As several AFL clubs grapple with early-season injury carnage, Fremantle's Mason Cox has thrown support behind the introduction of a mid-season trade period, as long as there are some guardrails.
Speaking on the Red Time podcast, Cox argued that while the concept of mid-season movement is now more heavily discussed and can work, it must be designed to help players find opportunity rather than allowing contenders to cherry-pick superstars from lower-placed teams.
The annual debate has become relevant this week as several clubs face bleak injury lists. The Western Bulldogs are reeling from the loss of gun forward Sam Darcy to a season-ending ACL rupture, while GWS is, and has been, navigating a crisis of its own following Tom Green's preseason ACL injury and a host of other setbacks to key pillars such as Sam Taylor, Josh Kelly, and Brent Daniels, among many others.
For clubs like the Bulldogs and Giants, the ability to trade for an active AFL player rather than relying on the state-league talent available in the mid-season draft could be the difference between a finals berth and a wasted season.
But Cox's proposal focuses on a games-played ceiling to ensure clubs aren't completely gutted of their mainstay talent in the middle of a campaign.
"I think if you can place restrictions around it. Maybe put a cap on how many games you've played for the club so you can do a mid-season trade," Cox suggested. "Just so you're not trading big-name players that are playing every single game and are important for your team."
The American-born ruckman believes the focus should remain on those stuck in the reserves who could solve a crisis elsewhere.
"You're trading people who are essentially not getting an opportunity," Cox said. "If you need a ruckman because three have gone down injured, you're probably getting a second ruck or a third-string ruck from another team to come and help you so it's not detrimental to that team."
While the mechanism for trading picks mid-season could one day be established, the prospect of moving actual players still remains a divisive topic with several pros and cons.
Cox admitted that while he sees the "legitimacy" in clubs gaining draft capital for trades, he does fear for the cultural and personal impact the system could have on players.
"It's a lot of player movement and a lot of contract situations which is throwing spanners in the works," he said. "There's a lot of different things that come into it whenever you get contracts that are bigger and bigger, and bigger names that get moved around.
"I like the idea of having a core group that stays together. Moving cities... that's a big thing. Not only from a financial standpoint, but to have to move your family and your kids."
Cox also warned that a mid-season trade window could become a predatory tool for list managers looking to balance the books.
"I can guarantee you this: clubs will start forcing guys out to try and clear up cap space for the end of the year," Cox said. "That's one of my biggest fears, they'll start using it as an opportunity to push players out that maybe aren't performing or get rid of guys that they don't see the value [in]."
Despite those reservations, the current reality for teams like the Dogs -- who are desperately seeking cover for Darcy, not to mention names like Tim English, Tom Liberatore, and Marcus Bontempelli who are also on their injury list ahead of their Round 7 clash with Sydney -- suggests the appetite for player movement has never been higher.
