Gold Coast needs out-of-favour Collingwood defender Heath Shaw Magpie Heath Shaw would provide plenty of run across half back for Gold Coast. HEATH Shaw to the Gold Coast Suns? It is not as pie-in-the-sky as it sounds. The AFL's silly season hits full swing tomorrow when the three-week trade period officially begins and the possibility of Collingwood star Shaw winding up on the tourist strip is not the wildest scenario that could emerge from the annual meat market. Gold Coast senior coach Guy McKenna said the club's no.1 recruiting target in the off-season was a rebounding defender who uses the ball well. The Suns want to put David Swallow back into the midfield to allow Gary Ablett to spend more time forward. With Jarrod Harbrow already pushing up the ground, a glaring gap in the backline needs to be filled. Shaw is clearly the best halfback flanker on the market after falling out of favour at the Magpies and would bring valuable experience and counter-punch to the Gold Coast. McKenna knows what he would be getting with Shaw after working with the 27-year-old premiership player when the Suns boss was an assistant coach at Collingwood. Shaw has been linked to Geelong but an interstate seachange - similar to that of his brother, Rhys, who left the Pies for Sydney in 2009 - may kick-start his career that stalled in 2013. The Suns have just three spots remaining on their list and must draft at least three players next month but can still trade out players to make way for Shaw. The club also has some space in its salary cap. If the opening salvos of the free agency period are any indication, the level of wheeling and dealing in trade period could reach unprecedented heights. Reigning premier Hawthorn and perennial powerhouse Sydney have shown that recruiting seasoned mature-age players is the key to reaching, and staying, in contention for flags. Gold Coast football manager Marcus Ashcroft said the Suns were unlikely to be overly active in trade period but the club was open to doing deals. "You can never say never,'" Ashcroft said. We'll sit down and talk to all the other clubs on Monday and see what they have to say. Our focus has been on investing in young talent and we might fill that rebounding defender role through the draft but you never rule anything out at this early stage. Brisbane have indicated they will select 199cm key forward Jonathan Freeman in next month's draft after nominating him as their academy selection. The 19-year-old Queenslander is still a work in progress and Brisbane still need to fill the giant void that will be left by Jonathan Brown in the not-too-distant future. Lions football manager Dean Warren said the club would talk to GWS this week about a range of issues. One will surely be trading for the number one pick at this year's draft and wonder kid Tom Boyd. Brisbane's need for speed may also see discarded Cat Travis Varcoe enter calculations. The date for an Emergency General Meeting at the Brisbane Lions could be set this Tuesday. The warring factions of the board remain in mediation talks with the AFL but will meet on October 8. The deadline for setting the EGM date lapsed on Friday, 21 days after more than 800 forms were lodged calling for the meeting where the ticket headed by Paul Williams, Mick Power and Leigh Matthews are looking to overthrow current chairman Angus Johnson.