The Cody conundrum: How making finals could hurt Carlton’s Walker bid

June 30, 2026 — 7:00pm

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If Josh Fraser lifts the resurgent Blues into the finals, Carlton will need to trade to collect enough points to net father-son prospect Cody Walker if their rivals bid on him at pick No.1.

If the Blues don’t make the top 10, they will have enough assets in their hands to add him to the list regardless of when the bid arrives, although they would need to go into deficit.

That binary equation is not quite the full story, but it’s close enough.

Many variables will determine the exact price the Blues will have to pay for Walker, the son of 2003 No.2 pick Andrew, at November’s national draft under rules announced in April that will make it harder for clubs to land priority talent.

Making the finals in 2026 will cause the Blues to twist and contort, and trade, much more than if they miss.

Based on current ladder positions, Carlton have pick No.7 (1795 Draft Value Index points) and No.17 (879 DVI points), one of the future first-round picks they gained from Sydney when trading Charlie Curnow.

Because clubs can only use two draft selections to match a bid, that gives the Blues 2674 DVI points. If the bid arrives at pick No.1, they need to match 3000 points, minus the 10 per cent discount the clubs that finish outside the top 10 receive.

That leaves the Blues needing 2700 points. They would go into deficit a mere 26 DVI points to grab Walker, who would have cost them a pretty reasonable price of two first-round selections.

However, if the Blues – who have a tough run home after Saturday night’s clash with Richmond – scrape into 10th place, lose their first final and the bid for Walker comes at pick No.1, their situation becomes much more difficult.

They lose the discount, meaning they would need 3000 DVI points.

Tenth spot would give them 1276 DVI points plus........

© The Sydney Morning Herald