Blue set for new deal, Tiger to play on, young Eagle waits

Check out all the latest trade news from around the League

Nick Haynes, Dion Prestia and Campbell Chesser. Pictures: AFL Photos

Get all the latest news in the trade, free agency and draft landscape in Inside Trading, AFL.com.au's dedicated column for player movement. Find out the latest on contracts, deals, trades, draftees, rules, agents and who is going where from the AFL.com.au team.

BLUES VETERAN TO GET NEW DEAL

CARLTON is set to extend veteran defender Nick Haynes' career into a 15th season next year, as the club weighs up a new-look backline heading into 2026.

Haynes joined the Blues on a one-year deal without a trigger for a second season late last year, in what many believed would be the 33-year-old's final season in the AFL.

But the veteran defender has played every game this season and has proved a reliable option behind All-Australian Jacob Weitering, with the Blues now set to agree a deal for the interceptor to continue his career.

Haynes has suddenly become a necessary part of Carlton's backline plans as free agent defender Jack Silvagni edges closer to the exit door despite a four-year offer to stay at Ikon Park.

Promising youngster Harry O'Farrell, who has played alongside Weitering and Haynes in recent weeks, will also miss much of next season after suffering a devastating ACL injury against Fremantle over the weekend.

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But the Blues will welcome gun 193cm defender Harry Dean through the draft under father-son rules, with the Murray Bushrangers product emerging as a potential top-10 pick after a superb season down back through his draft year.

Dean is the son of two-time Carlton premiership star and 248-game player Peter. – Riley Beveridge

PRESTIA TO PLAY ON

DION Prestia is set to play on for a 16th season in the AFL in 2026.

The 32-year-old has been keen to extend his playing career and Richmond has now made clear its intention to re-sign him on a one-year deal.

Prestia has played the past nine games after returning from a pre-season Achilles injury in round 12, averaging 23.9 disposals and 4.3 clearances per game in a midfield now led by Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper.

Dion Prestia kicks the ball during Richmond's clash against West Coast in round 19, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

The 2019 Jack Dyer medallist played in all three premierships under Damien Hardwick, after returning to Victoria from Gold Coast at the end of 2016.

Richmond has been impressed by Prestia's impact on the younger players at Punt Road and view him as a future development or assistant coach, but want him to keep playing to help fast-track the rebuild under Adem Yze.

The Tigers invested heavily in midfielders last November – Sam Lalor, Josh Smillie and Taj Hotton were all picked in the first round of the 2024 draft – and need established stars to help their development.

Prestia has now played 139 games for the Tigers and will get a chance to reach 250 next year, after playing 95 times for the Suns. – Josh Gabelich

YOUNG EAGLE WAITS ON CONTRACT CALL

WEST Coast winger Campbell Chesser took a significant step forward in his push for a contract extension last week, but a decision on his future looks set to be made at the end of the season.

Chesser played his first game for 2025 against Melbourne in round 21, winning 17 disposals and impressing with his ball use, running power, and composure in what was arguably the best of his 33 senior AFL games.

It was viewed as a positive step as the 22-year-old looks to build momentum in the final three rounds of the season and earn an extension after four regularly interrupted seasons.

While a contract offer was yet to be tabled, the fact that West Coast already has a further 12 players out of contract could work in favour of the athletic pick No.14 being offered at least another year to prove himself.

Campbell Chesser celebrates during West Coast's clash against Melbourne in round 21, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Chesser has endured injuries in four of his past five footballing years, including a knee injury that ruined his 2021 draft year.

Recruited with the Eagles' first-round pick that year, he was flying in the pre-season before an ankle injury in a practice match against Fremantle wiped out his season.

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After 14 games in 2023 and 18 games last season, the 186cm midfielder's ankle issues resurfaced in February this year, with the club choosing to send Chesser for surgery to give him the best chance of training fully and playing in the second half of the season.

Seven games in the WAFL were enough for him to earn AFL selection against the Demons, with hopes now that the right-footer can produce a block of form that warrants a new contract. – Nathan Schmook

Campbell Chesser runs with the ball during West Coast's clash against Melbourne in round 21, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

DOGS TO LOOK AT FREIJAH DEAL

THE WESTERN Bulldogs will revisit contract talks with breakout star Joel Freijah later this year, after attempting to lock the youngster into an extension earlier this season.

Freijah, who is contracted for 2026, has been one of the best young players in the competition this season having made a blistering start to the year when he was trialled through the midfield earlier in the campaign.

Speaking on AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable this week, Freijah's manager John Meesen from Kapital Sports Group said talks on a new deal for the 19-year-old could pick up again after the season following his stunning patch of form.

"At the start of the year, there were some chats with [Bulldogs football boss] Sam Power there around a possible extension … I'm kind of glad we just held off a little bit," Meesen laughed.

