Chris Davies on Carlton’s trade period: Saad exit, Walker bid, Whitfield

Written by Marcus Guarnera

Carlton’s general manager of football Chris Davies has spoken through a club interview and AFL trade radio to update Carlton fans about the direction Carlton are set to head into for the trade period which opens today to help build Carlton for the future.

Davies has emphasized a need for Carlton to build off the form from the end of last season by building a better list saying "We’re trying to make sure our list is better at the end of it”. However that won’t be Carlton’s only priority as they need to prepare to match a draft bid for Cody Walker in the draft.

Cody the son of Andrew Walker has father-son draft rights to come to Carlton but Cody is likely to be a top five pick, meaning he will cost the Blues a high point total to match his bid, but Davies is on top of this as Carlton are “also preparing ourselves well from a draft standpoint.” to make sure they don’t miss out on Walker.

Davies was happy with some of the business that Carlton have already conducted by signing Joel Amartey as a free agent as Carlton wanted “another target up forward, someone who can complement Harry and can help Brodie Kemp and the other forwards to bring out their strengths.” as Amartey could be a move to push Cartlon to the top as elite goalkicking has been a big miss for the Blues over the course of last season since the departure of Charlie Curnow.

Carlton are also looking to add a player off half-back to add to the team this off-season with Lachie Whitfield being the leading name. When asked about the possibility of trading for Whitfield, Davies said "We’ve got some interest in Lachie. In many respects, that’s going to require GWS to let him go - I’m not sure whether that’s going to be the case.”. Davies has kept the possibility of a deal open, but it is clear that there is still a way to go during the trade radio.

However, Carlton could look to delisted free agents to add the run off half-back with Wil Parker being a name Davies commented on today. Davies said "We certainly have some interest in Wil. I had some dealings with him a few years ago when he was thinking about going from cricket to football, Josh Fraser obviously has some background with him. It’ll be interesting to see how that transpires in the next period of time." Parker having worked with both Davies and new head coach, Josh Fraser which could help him end up playing for Carlton next season.

But, with all the arrivals there also has to be departures, two are already close in Hudson O'Keeffe and Flynn Riley who have requested trades to Western Bulldogs and Collingwood respectively. Any O’Keeffe deal is waiting for Zak Butter has to end up moving to the Bulldogs first while Carlton have “had some initial discussions with Collingwood in regards to Flynn”. Davies was open to keeping both players however the most important thing is that “we want players that want to be at Carlton."

Davies has also confirmed the rumours of Adam Saad leaving Carlton are true as "Adam won’t be at our Club next year. That decision has been made and he’s thinking about the ramifications for him right now” Carlton are now looking at a solution for Saad to depart the club which will benefit both teams.