AFTER four days of inaction a trade was finally done yesterday when Richmond obtained midfielder Adam Thomson for their third-round draft pick.

Despite last year's marginally more fluid movement of players, this year's trade has been choked by club reluctance to release draft picks.

All trade periods have become effectively four days of shadow boxing for one where a blow is actually landed and — despite one deal being done — this one has been worse due to a lack of interest to contemplate even minor "steak knives" deals.

Wise suggestions can come from unlikely sources and yesterday former Swan Peter Everitt proved the point by sagely recommending the trade period be cut from a week to two days.

He reasoned that the experience was unenjoyable for the players and history in any event proved that the deals finally consummated on Fridays were normally only marginally different to the initial proposals put on the Monday opening day of trade discussions.

Clubs have fiercely rejected the idea of free agency, yet their inactivity in this trade period is boosting the players' case for it

The fewer deals done the more persuasive the argument that more needs to be done to help players move.

The AFL Commission has asked a working party to draft a mechanism by Christmas under which limited free agency could operate.

The knowledge that the reluctance to trade draft picks is unlikely to alter in coming years with the next three drafts diluted by picks being given to the new northern franchises will heighten the commission's awareness of the need for a form of free agency.