MELBOURNE'S AFL List Manager Tim Lamb has joined Trade Radio to discuss where the club is at on day four of the 2025 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
Lamb touches on the key players the club is targeting, the impact of Steven King and the potential trades speculated in the media.
On Clayton Oliver
"We met with Clayton and spoke about the future, how that looked, how the coach wanted the midfield to play and where Clayton fitted in with all of that,” Lamb said.
“Out of that has come that he wanted to explore some options, but it wasn't a direction from us to do that."
On Christian Petracca
“We’ve only had really preliminary discussions [with Gold Coast], that’d be the best way to describe it,” Lamb said.
“As we’ve said all along, we love Trac, he's expressed a desire to potentially move somewhere else and we've said we'll look at something as long as it's in the best interests of the club and so that's our position.
“We haven't really progressed anything very far at all.”
On Steven May
“I do [expect Steven May to be at the Dees next year],” Lamb said.
On Bailey Humphrey
“I think in these situations you need to be really respectful, Gold Coast have made their position clear that Bailey is contracted and not on the trade table,” Lamb said.
“You have to respect that, that’s where they sit and their position.”
On Brody Mihocek
“At this stage, it’s looking likely that [we’ll sign him] as a free agent,” Lamb said.
“We’re talking to Collingwood about a couple of options, but if they don’t come to fruition then we’re committed to bringing Brody in, so we’re very comfortable to do that as a free agent.
“We think he’s going to be an unbelievable acquisition to our club, he’s a terrific player, a terrific person, a great teacher for our young forwards.
“We’re really excited with the talent we’ve got up there in van Rooyen, Jefferson, Kentfield, Johnson. To have someone of Brody's stature on our list, he really adds something up the front end of ground that we’ve been looking for.”
On Max Heath
“We’ve just got to work through that with the Saints, but I don’t think that [trade] should be too much of a problem,” Lamb said.
The club’s focus
“There’s a list management strategy behind it,” Lamb said.
“We’ve been heavily involved at the last two drafts, bringing in elite young talent that we think can really drive the club forward pretty quickly. We’ve also got a fair few other handy players still running around.
"No one's been pushed out the door, that's not the case at all. You have to have these mature conversations at this time of year and the only way to do these things is working in what is the best interests of the club at that time, and what can be the best way to build the next premiership list.
"That's all we're about - trying to build a team that wins us another premiership."
On Steven King’s impact
"The coaches are critical parts of a list management team, their view is enormously important and valued," Lamb said.
“In every meeting we’ve had, [Steven’s] been unbelievable, he’s energized and is really motivated to get the team going quickly. He’s obviously across every decision we make and a critical part of every conversation we have."
