The AFL player shuffle continued with these changes occurring in late October:

Sydney has delisted utility Dean Towers, Jordan Foote, Angus Styles, Jake Brown, Daniel Robinson and Harry Marsh, Towers, 28, was a first-round draft pick as a mature-aged player out of the VFL in 2012 and played 57 games in six seasons. Foote played just six games in four years

The 2019 AFLW schedule was announced at Victoria Park in Melbourne (the spiritual home of Collingwood Football Club) on October 26. The season will see the debut of two expansion clubs, Geelong and North Melbourne, bringing the number of AFL clubs with women’s teams to ten. As announced by the AFL in September, the AFLW will introduce a conference system, with the ten competing teams divided into the  creatively named Conference A and Conference B.

In early October, the trade period began. It ran through October 17. A number of players had previously told their clubs they wanted to go elsewhere. Some were restricted or unrestricted free agents. 

Fremantle was the first club to sign a player during the free agency period. They signed Richmond defender Reece Conca. Conca, 26, is originally from West Australia and decided he wanted to return home after eight seasons and 204 games for the Tigers.

The AFL clubs continue to clear roster space ahead of the draft and another US basketball player will give it a go. Here's the latest:

Carlton delisted Sam Rowe, Jed Lamb, Sam Kerridge and Nick Graham. Rowe, 30, was a defender who played 99 games. He hopes to find another AFL home. Kerridge (42 games), Lamb (66 games) and Graham (48 games) will also look to seek opportunities elsewhere. Kerridge played 27 games with Adelaide 2012-2015 before being traded to the Blues.

The Australian streaming service and podcast hosting service Whooshkaa has signed the AFL as it's latest big name client. The NRL is already a client as are News Corp and Fairfax. The announcement comes in the lead up to the Grand Final. A press release was issued by the company though so far, at least, we haven't received it directly nor has the AFL publicly confirmed the new arrangement via its media department. (Ed. note: we will update this story if more is received.) From the release it's apparent the company wants to target those unable to get access to AFL content via other means.

The company press release states:

"As millions of diehard fans count down the hours to the biggest sporting event of the year, the Toyota AFL Grand Final, the AFL has signed on with Whooshkaa to step up its podcast game.

This will be the first time Collingwood and West Coast will meet in a Grand Final. However, both do have recent Grand Final histories, albeit losses the last time either side played in a Grand Final. The Eagles lost to Hawthorn in 2015 and the Magpies lost to Geelong in 2011 after winning the replay the year before. Speaking of drawn matches, Collingwood and West Coast played against each other in a drawn Qualifying Final in 1990 with Collingwood victorious in the replay.

(Ed. note: This story is club by club for easier scrolling to the team(s) of interest. For the earlier posts in this series: Part 1 and Part 2.)

BRISBANE

Defender Liam Dawson has been delisted by Brisbane. Dawson, 22, played 18 games for the Lions in four years. He played only one game in the past two seasons but failed to add to that tally in 2018. Rohan Bewick, Claye Beams, Jake Barrett, Marco Paparone and Tom Bell have also been delisted while Cian Hanley has retired.

Bewick, the nephew of former Essendon 1993 and 2000 premiership player Darren, played 103 games for the Lions in eight seasons. Bewick, 28, celebrated his 100th AFL game milestone in 2017 and kicked 71 goals for the Lions throughout his career. In 2018,, he played three senior games.

In front of the largest crowd for a sporting event in Western Australia history (59,608), the West Coast Eagles demolished the Melbourne Demons in a one sided contest that crushed the Demon faithful. It took Melbourne a full half of football before they scored their first goal of the match and left their supporters bereft at what might have been in 2018.

Hours before Friday’s semi final between Hawthorn and Melbourne, the AFL announced The Black Eyed Peas and Australian rock music legend Jimmy Barnes will entertain footy fans at the MCG, and millions of viewers around the world, in the pre-game show of the AFL Grand Final on September 29. It will be the first time since 2009 that The Black Eyed Peas will perform on Australian soil, but it will also be the band’s first Australian performance since Fergie quit last year.