Put yourself in the shoes of Dan Houston for a moment. Whack some odour eaters in there, maybe wear two pairs of socks… just to be safe.
Your services are in demand. You have options on the table, and each one has its pros and cons. You’re going to have to make a decision as to where your next, and possibly last, football home is, yet, you’re trying your best to ensure you do the right thing by Port Adelaide, and give them the best outcome, as well. And the clock, as they say in the classics, is ticking.
Who do you choose, and why do you choose them?
Let’s explore.
CARLTON
How many half-back flanks do these blokes want to recruit?
Adam Saad, Nic Newman, Zac Williams… they keep buying replacement parts in their defence and deciding they need more. Meanwhile, what happens to the blokes they grabbed to play these roles?
Well, Newman is a gun, and his podium finish in the Jon Nicholls Medal is evidence of this. Saad has been All-Australian in navy blue, and Williams… ummm, well, we like his sheets.
The Blues have been the most vocal about their desire to bring Houston on-board, but really, they’re the team that needs him least.
Maybe that’s an attractive proposition for Houston? Maybe he is a fan of “many hands making for light work”? If so, IKON Park looks to be an ideal landing spot for him.
But let me put this out there – if Daniel Rioli, at 27, is worth Pick Six, how much is a 27-year-old, All-Australian, Dan Houston worth? The Blues are trying desperately to find the picks Port will be interested in, but they’d want to get cracking. That Pick 13, currently owned by Gold Coast, looks like the key, but their bitter rivals, Collingwood, also seem in the box seat to nab it.
NORTH MELBOURNE
This is where Houston would have the highest-profile role. Not only will he immediately be instituted as a leader at North Melbourne, he will also assume control of just about all D50 rebound opportunities if possible.
North has been playing hot-potato with the role of rebounding defender for a couple of years, waving goodbye to the human turnover, Aaron Hall, and using it as a way to bring their talented kids into the fold; to teach them the game of top-level footy without throwing them to the wolves.
Harry Sheezel cut his teeth in the position, and went on to win a Best and Fairest, as well as the Ron Evans Medal, in his first year playing across half-back. Colby McKercher, who I am told sounds like a delicious brand of cheese, then assumed the position (LOL) and gave the role a little more flair.
But they are not born-and-bred half-back flankers, are they? We’ve seen Sheezel move away from the role, and we’ll no doubt see McKercher follow suit. Whilst he provided a great running game from defence, he is better suited to a more attacking role.
North even tried putting Jaidyn Stephenson back in defence, and Bailey Scott drifted back from the wing to line up at half-back through the second half of the season, at times.
Basically, they’re a team without a genuine, experienced flanker, and in bringing in Houston, they not only gain someone who excels in that role, but they get to deploy their kids in positions they’re more likely to grow into.
North have Pick Two in the draft, which is very much overs for Houston, but if they managed to split it, or offer a future first… it’d be very tempting for Port.
On the down side… they just never seem to land the bigger fish. I don’t like saying it, but it’s true. Houston seems like he will snap their line as soon as they try to reel him in.
COLLINGWOOD
As much as we hear about the success of the Pies, and you cannot argue with a flag just two seasons back, they’re doing it without a high-class half-back flanker. Like North (but also nothing like North, as they have enjoyed success), they have been able to use players like John Noble and Oleg Markov to provide run and carry from the back half.
With all due respect to both those guys, they’re not exactly elite. And when you consider that Brayden Maynard was the club leader in rebound 50s, and second in metres gained, you can see that the club has a clear deficiency at the position. Maynard is more suited to locking down on an opponent and making their life miserable – I reckon he had too much asked of him in 2024.
The Pies are losing Noble, and whilst Markov has another year in black and white, it is clear he is not a viable first option, unless there is a prize for Movember efforts.
The Pies need a player like Houston, and even though they finished outside the eight in 2024, the threat of a return to finals in short order could be enough to turn Houston’s head.
Collingwood will be hoping to turn Noble into a first round pick. Hey… it’s been done before, and Gold Coast have parted with first-rounders for much less. If Houston nominates these blokes, they’re gonna have some work to do – their first pick is at 36.
Perhaps the news that Joe Richards wants a trade to Port could sway things further in the Pies favour?
SO, WHERE DOES HE END UP?
I hate saying this, as it seems as though when this mob wants someone, they inevitably get them.
I think he’ll end up at Collingwood. They’ll somehow end up with Gold Coast’s Pick 13, and send that, along with Richards, to the Power. There might be some steak knives thrown in, but I get the feeling that Houston will be moving from one set of black and white stripes to another.
And as much as I think he would be incredible at North, he’ll fit in beautifully at Collingwood.
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