Another - and one that should worry him far more - is how he goes back to Fremantle and acts as if his trade request to West Coast never happened.

The strong mail is that Ballantyne wanted out of Freo because he'd had enough of Nat Fyfe. Whether or not the pair can put that behind them and co-exist productively in 2017 remains to be seen.

Ballantyne is at a precarious point. He's headed into the last year of a well-paid deal that he negotiated during what became an All-Australian season in 2014. After a couple of years in which he's hardly set the world on fire, he needs a big season if he's going to get a contract for 2018, at any club.

Don't believe for a second that he had offers this year from the east coast, especially Essendon. That was never on the cards. And I wouldn't expect it to change in the future.

One of the biggest questions around Ballantyne is how much he can play his natural game as he tries to extend his AFL career. He's built his game on being fearless, combative and going where many small forwards don't want to tread.

But he's suffered so many head knocks over the past few seasons that it's very debatable whether he can continue to play that way. And yet he'd need to if someone, including the Dockers, is going to take a punt on him.

The Fyfe situation isn't his only headache and I wouldn't be shocked if Hayden is seen playing for Peel a fair bit next year.

Bryce Gibbs finds himself in a similar situation at Carlton - and it's another very intriguing case in point.

On one hand, I admire Carlton for not letting the tail wag the dog. Sometimes there are players (mostly kids in their late teens) who go home for valid family reasons and there's the situation where a player just needs to suck it up and be a professional. Gibbs is two years into a five-year deal and it's hardly unreasonable for the Blues to hold him to that.

On the other, Carlton gets back a player who clearly doesn't really want to be there and who probably tries this on again in next year's trade period. Why not take a first round pick from Adelaide, plus some combination of future draft picks, and be rid of the problem?

On the local front, both Freo and West Coast have had satisfactory trade periods.

At West Coast, it's difficult to see how Matt Priddis and Sam Mitchell play in the same midfield because they're both suited to the same role. Maybe Mitchell plays a bit outside or even goes to half-back. I think Nathan Vardy is a good addition, certainly a better idea than Drew Petrie (which I still don't understand)

Fremantle's list for 2017 looks good on paper but as I'm fond of saying, it's a game played on grass. Cam McCarthy, Bradley Hill, Shane Kersten and Harley Bennell (assuming he's ever fit) are going to take time getting used to the system and then you're also relying on Michael Johnson and Aaron Sandilands staying fit.

There was plenty of talk in trade week about clubs - notably St Kilda and Carlton - building kitties to lure Nat Fyfe east.

Dockers fans need not worry. I reckon Fyfe's deal is already basically done to stay at Freo and only needs signatures on it.

Pen might not go to paper until the mid-way point of the year but it's going to happen.

Hero of the week:
Jimmy Bartel will wander off into the sunset with a resume that reads just like Simon Black's: triple-premiership player, Brownlow and Norm Smith medals...and he'll also be remembered for his admirable work to raise awareness about domestic violence.

Goat of the week:
Just when it looked like Nick Kyrgios might finally be "getting it" after his win in Japan, comes his behaviour this week...

Things that make you go hmmmmmmm:
Don't think the Jordan Lewis trade was something that just arose in trade week. I'm told there had been talks about it mid-season and that Hawthorn were expecting to lose either he or Mitchell but not both.

1985 Brownlow medallist Brad Hardie pens a weekly AFL column for WAtoday. You can also hear him on Radio 6PR Sports Today with Karl Langdon on weeknights from 6pm to 8pm