Former Melbourne and Carlton defender Oscar McDonald will move to a third club after agreeing to join Fremantle on the first day of the delisted free agency window.
The younger brother of Melbourne’s Tom McDonald will head west after being named at fullback in the VFL team of the year following a strong campaign with Williamstown.
McDonald, who was delisted by the Blues at the end of 2022 after battling a back injury, received a lifeline along with former Sydney ruckman Sam Naismith, who has joined Richmond.
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The Dockers will add the 196cm defender to their list after losing Joel Hamling to Sydney during the free agency window.
McDonald, 27, will provide backup for first choice key defensive pair Alex Pearce and Brennan Cox, while the Dockers also have 19-year-old Josh Draper, who came close to a senior debut on several occasions last season.
Fremantle holds five picks in the draft but only one within the first two rounds at pick 34.
Richmond picked up Naismith after a dominant VFL campaign for Port Melbourne.
The 2016 Sydney grand final ruckman, who will turn 32 next year, only managed 30 games in 10 years at the Swans due to a brutal run of knee injuries.
He averaged 14 disposals and 40 hit-outs across 14 games for Port Melbourne, with the Tigers using their spare list spot to replace Ivan Soldo, who departed for Port Adelaide via trade.
Naismith said he had rediscovered his love of the game at Port Melbourne and was excited to reunite with Tigers co-captain Toby Nankervis, who he shared the ruck duties with at the Swans in 2016.
“I’m super excited. It was an opportunity that I didn’t think was going to happen, and I think my last five years of working really hard to get back to this position is paying off now,” Naismith said.
“Everyone that has supported me over the last few years, it’s been pretty tough times through that journey and this just validates everything that I’ve worked hard for during that time.
“The finish line is not done, I’m keen to attack pre-season and meet everyone and I just want to get a game.”
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