The out-of-contract target your AFL club should be scouting throughout 2023

Who should each club have their eye on across the course of this year?

EDITOR | February 6, 2023 - 6:31pm

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While a portion of trade and free agency deals are often finalised in the dying seconds of the exchange window's deadline day, the wheels can often be in motion before the AFL home and away season is even underway.

Last year's trade window saw 36 players find a new club ahead of the 2023 season, some deals being brokered within hours and others landing after months in the making.

Between contracted players and free agents, AFL clubs and their list managers will often be putting the wheels in motion to scout targets right from their first appearance of the season, or could very well enter the new year with priority signings in mind.

Lion-turned-Magpie Daniel McStay was among the movers at the end of last season, with his switch to Collingwood coming months after his mind was already made up.

"Daniel McStay was a free agent of mine who I got across to Collingwood. But that was all done in July," CSM agent Nick Gieschen revealed to Zero Hanger in the off-season.

"It was still six months in the making, though. There was Brisbane's offer. Then came Collingwood's meeting. It then went back to Brisbane to think about whether to keep him. It eventually got to a stage where Daniel decided, ‘nup, I want to come home'."

With the new season just over a month away, each club is sure to have their list of targets slowly coming together as they plan to scout out-of-contract names across the course of the year.

With this list, we name the one off-contract player your club should be keeping a close eye on in 2023.

Fremantle

Trent Rivers

Could the Demons look to lure a WA boy from the Demons' grasp for the second year in a row?

Speculation between the two clubs over Melbourne livewire Kysaiah Pickett is already hitting the rumour mill, but Rivers could be the Dockers' top target should they assess the off-contract names at Casey Fields.

After securing Luke Jackson's return to Western Australia, Fremantle could come calling with their sights on Rivers.

The Fremantle-born backman would add to an already lethal defensive structure under Justin Longmuir, potentially allowing a dashing Docker like Jordan Clark or Heath Chapman to work further up the field.