FOX FOOTY Podcasts · Fox Sports Australia

Fox Footy Podcast Trade Special: Swans' Curnow risk, Dee's big challenge and draft overhaul

·27 min·2 clips

Petrarca, Curnow, and Merrett are all under contract, yet all want new homes.

1. Fox Footy Podcast’s trade special focuses on the 2025 AFL trade period, with pick 103 becoming a headline on day six. 2. Ben Waterworth, Ben Cotton, Max Lawton, and Gerard Healy anchor the discussion, with Healy bringing his Brownlow and draft history into the conversation. 3. The episode asks what clubs, players, and managers are really trying to achieve across the trade period, and whether the AFL’s system needs a reset. 4. Charlie Curnow’s Sydney visit is the central live story, with the Swans reportedly considering pick 11, next year’s first-rounder, Will Hayward, and Ollie Florent. 5. The hosts debate whether Sydney would actually part with James Rowbottom, and whether Curnow’s move would force Carlton into serious trade-table negotiations. 6. Melbourne’s situation comes next, with Christian Petrarca, Clayton Oliver, and Stephen May all discussed as part of a broader list reshuffle. 7. The panel says Stephen May’s market has gone quiet, with the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood no longer seen as serious suitors. 8. The hosts also discuss May’s 2025 form drop, his one year left on contract, and whether a revised role could make him useful in 2026. 9. Stephen King’s arrival at Melbourne is treated as a reset point, with the panel saying the club’s new era could force midfield changes. 10. Centre-bounce numbers are cited for Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Petracca, Jack Viney, Rivers, Windsor, Langford, and Sparrow. 11. The hosts argue that Melbourne now has room to trial younger players in the centre square after losing two dominant midfield pieces. 12. Gerard Healy says the AFL’s talent pathways need a major review, including free agency compensation, NGAs, and the draft. 13. He suggests Greg Swann could spend 12 months reimagining the draft and potentially create more early picks for bottom clubs. 14. The panel also says clubs and players both contribute to trade chaos, especially when contracted players like Petracca, Curnow, and Merrett seek moves. 15. Healy rejects the idea that the trade period should become more “American,” and says clubs often speak from “both sides of their mouths.” 16. The group notes that a longer trade period can still end in final-hour deals, even with nine days now replacing the old two-week window. 17. The segment’s tone is talk-heavy and argumentative, with rapid back-and-forth between trade scenarios, list strategy, and policy reform. 18. The later “fair or farce?” section is looser and more playful, but still built around concrete trade names and draft-pick mechanics. 19. List-management followers, draft-watchers, and AFL trade-period addicts would get the most from this episode. 20. Casual listeners who want match review or game analysis probably would skip it.

As heard by us

Trade-week arguments, Melbourne midfield questions, and Curnow talk all get proper air time.

With roughly 48 hours left in the 2025 AFL trade period, the discussion stays on the names that matter: Charlie Curnow, Sydney, and Melbourne's midfield reset. The odd part, and the memorable part, is that pick 103 still gets treated like a real talking point.

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Why you'd press play

Want the trade-period pressure points without the fluff?

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