“WE REALLY want to back our list in and back our talent in.” 

The 2022 Continental Tyres Trade Period officially wrapped up last night, with clubs finishing up their player exchanges at Marvel Stadium. 

For Carlton, Head of List Management Nick Austin was happy with a relatively quiet trade period compared to previous seasons, only going after one player while also negotiating the exit of another. 

Blake Acres was the only player who made his way to IKON Park during this time, with Austin stating that they couldn’t be more thrilled with the acquisition. 

“It was great to get [Acres] in nice and early, he’s certainly going to help our football club,” Austin said. 

“It’s a really targeted role on that wing and we had some good conversations with Fremantle, who were fantastic to deal with - as they were last year with Adam [Cerra] - and we were able to facilitate that deal nice and early. 

“We targeted Acres in that wing role from a fair way out and to tick that off ,we think we’ve added to our group and keep building on what was created last year.” 

As for departing players, the only Blue requesting a new home was Will Setterfield, who landed at the Bombers: while having the intention of keeping Setterfield, Austin said the decision was made to facilitate a move after the offer came from the Hangar.

“We walked in hopeful to retain Will – but the reality is with footy these days, Essendon came in with a level that we weren’t prepared to go to and that’s footy,” he said. 

“Will goes with our blessing and he’s given it everything for four years and we wish him all the best with his future.” 

Pleased with the retention of the group, Austin said it was the main focus of the list management team after a key acquisition phase in recent seasons.

Locking in some big names before they were eligible free agency was a big coup for the Blues, as well as keeping their key pillars at the Club for the foreseeable future. 

“There’s no secret that retention was a big focus for us, Harry [McKay] and Charlie [Curnow], taking them off the free agency table ahead of time was really important,” he said. 

“We've got a game plan there that the Club believes in and the direction that we’re going.”

So what next? 

Carlton heads to the 2022 NAB AFL Draft with four picks, including pick No.10 in the first round as things stand.

With clubs still able to swap picks up until and during the draft, Austin said the Blues would be keeping all options open to ensure they went into the draft with the best possible hand.

“We’re really excited, not just for the first round but all of them,” he said. 

“We’re going to take four picks to the draft which is fantastic for our footy club. We want to rejuvenate the list and build some depth and the best way to do that is through the draft so we’re excited. 

“Four picks is exciting, we’ve got a good hand at the moment with a pick in every round plus some futures, so we’ll see where that takes us.” 

Now that the back and forth of trade period is over, Austin said clubs will assess where things stand and what opportunities are on offer to move in the draft order.

“I think all clubs will let the dust settle now and we’ll see the lay of the land in terms of picks and where everyone wants to position themselves,” he said.

“We want to try and get another pick if we can between that Nos.10 and 29. If we can move 10 up for the right deal, but ideally we’re in a good spot if we stay at 10: we think we’ll get a really exciting player there for the future of our Club, so we feel like we’re in a great spot for the draft.”