AFL trade period, day four AS IT HAPPENED: Saints' shock 'backflip' on Giant after trade request; Expert's growing confidence in Charlie Curnow trade

And we might call it a day there, folks.

We'll do it all again tomorrow from about 8am.

Thanks for tuning in.

Goodbye.

Giants defender Leek Aleer is understandably said to be "shattered" after being told by the Saints today that he would not be joining the club in this trade period.

"It's left Leek Aleer in the lurch," footy journalist Damian Barrett said on AFL Trade Radio.

"After basically two years of wooing him and telling him that he was a much-required Saints player from 2026 onwards, they've told him that it's too hard to do and they don't have anything with which to trade.

"It's clearly left a young player shattered, who was happy at the club he was at but was wined and dined for two years, effectively, and now he's in a form of limbo.

"He thought his future, on the back of the sell from St Kilda, was going to be as a Saint as part of this wave of players coming in.

"Leek Aleer is shattered over this whole situation."

A Saint has become a Demon.

Max Heath, who St Kilda has traded to Melbourne for a 2027 fourth-round pick, is a 22-year-old ruckman.

The Demons are preparing for life after Max Gawn.

Geelong chief executive Steve Hocking says managing Bailey Smith's behavioural problems isn't about "tiptoeing" around him, but keeping in mind the "complexities" of his experience with mental health.

Smith again courted controversy with his social media activity at Geelong's Mad Monday, a day after the club's defeat to Brisbane in the grand final.

Bisexual former AFL player Mitch Brown slammed one of his posts as "homophobic", while footy journalist Caroline Wilson described an emoji used by Smith in reference to her as "insulting and sexist".

In reference to a photo of Cats teammate Max Holmes dressing up as Wilson on Mad Monday, Smith wrote "Caro has never looked better", which he accompanied with the "water drops" emoji, hinting at semen.

In a wide-ranging SEN interview today, Essendon great Tim Watson brought up the meeting AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon and some top Geelong figures had at Smith's Surf Coast home in June.

"He [Dillon] was tyring to manage that in an appropriate fashion," Hocking explained.

"Bailey's been quite open around mental health and some of the complexities around that.

"It's not about tiptoeing around someone like Bailey; it's just making sure that you're tailoring it accordingly because one size doesn't fit all for us."

The meeting at Smith's home, attended by Dillon, Hocking, Cats coach Chris Scott and Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie, followed a social media post in which Smith joked about getting on the "nose beers", which is colloquial for cocaine.

"When you come off field, the interest in him is just unbelievable," Hocking said.

"He has a very different relationship with social media to ... our age profile. I don't understand it at all, for what it's worth.

"He works that exceptionally well.

"There will be a time, in my view, and this will involve all of us over the off-season, where we just need to ... We're really, really early in the relationship."

The Saints have brought in four of their targets, but have turned their back on the fifth.

Certainly adds some intrigue to the next few days.

Silvagni, De Koning, Ryan and Flanders all in, two as free agents. They've given up pick seven and their 2026 2nd round pick, plus a boatload of cash.

So in the last hour, St Kilda has told GWS they no longer will negotiate on a Leek Aleer trade, reportedly unable to work out a trade.

And worked out a deal for Liam Ryan from West Coast, at the cost of a second round pick next year.

A trade between West Coast and St Kilda has been struck for small forward Liam Ryan.

Per Cal Twomey:

Sydney-based AFL reporter Lachlan McKirdy has called out St Kilda for their backflip on Leek Aleer.

"Got to feel that Leek Aleer has been incredibly hard done by here. Had his head turned by a monster deal from St Kilda all year, turning down the Giants - a team he didn't really want to leave. Now, they've pulled the rug out from under him," he posted on social media.

The Age's Pete Ryan with further context on the bombshell news that Leek Aleer is no longer headed to St Kilda.

The Bulldogs have been hunting a key defender all trade period and Leek Aleer might have just fallen in their laps, if they act fast.

Collingwood missed out on Jack Silvagni and will now also likely inquire about Aleer's interest in joining them.

Carlton has a hole to fill in their backline, but might not have the picks to make it happen, while Fremantle tried to add Jai Serong from Hawthorn, indicating they want key defensive depth.

He would make sense for Geelong, who lack some size in defence at times, or North Melbourne, though they have indicated they're happy with their current key defensive group.

Maybe this all ends with Aleer simply staying with the Giants.