GWS midfielder Jacob Hopper has been tipped to don blue and white hoops from next season, despite having a year to run on his deal in Sydney's West.
With the league's youngest side currently feeling the squeeze of salary cap constraints, Hopper, along with a series of other Giants, look set to head for the exit this exchange period.
Though Hopper's signature had been chased by both Richmond and Adelaide of late, according to Damian Barrett of AFL Media, the bull looks set to join the Cats ahead of the 2023 season.
“They are still a mess the Giants when it comes to the salary cap,” Barrett said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“Jacob Hopper is contracted for 2023, but the Cats have done a lot of work behind the scenes to get him to want to go to Geelong.
“While he is contracted for the Giants, I expect him to be playing for the Cats next year.”
At present, the Pivot City side has an array of picks available to help land the Riverina product, with the hoops holding 18, 36, 46, 49, 54, 60, 72 and 90 ahead of November's National Draft.
However, as the Giants parted with the 7th selection of the 2015 draft, a premium will have to be paid to secure the signature of the contracted contested ball beast.
While the Tigers are said to have pursued Hopper heavily, their efforts to lure his teammate Tim Taranto appear to have borne fruit, with Jon Ralph of The Herald Sun stating on Saturday that the hybrid threat was just days away from agreeing to a seven-year, $750,000 per annum deal to make Tigerland his home.
Despite Richmond reportedly being over the line in their pursuit of Taranto, their interest in Hopper is understood to remain alive, with Triple M reporter Tom Browne flagging this week that the Punt Road side are still a sniff as they look to potentially spoil the Cats' party.
"Whilst the prevailing view is that Hopper is locked into Geelong... it's still a big choice for Hopper because Richmond remain in the race.
"He still has to make that decision. It's most likely Geelong, but Richmond [are] still in the race. If Hopper chose Richmond clearly they'd have to clear more salary space."
The tight finances at Tom Wills Oval could also be enough to see fellow youngsters Bobby Hill and Tanner Bruhn have also been heavily linked with their own shifts south of the Murray.