AFL trade talks stall with Houston, Macrae in limbo

Key players in the AFL trade period such as Dan Houston and Jack Macrae must wait until next week to learn their fates.

Friday featured the first deal since the period opened on Monday, when Jack Darling joined North Melbourne and Alex Neal-Bullen went to Adelaide.

But it did not involve any players, with the Brisbane Lions trading their first-round draft selection at No.20 to Richmond for several second and third-round picks.

Otherwise it’s been all negotiations and Houston’s future in particular proving tough to determine as he seeks a move from Port Adelaide back to his native Melbourne.

Collingwood and Carlton are the two main players in the Houston talks, but Magpies list manager Justin Leppitsch said on Friday that they’re in holding pattern and will resume next week.

The trade period ends next Wednesday night.

“Dan hasn’t nominated a club so it is not like he is definitely coming to us. It is complicated so there is a little bit to work through,” Leppitsch told AFL Trade Radio.

“The difficult part is getting everyone happy in the deal.”

Macrae has asked to leave the Western Bulldogs and join St Kilda, but those two clubs also are a long way off.

“The discussions between us and them about Jack really haven’t progressed too far. Whether they sort of accelerate up over the next few days, we’ll wait and see,” said Saints football boss David Misson.

Bailey Smith also wants out from the Bulldogs and head to Geelong, while Richmond will end up with a trove of draft picks if Daniel Rioli (Gold Coast), Shai Bolton (Fremantle) and Liam Baker (West Coast) are granted their wishes.