THE AFL silly season is starting earlier each year but at what price?

Once upon a time the trade week after the grand final was when the AFL meat market would open its doors, then it extended its opening hours into September as more teams became eliminated from the flag race.

Now, you could argue, the unofficial trade period lasts 12 months broken up by 26 weeks of football.

For fans whose teams are out of finals action, they are only interested in who their club can recruit to elevate them into contention the next year. Trading and free agency spells hope for teams in the bottom half. As soon as a side disappears from the finals race, the potential ins and outs for next season are far more significant than the ins and outs for the next week,

My talkback callers are just as interested discussing the next move from in-demand Docker Lachie Neale as they are in the high-flying Eagles’ current premiership push.

This season there were murmurings of player movement after just four rounds. Meetings took place between players and prospective coaches during the season. That shocked some but not others.

AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said in July he accepted players would meet rival clubs

“I think when people have those discussions they should be having them quietly like they have for decades,” McLachlan said.

Then in September McLachlan changed his tune, saying the AFL was considering anti-tampering rules to stop such meetings after reports surfaced of a meeting between Neale and Brisbane coach Chris Fagan.

Which one is it, Gill?

The AFL has extended the post-season trade period in part to keep footy in the headlines for longer during the off-season. Now the genie is out of the bottle, expect more meetings next season.

The team above is a selection of the players earmarked for a switch of clubs in the post-season. It’s a premiership-winning 22.

Interestingly, some want to leave successful clubs. Sydney’s Dan Hannebery, premiership Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus and Adelaide’s Mitch McGovern have asked to be traded and not necessarily because they are disgruntled.

If you can do the same work for more money, who is going to knock it back given the limited time in the game?

The revolution has well and truly begun. Is it better?

No, because loyalty is gone and greed is now on the radar and it’s not the players’ fault.