just a stopping defender, but one who doesn’t provide separation from their opponent and is a great intercept mark. I think what they’ll do is try and work out some incentives, so it’s probably a $700,000 base in a three-year deal … and maybe All-Australian or All-Australian squad clauses or games-based clauses? They’ll get inventive doing stuff like that. But if you’re Reid, every other football club has asked about him already, he wants to stay – will stay – but it’s going to cost you more than $2 million if you’re Matt Rosa . Yes you need protection, but when you’ve got a bloke who’s got all the leverage – because we’ve seen what he did on Anzac Day and what he did last week – sometimes you’ve got to back this bloke in and back your medical team in.”

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Jack Silvagni (Carlton)

Josh Barnes says: “What do they say about never throwing out a forward until you’ve tried them in the backline? This is another poster boy for that theory. He’s been fantastic this year. What would he be on now?”

Jon Ralph says: “I think he’s on about $450,000 to $500,000 … Right now he only gets about $600,000 (on a new deal). If he plays like this for the next 10 weeks, the suitors will come out for him as well.”

Seth Campbell (Richmond)

Jon Ralph says: “High-pressure forward, kicks goals – all those things are exactly what you want to pay for. He’s got 2026, he’s got leverage with Tasmania. I’d imagine he’d wait until the end of the season, but if you’re Blair Hartley, lock him away and Rhyan Mansell away- all of a sudden the mosquito fleet that they had under Jack Riewoldt is developing again.”

Joel Freijah (Western Bulldogs)

Josh Barnes says: “The ‘Mini Bont’, they call him. We’re still waiting on the ‘Bontract’, so maybe they should turn their attention to the ‘Mini Bontract’ and get him out of the way. They should extend him as soon as they possibly can. Everything he does is good, he can play in almost any position … Whatever it takes to keep him, his price must be going through the roof.”

Jon Ralph says: “I had a quick look at the CBA. So last year he would’ve been on $110,000 as a Pick 40, he got $4000 a game – so something like just under $170,000. So then $40,000 was added onto that this year’s base figure, so I think he’s on $150,000 and the most he could earn is just under $250,000. That is some kind of player. They brought in Matt Kennedy’s contract, but they got rid of Bailey Smith’s deal, so they are absolutely winning there with Matt Kennedy in some of the form of his career.

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PLAYERS WHOSE VALUE HAS DECREASED

Jake Stringer (GWS Giants)

Josh Barnes says: “He’s on a two-year deal there at GWS, but unfortunately this is the Jake Stringer story. He kicked a couple of goals in that first quarter and looked like he was showing some signs after three goals the week before (against Sydney) starting as the sub that he could be Jesse Hogan’s offsider. And then he was off with that hamstring injury and we didn’t see him again for the rest of the game. He’s missed 16 weeks before now with hamstring injuries in his career, it’s been a long toil for him to be right to play every week. You wonder whether he goes beyond the two-year deal, his price must be going down every week he misses.”

Brandon Starcevich (Brisbane Lions)

Jon Ralph says: “We wish him well, he’s getting closer to playing again. You hold off your deal, yes you might not get the four or five-year offer given the AFL’s not really giving great protection for players who retire through concussion injury. But by the end of the season, you hope he’s playing great quality football and he can get another deal.”

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Sam Draper (Essendon)

Josh Barnes says: “He was in career-best form and he was distraught after this Achilles injury. They were going to park talks for about a month – and that month is just about up now. They had been talking pretty diligently between Essendon and Draper’s team so far and they hadn’t really ventured outside of that. But he is an unrestricted free agent, so he could go wherever he likes. What could’ve been a $900,000-a-year deal, does that come down to $700,000? Over a five-year deal, that’s $1 million out the door. I hope it doesn’t cost someone that much money when you have an innocuous fall out in the middle of the ground like that.

Liam Jones (Western Bulldogs)

Jon Ralph says: “Liam had the soft tissue injury with the hamstring and then was dropped out of the side. With Jedd Busslinger coming through with James O’Donnell looking like a real centrepiece in that defence with two more years on his deal, you think that Liam might get the base contract or try and find somewhere else.”

Adam Treloar (Western Bulldogs)

Jon Ralph says: “He’s still being paid by Collingwood! He hoped after an All-Australian season last year that he would get top dollar, but unfortunately another calf injury … He, like Jones, might get a little shave on his contract and the money might go to guys like Bontempelli, Ed Richards and some of the young kids who will get extensions like Freijah.“

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