North Melbourne is set to land a ‘very rare big fish’ after ‘20 years of fails’... now to get a deal done

Nick Blakey will look to follow in his dad’s footsteps and chase success on a rising Kangaroos side kickstarting a new era under Jaymie Graham.

But first, North Melbourne has to get a deal done with Sydney.

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Blakey has selected the Kangaroos as his preferred new home for 2027 as the only ‘Pullman Five’ Swan to seek a trade.

But the All-Australian defender still has five years to run on a lucrative deal, so Sydney will drive a hard bargain.

Blakey is keen to join the club he could’ve once nominated as a father-son prospect, with his father, John, a two-time premiership player at North among 224 of his 359 AFL games.

“It is a football romance that has got him to this football club,” Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said on Fox Footy’s Trading Day.

“His old man, John Blakey, got to North Melbourne from Fitzroy at 26 years of age. From 1994 onwards, seven prelims, two flags.

“Nick Blakey is 26 years of age. He says his old man is his best mate and he thinks he can do a very similar thing; get in on the upswing and ride them all the way to a very rare premiership.

“He likes the list, he got on well with Jaymie Graham. The Swans will absolutely drive a hard bargain; they’ll ask for Pick 5, players and a future first-rounder. But something would have to wrong for him not to get to North Melbourne.

“It is a very rare big fish they have landed.”

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Landing Blakey would be a major coup for the Kangaroos and arguably the best recruit they’ve ever lured from a rival club.

It follows a series of misses on stars that have hit the market over the last two decades such as Dustin Martin and Josh Kelly, with North consistently having to settle for lesser talent.

“The days of Jasper Pittard, Jared Polec and Dom Tyson might be over. Destination Arden Street,” fellow Herald Sun reporter Glenn McFarlane added.

“They’ve got a new coach, new train station out there, and potentially, a new star.

“They’ve tried and failed, 20 years they’ve tried to get players ... Dustin Martin, Isaac Heeney, Josh Kelly, Jordan De Goey, Andrew Gaff — all huge offers.

“This time, it looks like they’re finally going to deliver.”

Now to work through a trade.

North Melbourne has already reportedly tabled its Pick 6, with other later selections involved, in an offer that was knocked back by Sydney.

The Roos are also trying to acquire contracted Crows defender Nick Murray and are believed to be intent on getting both Murray and Blakey.

But the Swans will put a high price on Blakey, arguably the premier halfback in the competition, a year after they surrendered three first-round picks, Will Hayward and Ollie Florent for Charlie Curnow.

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It’s why Ralph believes Sydney, who’s in win-now mode coming off a preliminary final, is entitled to ask for a quality player back from Nort in the deal, suggesting Paul Curtis or Riley Hardeman as realistic targets.

“They can ask for the world ... if I was this club, I’d be going to the very top,” Ralph continued.

“I’d be just warming up the trade discussion by saying, ‘We’ll have O’Sullivan, Wardlaw, ‘LDU’ or Sheezel’. Of course, North Melbourne would say, ‘That’s an ambit claim’.

“Then I’d say, ‘OK, what about Paul Curtis? Or one of your young key defenders? Or Riley Hardeman?’

“This is a club (Sydney) that just jettisoned a premiership chance this year. They’re not just bringing in young kids, they’re bringing in another elite player, as well as an elite pick.”

Chief Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark questioned if it was “realistic” to get a North Melbourne player so late in the trade period, which closes on Wednesday night.

“You’d think Pick 5 and a future first-rounder should be the guts of the deal,” Clark said, before he noted: “He’s got a powerful manager, Robbie D’Orazio and Paul Connors. History says this deal gets done.”

CDG Sports’ D’Dorazio and Connors also manage Curnow and have a strong track record of securing trades for their players, with Jordan Ridley, Zach Merrett and Ben King among their stable to move this exchange window.

“I just love the way this mob gets this stuff done... they’ve got a particular way,” Ralph continued.

“They’re going to move four players across this trade period; Jordan Ridley and Zach Merrett have just been moved by Nick Gieschen. Robbie D’Orazio is moving Nick Blakey and he’s just got Ben King done.

“You time your run and have multiple clubs you consider. I’m very sure that if he has his way, Blakey probably would’ve got to Geelong, just like Charlie Curnow last year.

“But you have three or four clubs, meet a lot of them and take them to the club that has multiple picks and players to get it done.

“All those years back Paul Connors said to Chris Judd: ‘I know you want to get to Collingwood, I’m getting you to Carlton, because you get back home and get it done’.

“They will absolutely get this deal done.”