AFL great Nick Riewoldt has put forward a radical proposal for Carlton, urging the club to embark on what he calls “the fastest rebuild we’ve ever seen in the history of the game,” with West Coast young gun Harley Reid as their number one target.
Riewoldt’s bold plan
Under Riewoldt’s scenario, the Blues would trade out captain Patrick Cripps and All-Australian defender Jacob Weitering. Weitering would head to North Melbourne, while Cripps would return home to Western Australia.
“They have to be bold,” Riewoldt said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters. “I think they have the pieces to be able to do that.”
Weitering to North Melbourne
Riewoldt believes the 28-year-old Weitering still holds significant trade value and that North Melbourne is in desperate need of a quality key defender.
“They don’t have a stack of players left with a lot of value, but I think one of those guys is Jacob Weitering, who’s 28 now. He’s still a really good player. He’s an All-Australian-level player and can be a super important piece for a side that’s in contention,” Riewoldt said.
“You look across the competition, North Melbourne, I think, would be a wonderful fit. Weitering gets to go to a club that is on the rise, not decline. And if North will be prepared to give up two first-round picks ... I think he slots straight in and fills their biggest need at North Melbourne.
“(Then) all of a sudden, Carlton have eight first-round draft picks over the next three drafts.”
Cripps to West Coast for Reid
Riewoldt then suggested Carlton could package up a combination of draft picks and send their dual Brownlow medallist, Cripps, to West Coast in exchange for the 21-year-old Reid.
The Blues are set to land highly regarded father-son prospect Cody Walker at this year’s draft. Walker stunned in his VFL debut on the weekend, racking up 26 disposals, including 12 contested possessions, and five clearances.
Carlton also has young midfield gun Jagga Smith on their books, who made a hot start to the season in his return from an ACL injury.
With Walker, Smith, Reid and former No.1 draft pick Sam Walsh teaming up in the midfield, Riewoldt says that would give the Carlton faithful plenty of hope for the future.
“All of a sudden you’ve built your next premiership midfield of Sam Walsh, Jagga Smith, Cody Walker and Harley Reid. I think you can sell that to your members,” he said.
Reaction to the plan
As he digested the plan, 7SPORT expert Tom Morris said: “You’ve thrown a bomb on Perth tonight. I can’t wait for the feedback on that.”
Riewoldt explained it was just a “hypothetical, but believes West Coast would still have concerns about Reid’s long-term commitment.
“Until (Reid) signs that long-term deal, we’re going to be talking about a potential move back to Victoria for him,” Riewoldt said.
“And I just wonder whether West Coast, internally, until he signs that long-term deal, they’ll be hoping he stays. (Coach) Andrew McQualter will be doing everything he can to make sure he stays. But until he signs that long-term deal, there must be in the back of their mind just a thought (that he might leave).”
7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary noted that Hawthorn gave up similar currency to get Tom Barrass (a future first-round pick, a future second-round pick, and a future third-round pick) when Barrass was 29 years old. But Cleary questioned whether losing Weitering was the right play.
Cleary said that West Coast’s experience after trading Barrass served as a cautionary tale, with the Eagles finishing 18th for scores against in both 2025 and this year.
“Jacob Weitering is the last guy you would trade,” Cleary said.
“Look how much they’ll leak if Jacob Weitering goes out of that side.
“They need someone to play alongside (young key defenders Harry) O’Farrell and Harry Dean. You don’t want to be stripping back too far because look at what is coming with Tasmania in the competition. If you’re right at the bottom four, you could well be stuck there for some time.”
Morris wondered if it mattered, because they were down the bottom already.
“I would have done it maybe 12, 18 months ago and cashed in properly before Tassie, but you don’t want these picks coming in the next two or three years because they are going to be heavily compromised drafts,” Cleary said.
Morris: “So you’re saying it’s almost too late to do that?”
Cleary: “It could well be. You don’t want to be in the bottom two or three sides when Tassie are picking off all these young stars (at the draft).”
Riewoldt, however, backed his plan and said Carlton should act now.
“It’s not the time to be dwelling at the bottom for the next three to four years with Tasmania coming in with compromised drafts. If you’ve got that hand of eight first-round picks ... if you were able to secure a trade for someone like Weitering, who I still think is a star, that looks pretty awesome, that midfield.
“That can carry you for a decade,” he said.
