DO you remember when Tony Lockett going to Richmond was as good as a done deal?

Or how about when Lance Franklin was signed, sealed and delivered to Greater Western Sydney?

This may not be happy reading for Essendon fans, who are still waiting for the Dylan Shiel deal to go through, but some of the biggest AFL trades in history have turned into massive fails. Recap some of the biggest blockbuster trades that weren’t.

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LANCE FRANKLIN TO GWS

It was almost common knowledge that Lance Franklin would leave Hawthorn and become a Giant at the end of 2013. Certainly, GWS and the AFL believed it. But Buddy — and his manager — pulled one of the great trade heists by joining Sydney instead. A nine-year contract worth $10 million may have had something to do with it.

TONY LOCKETT TO RICHMOND

At the end of 1994 the rumour mill was on overdrive that superstar goalkicker Tony Lockett was set to leave St Kilda. Richmond and Collingwood were the reported frontrunners with Lockett choosing the Tigers — Lockett’s management said he’d agreed to a three-year deal and the back page newspaper heading the next day was “Lockett a Tiger”. The only problem was Richmond couldn’t do a deal with the Saints and Plugger went north instead, becoming a Swan in three-way deal with Hawthorn.

JOE MISITI TO COLLINGWOOD

The end of 2001 was a painful time at Essendon, with the club crushed by salary cap pressure and several favourite sons seemingly on the way out. But despite contract talks breaking down, a mooted Misiti to Magpies trade never happened. Teammates Damien Hardwick (traded to Port Adelaide) and Gary Moorcroft (Melbourne) didn’t survive the cull, with Blake Caracella (Brisbane), Chris Heffernan (Melbourne) and Justin Blumfield (Richmond) departing the next year.

MARK ALVEY TO ESSENDON

Alvey was the victim of possibly the most bizarre trade fail of all time 12 months earlier. He was meant to join the Bombers from the Western Bulldogs at the end of 2002 as part of a three-club deal for Blumfield, but Richmond only got involved in talks 20 minutes before the trade deadline and when the paperwork was finally ready at 1.58pm, the fax machine at AFL House was engaged. The Blumfield deal went through with 30 seconds left, but the Alvey paperwork missed the deadline. “It was madness,” then-Tigers footy boss Greg Miller said.

CHRIS JUDD TO MELBOURNE/COLLINGWOOD/ESSENDON

The premiership captain, Norm Smith and Brownlow medallist created one of the biggest trade frenzies in history when he announced he wanted to return to Victoria two days after the Eagles bowed out of the 2007 finals. He flew to Melbourne and met with Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon and Melbourne, with the Pies the early frontrunner. Judd chose the Blues — although that wasn’t confirmed until after Richmond tried to cut their lunch by offering the Eagles a better deal. Eventually West Coast settled for Josh Kennedy and picks 3 and 20 from the Blues. “They have got a young and exciting list,” Judd said. “I could be part of something from the ground up, that was the exciting part of it for me.”

media_camera Chris Judd tries on a Carlton jumper for the first time.

CHRIS GRANT TO PORT ADELAIDE

When Port Adelaide joined the competition at the end of 1996 they made a huge $1.5 million offer to the Bulldogs champ. The Dogs didn’t have anywhere near that kind of cash but they did have an extra 20 cents courtesy of seven-year-old fan Ryan Adams, who attached the coin to a letter he sent to Grant pleading for him to stay. He did, and while Grant retired without a flag, he was a board member for this year’s drought-breaking triumph — with Adams watching in the stands.

JADE RAWLINGS TO NORTH MELBOURNE

It’s now accepted wisdom that if a player declares he wants to join a certain club, he’ll get there in the end, but that wasn’t always the case. Jade Rawlings had his heart set on becoming a Kangaroo at the end of 2003 after he quit Hawthorn, sparking a five-club bidding war that also included Geelong, Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide. He met North Melbourne coach Dean Laidley and was walking into AFL House to sign the paperwork when his manager phoned to say the deal had fallen over.

Rawlings was the casualty of the infamous “Veale deal”, a three-way trade that sent Mark Alvey from the Bulldogs to Essendon, Danny Jacobs from the Bombers to Hawthorn and the unknown (Lochlan) Veale from the Hawks to the Kennel. Rawlings was sent to the pre-season draft, where he was picked up by the Dogs. After two unsuccessful years at the Kennel he got his wish to play alongside brother Brady at Arden St, but retired after just three games in blue and white.

media_camera Jade Rawlings finally became a Kangaroo in 2006. media_camera Mark Alvey in action for the Bombers.

JONATHAN BROWN TO COLLINGWOOD

The Magpies had a serious crack at getting Brown out of Brisbane — twice. In 2005 he was offered a $6 million four-year deal and in 2008 he had a secret meeting with coach Mick Malthouse. “I’d started talking to Collingwood 12 months earlier. About the middle of the year, about Round 13 or Round 14, I met with Mick Malthouse the day before we played a game,” Brown told Fox Footy’s Open Mike program. “I was really impressed and I thought at that stage, ‘I’m going to play for Collingwood’.”

RYAN O’KEEFE TO HAWTHORN

At the end of 2008 Swans star O’Keefe decided he wanted to return to Victoria and met Hawthorn chiefs including coach Alastair Clarkson. O’Keefe knocked back a three-year contract from Sydney and declared his intentions, but the deal was scuttled when none of Hawthorn, Collingwood or Carlton was prepared to give up their first-round draft pick. History records O’Keefe opted against putting himself in the pre-season draft, returned to the Swans and became one of the club’s modern champions, winning the Norm Smith Medal in the 2012 flag.

media_camera Ryan O’Keefe with his premiership and Norm Smith Medals in 2012.

KURT TIPPETT TO BRISBANE/GOLD COAST

The Swans offered Jesse White and pick 22 in a trade, which seemed unders and was initially rejected by the Crows. It then emerged Adelaide had agreed to trade Tippett to the club of his choice for a second-round draft pick when he signed his last Crows' contract in 2009. The AFL blocked any trade and Sydney eventually took him in the pre-season draft. Adelaide lost its first two picks in the 2012 and 2013 national drafts and was fined, while Tippett was fined and suspended for 11 matches.

NICK STEVENS TO COLLINGWOOD

Stevens was one of Port Adelaide’s best players when he declared he wanted to become a Collingwood player at the end of 2003. Port coach Mark Williams wasn’t having a bar of it, calling Stevens’ bluff and sending him to the pre-season draft, where he was picked up by Carlton. Port went on to win the 2004 premiership. “I obviously missed out on that but that’s the chance you take when you leave,” Stevens said years later. Any lingering sympathy for Stevens evaporated when he was jailed this year for violently assaulting his partner.

BRYCE GIBBS TO ADELAIDE

Gibbs shocked the Blues by requesting a trade to the Crows on the first day of the 2016 trade period. But Carlton held firm on its demands for two first-round draft picks for the star midfielder all the way to the trade deadline. Carlton's tough stance paid off 12 months later when Adelaide paid top price to get Gibbs back to South Australia.