Geelong pulled off another major commercial coup with a Collingwood youngster ready to nominate the Cats as his new preferred home.
Also, a Port mid explains his decision to head to the Hawks.
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PIES YOUNGSTER GOES TO JOIN BROTHER AT THE CATTERY
Collingwood forward Ollie Henry will announce Geelong as his club of choice, after limited opportunities at the Magpies this season, reports SEN.
The potential deal would be a major coup for the Cats, given they missed out on both Henry and Tanner Bruhn (GWS) from Geelong Falcons when they found three first draft picks for giant Jeremy Cameron in 2020.
Without their first picks 13 and 15, Henry and Bruhn were already off the table when the Cats used their first pick (20) on Max Holmes.
Now, with Tanner Bruhn looking to return home to Victoria and Henry ready to announce the Cats as his club of choice, the Cameron deal looks like a masterstroke for Geelong.
SEN’s Sam Edmund says Henry wants to join brother Jack at the Cats, as he is set to be pushed further down the Pies’ pecking order with the expected arrivals of forwards Dan McStay and Bobby Hill.
“He wants to get to Geelong now,” Edmund said.
“The Henry camp is worried about Dan McStay and (Bobby) Hill getting into that forward line.
“The contract offer from Collingwood didn’t surprise them anyway, so now all signs point to the Cats, where brother Jack is in his ear, of course, to bring him down.”
Henry made an impact as a medium runner-up against Fremantle in Round 10, kicking four goals to help his side to victory away from home.
Impressively, all four of those goals came in the second half, after he replaced the injured Mason Cox in the wet.
He backed up that effort with three goals against the Blues and scored six goals in his next four games. But a goalless outing against North Melbourne saw him relegated back to mid-sub, where he failed to get on the park in successive games.
The 20-year-old has played 25 games, two of them as an unused sub, for Collingwood since arriving as pick 17 in the 2020 Draft.
Henry is out of contract at the end of Collingwood’s season after signing an initial two-year deal.
Henry’s brother Jack has already played 105 games for the Cats since joining the club at the end of 2017.
“For the Cats, it’s kind of a pivot, given that (Collingwood’s Brodie) Grundy and (Giant Jacob) Hopper were in, as we know,” Edmund said.
“But Tanner Bruhn nominated them and I hope Ollie Henry does the same.”
Magpies manager Craig McRae would not be drawn by the looming request on SEN’s The Run Home.
“We’re still playing and there’s 14 (teams) that aren’t,” he said. “I know those issues will come, but right now my focus is on Sydney.”
PORT MID CHOSE HALFONS FOR “GROWTH”
Port Adelaide midfielder Karl Amon has explained why he chose Hawthorn, revealing the club made contact “early in the year” to try and lure him to Victoria.
Amon will leave the Power this trade window, as an unrestricted free agent after nine years and 124 games at the club.
The 27-year-old announced Hawthorn as his club of choice after meeting with Sam Mitchell and being impressed by the offer made to him.
“There were four or five (clubs he met with),” Amon said AFL commercial radio Wednesday.
“In the middle of the year, there were two that I had to decide.
“The reason I decided on Hawthorn is that it’s a very exciting time for the club. Sam has had his first year as manager and they are playing a very exciting brand of football.
“I think I can complement it wherever they want me to play. There is still more growth in my game to come and I can see that happening at Hawthorn.
“Hawthorn was interested (in a trade) all the way through.
“They had a conversation with my manager at the beginning of the year and showed interest throughout the year.
“That’s another key reason why I decided to go with them, because they showed interest very early on and were keen to bring me to their club.”
Amon says he hopes to play more midfield minutes where he can be “damaging on the outside”.