Lions fill holes with late trade pick-ups BRISBANE Lions managed to salvage something from the wreckage with an active final few hours at the end of the AFL's annual player-exchange period yesterday. After being hit by the loss to other clubs of several young uncontracted players, the Lions yesterday secured contracted Geelong premiership ruckman Trent West and Collingwood forward Jackson Paine and a host of draft picks before the 2pm deadline. Brisbane list manager Rob Kerr said his club eventually fared well following the unprecedented exodus of five players to rival clubs -- Billy Longer (to St Kilda), Eliott Yeo (West Coast), Patrick Karnezis (Collingwood), Sam Docherty (Carlton) and Jared Polec, who was traded to Port Adelaide. "It's been a very busy three weeks and I'm glad it's finally over," Kerr said. I think we got a reasonably positive outcome of what might have been a fairly ugly situation. Bringing in a couple of players and having six picks inside 34 gives us an opportunity to reset and go from there. Kerr said the Lions' initial focus was to "not get completely ripped off" following a slow start to the trade period in which rival clubs failed to offer satisfactory early deals in exchange for the disgruntled Brisbane players. Key forward Paine, who did not play at the elite level this year after six senior games in his debut season in 2012, was a direct swap for Karnezis. The 20-year-old Longer and pick No 48 went to St Kilda in return for the Saints' selections 25 and 41, a selection that was then on-traded to Geelong for West. Following recent years of lacklustre player movements, the past three weeks provided 33 players, including 12 on the final day, with the vehicle to change clubs via the second year of free agency, and trading. The result was a far cry from 2008, when only six players changed clubs during the period. As expected, Greater Western Sydney did not trade the first selection in next month's national draft, where it will select boom key forward Tom Boyd, despite publicly declaring the pick was on the table. The Giants will enter the draft with the first two selections. Sydney's acquisition of Lance Franklin came at a cost as it lost three players during the trade period: Jesse White to Collingwood, Shane Mumford to the Giants and Andrejs Everitt to Carlton. It will also lose Tony Armstrong to Collingwood and Jed Lamb to GWS. Everitt yesterday joined the Blues, his third club, on a two-year deal in the final minutes leading up to the deadline. Everitt and the Swans' selection No 39 went to Carlton, which gave up pick No 32 in return. Carlton retained Josh Bootsma, who is contracted for two more years, following little interest from West Coast. As well as farewelling West, Geelong allowed veterans James Podsiadly (Adelaide), Paul Chapman (Essendon) and Josh Hunt (GWS) to join new clubs earlier by receiving low draft selections (64, 75 and 84) in exchanges that will not be utilised. Key forward Scott Gumbleton will relocate home to Western Australia after joining Fremantle. Essendon finally agreed to swap Gumbleton for selection No 55, while GWS received pick 48 from St Kilda for defender Josh Bruce. The Giants also traded midfielder Sam Darley to the Western Bulldogs for a low selection (78). Stewart Crameri will join the Bulldogs in exchange for Essendon receiving the Dogs' round-two selection (No 26). Adelaide appears set to offer a one-year contract to ruckman/forward Shaun McKernan after he could not be traded to a Victorian club, and Brisbane will pick up Richmond's Luke McGuane as a delisted free agent next month. West Coast, which picked up free agent Xavier Ellis last week, picked up defender Yeo and draft selections 11, 31, 43 and 49.