Jesinta Franklin

Every Thursday AFL.com.au presents Inside Trading, with breaking news and the best analysis of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period covering contracts, ...

The five players ahead of him – Jacob Dawson, Rhys Mathieson, Boyd Woodcock, Paddy Dow and Luke Dunstan – are all currently on or have been on an AFL list, with the next two on Sydney's list. THE NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft may be done for another year and the national and rookie drafts may be months away, but two Victorian clubs are keeping a keen eye on Footscray captain Lachie Sullivan. Veteran midfielder Ed Curnow is yet to add to his 204 senior games this season, having dealt with knee and calf injuries that have kept him sidelined for the entire year to date, but is also nearing the end of his most recent deal. Defensive trio Oscar McDonald (back), Luke Parks (foot) and Jordan Boyd (foot) are others unlikely to return from injury this season, and are also coming towards the end of respective one-year rookie contracts penned last season. Meanwhile, Cuningham – one of four Carlton first-round selections from the 2015 NAB AFL Draft – hasn't played since May 2021 after also suffering an ACL injury and is still only an outside chance to return later this year. The Eagles using their top pick at this year's draft – likely to be No.2 or 3 – to try to lure Jackson back to Western Australia would be expected to be approved by the AFL, though, considering Jackson was a No.3 pick just three years ago and will only be 21 at the end of this season. Pickett, recruited to Richmond during the return of the 2019 mid-season rookie draft, is due to play his 50th game for the club this weekend. The club has been in open dialogue with the 30-year-old throughout the season, where Pickett has enjoyed a career-best stretch of form to average 17.2 disposals and 4.9 score involvements per game. The star young ruckman has been weighing his decision to remain at Melbourne, where he was a central member of its premiership win last year, or return to Western Australia, with the Eagles and Fremantle both ready to make a play. The Eagles are the only club not allowed to trade their first-round pick at this year's draft under the AFL's rules, which force clubs to use two first-round picks over a rolling four-year period to ensure they don't trade away all of their future selections. Crouch hasn't played for the Crows since being dropped after their round 14 loss to Gold Coast and is understood to be receptive about a change of club after a challenging few seasons with Adelaide. The 2017 All-Australian and best and fairest winner was a free agent last season with rivals aware he was on market before he signed a two-year deal with the Crows.