AFL Trade Period Winners and Losers: Bulldogs' Treloar Coup vs Collingwood's Salary Dump

The 2020 AFL trade period came down to the final moments, as they so often do, but when the dust settled, the hierarchy of winners and losers was unusually stark. One club had orchestrated a masterclass in asset management. Another had conducted what amounted to a public salary cap evacuation, leaving observers genuinely confused about what it was trying to build.

The Western Bulldogs emerged as the period's clearest victor. They retained Josh Dunkley, a midfielder hungry for more game time, while simultaneously landing Adam Treloar from Collingwood. The arithmetic looked elegant: the Dogs offloaded draft picks to secure Treloar, but because they were targeting Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in the draft anyway, the effective cost amounted to trading away a future second-round pick for a player of Treloar's caliber. It was the kind of move that prompted genuine admiration from those who track the mechanics of football trades. Sam Power, the club's trading architect, added further depth by bringing in Mitch Hannan, a player regarded highly by those inside the game, and Stefan Martin, whose experience was deemed essential for developing young ruckman Tim English. The Dogs had managed to strengthen their hand without gutting their future.

Brisbane Lions executed with similar precision. Joe Daniher had entered the trade period as one of the marquee names in play, the kind of player who might drag negotiations down to the wire. Essendon's decision to offer him a lucrative three-year deal generated compensation picks that ultimately worked against them—the Lions simply didn't match the offer. But Brisbane didn't stop there. They also acquired Nakia Cockatoo, a former top-10 pick, for just a future third-round selection. In essence, they had landed both Daniher and Cockatoo for the price of a single pick. It was the kind of efficient work that suggested a club executing a clear plan.

Carlton and St. Kilda also navigated the period successfully. The Blues secured Zac Williams and Adam Saad—players who had nominated for the club—in exchange for Pick 8, a deal that would have satisfied their supporters before the period began. St. Kilda, meanwhile, played hardball with Adelaide over Brad Crouch and won the standoff without surrendering any picks, while also acquiring Jack Higgins and Shaun McKernan to address their stated needs. They lost Nick Hind in the process but otherwise emerged intact.

Collingwood's trade period, by contrast, became the season's defining cautionary tale. The confusion was palpable. Observers assumed the club was positioning itself for a marquee signing, some dramatic play at a star name. Instead, it became clear that Collingwood was conducting a salary cap purge—a genuine fire sale designed simply to get under the salary threshold. Adam Treloar departed. Jaidyn Stephenson was traded away. Tom Phillips left. Atu Bosenavulagi followed. When the ledger was tallied, Collingwood had moved all four players and received in return Picks 14 and 65, plus a future second-round selection. The optics were damaging. The external perception of the club took a hit. Internally, the pressure mounted on the football department heading into 2021. Even seasoned analysts like David King found themselves wondering aloud whether a full rebuild was now underway.

Fremantle's trade period told a different kind of failure story. The club did manage to clear Jesse Hogan's salary from the books, but the return—Pick 54—stood in brutal contrast to what they had surrendered to acquire him in the first place: Picks 6 and 23. It was a massive swing in value, the kind of trade that haunts a club's reputation for years. They had also pursued Jordan Clark, but Geelong's valuation was prohibitive. By the time the period ended, Fremantle had brought in very little while the Hogan transaction alone represented a substantial loss of capital.

As the 2021 season approached, the real test would come on the field. The Bulldogs' midfield balance—with both Dunkley and Treloar now in the mix—remained an intriguing question mark. Collingwood's competitive prospects had darkened considerably. Brisbane and Carlton had positioned themselves to compete. The trades had been made; now came the harder work of proving they mattered.