How the Suns signed Gary Ablett Jnr. & footy's biggest ever deals | Scott Clayton

Scott Clayton is an AFL kingmaker.

A premiership architect, master recruiter and one of the game's most influential list managers, Scott has spent decades identifying talent, building lists and pulling off some of footy's biggest deals. From helping build the Brisbane Lions dynasty and reshaping the Western Bulldogs, to launching the Gold Coast Suns and landing Gary Ablett Jr., few people have had a bigger impact on the modern AFL landscape.

He joins Dyl & Friends to lift the lid on the deals, draft picks, negotiations and recruiting philosophies that shaped an era of football, sharing untold stories from inside AFL boardrooms and trade tables.

We talk:

How the Gold Coast Suns pulled off the biggest signing in AFL history and landed Gary Ablett Jr.

The eight-month secret deal that almost nobody knew about

Why Karmichael Hunt became the biggest sports story in Australia

Building AFL expansion clubs from scratch

The toughest trade negotiations of his career

Why he still regrets missing out on Kurt Tippett

The players he knew would become stars before anyone else

Draft steals, recruiting wins and the picks that got away