The four Victorian clubs that have met with Houston amid wish to return home

Four Victorian clubs have met with Port Adelaide star Dan Houston ahead of next month’s trade period, reports AFL Media’s Cal Twomey.

Those teams are all Melbourne-based, with Carlton, Collingwood, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs the quartet of clubs that met with the two-time All-Australian on the same day in recent weeks.

While Houston told Adelaide’s FIVEaa radio station last month that he’d be remaining at the club and seeing out the remaining four years of his deal, Twomey says he does want to return home to Melbourne.

Even if Houston wants out, he expects any club that comes for him to pay up given his contract status and he thinks that a first-round pick would be a starting point in conversations for the Power with additional picks or players to come on top of that.

“Dan Houston wants to get to Victoria,” Twomey told AFL.com.au’s Gettable.

“There’s been four clubs chasing him the hardest – Carlton, Collingwood, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs.

“He’s met with all four of those clubs, he met with them a couple of weeks ago on the same day.

“The issue is who has the picks to appease the Power given his contract status. Port want picks this year … they’re prioritising the pool in 2024.

“Carlton wants him, Michael Voss is into him, and he wants Dan Houston, but they want to keep pick No. 11 in the Draft, I can’t see how they can have both things.

“If they want him, I don’t how they’re not putting pick 11 on the table.

“St Kilda has also been in the mix for him if they get that pick for Josh Battle which could come at pick eight.”

As things stand, both the Bulldogs and Magpies don’t hold first-round picks in this year’s draft and SEN’s Sam Edmund says Collingwood hasn’t come to Gold Coast for pick 12 in their trade discussions over John Noble.

While the Pies would likely need to get a first-round pick in this year’s draft to land Houston, Twomey thinks that they’ll be more willing to give up their first pick in next year’s draft given that father-son prospect Tom McGuane is in the pipeline and could be taken early in the 2025 Draft.

“The other part for Collingwood to consider is using a future first-round pick for this one would allow them to clear that pick for Tom McGuane next year who looks a really exciting father-son prospect,” Twomey said.

“They’ll have to think about that.”

Houston is currently suspended and won’t play for Port Adelaide for the rest of this season.

He’s currently missed two games of his five-match suspension. If the Power is knocked out of finals this Friday, he’ll miss the opening two matches of the 2025 season even if he moves clubs.