Joel Freijah celebrates a goal during the match between Sydney and the Western Bulldogs at the SCG in round 16, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

"He's had a pretty good year and he's doing really well. He wanted to back himself in and see where he could take his game.

"He's locked in for next year, so we'll probably start looking at that at the end of the year or through the pre-season. He loves it at the Dogs." – Riley Beveridge

SUN TO DECIDE ON FUTURE

GOLD Coast utility Connor Budarick is weighing up a two-year offer from the Suns and hopes to decide on his future "sooner rather than later".

As previously revealed on AFL.com.au, Budarick has interest from a host of rival clubs most notably from the Western Bulldogs.

In and out of the team since Damien Hardwick has taken over as coach, Budarick has found a home in the Suns' 22 as a pressure forward over the past seven weeks.

A Gold Coast Academy product, he will line up for his 50th game on Saturday against Carlton.

Connor Budarick kicks the ball during Gold Coast's clash against Brisbane in round 20, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

Budarick has been in the AFL for six years and accepting the two-year contract offer would take him to free agency.

"It'd be hard to leave a side when you're performing really well," he told AFL.com.au. "And obviously, individually, when you're playing well too.

"Those conversations (between club and management) will happen, hopefully sooner rather than later, but I've got to focus on playing well and push my case to show I'm important."

Along with Jy Farrar and Ben Long, Budarick has added a defensive tenacity to the forward line that has helped Gold Coast into sixth position on the ladder. – Michael Whiting

RUCK TO GO AROUND AGAIN

JOURNEYMAN ruck Tom Campbell is set to extend his four-club career into a remarkable 15th season in 2026.

The 33-year-old joined Melbourne as an unrestricted free agent last October after being delisted by St Kilda.

The Demons haven't required anyone to step in to cover seven-time All-Australian Max Gawn since then, but know they have a readymade replacement in Campbell.

Lachlan Smith and Tom Campbell compete in the ruck during Footscray's VFL clash against Casey on May 10, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Melbourne is working on a one-year extension for next season.

Campbell has starred again in the VFL this year, averaging 27.4 hitouts and 17.5 disposals in 13 appearances for Casey.

After originally being drafted by the Western Bulldogs out of the Bendigo Bombers in 2011, Campbell has played 58 games at the highest level – 42 for the Dogs, 12 for North Melbourne and four for St Kilda – across a career where he has always been highly respected at every club.

Campbell has long been an advocate to combat climate change, launching Footy for Climate in 2021 with former Port Adelaide and North Melbourne defender Jasper Pittard. That is his full-time career after football, but that will have to wait another year. – Josh Gabelich

SECOND-CHANCE SUN GETS DEAL

MATURE-AGE recruit Oscar Adams has been rewarded with another contract at Gold Coast for 2026 after securing an AFL lifeline in May.

The 22-year-old made his debut against Essendon in round 17 and has now played the past five games for the Suns.

Oscar Adams in action during Gold Coast's clash against Essendon in round 17, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

Adams arrived in Queensland on a six-month contract but has now landed a one-year extension.

The 197cm key defender was a late inclusion to replace Sam Collins against the Bombers and has maintained his spot in Damien Hardwick's side across the past fortnight since the vice-captain returned from a calf strain.

Adams spent two years on the list at St Kilda before being delisted without playing a game at the end of 2023.

After playing in a SANFL premiership for Glenelg in 2024, Adams was selected at pick No.7 in the 2025 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft, before the Suns also recruited Caleb Lewis. – Josh Gabelich

'PRE-AGENT' ON GIANTS' RADAR

GREATER Western Sydney will continue to be proactive in recontracting its best players before entering the final year of their deals, with 'pre-agent' Jack Buckley and Tasmania target James Leake the next priority re-signings for the club.

Already, the club has ticked off extensions for Darcy Jones (2028), Aaron Cadman (2030) and Connor Idun (2032) before they were due to come out of contract in 2026, with Buckley and Leake next on the agenda.

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Buckley is due to become a free agent next year, while Launceston product Leake is set to be a target for the new Tasmania expansion side ahead of its entry into the competition in 2028.

Speaking to AFL.com.au's Gettable last week, the club's head of talent Adrian Caruso said 2025 contract decisions – like the ongoing situations involving Leek Aleer and Jacob Wehr – are still front of mind, but the 2026 crop aren't far behind.

"We won't take the eye off the ball in terms of getting this year sorted," Caruso said.

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"Whether that means Leek or Jacob or what our draft strategy is, our priority is still this year. But, as we've shown … we want to knock these guys over early. If we know we want to retain them, we want to move on to that batch.

"Next year, we do have a lot of guys who are coming out. We've knocked five or six of them off already. Those guys that you mentioned will be next cab off the rank in terms of starting those conversations with their managers." – Riley Beveridge

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