Josh Bruce trade to the Bulldogs is an 'absolute bargain'

Bruce will move from St Kilda to the Bulldogs in exchange for picks No. 32 and 51 as the deadline edged closer.

North Melbourne premiership-winner David King was shocked the Bulldogs were able to get Canberra junior Bruce so cheaply.

Bruce played 99 games for St Kilda after starting his career at the GWS Giants and then moving to Melbourne in 2014.

"That is an absolute bargain," King said on Fox Sports. "They stood strong, they were going to move on 13, they were going to slide back to pick 23.

"A structural player for those selections ... that is such a bargain."

Bruce's move was part of a frantic period, with Essendon denying Joe Daniher's request to continue his career at Sydney.

Essendon's Adrian Dodoro was adamant he would hold Daniher to the final year of his contract unless the Swans came up with a blockbuster deal and the veteran list manager didn't blink as the 7.30pm deadline came and went.

Dodoro told reporters as he arrived at Marvel Stadium that Sydney would need to come to the party for his cub to entertain a trade, but a suitable offer wasn't forthcoming.

"We went into it with an open mind but we set some really clear parameters with the Sydney Swans from the first day," Dodoro said.

"We were really consistent with what we said, we were honest from the first day and we stuck to our principles.

"Unfortunately we couldn't get a deal done for Joey."

The Bombers were keen to secure a player or players in return for Daniher, but Sydney were intent on offering up draft picks only.

Dodoro confirmed that the Swans' No.5 pick was not offered up as part of a potential deal.

"We went into the negotiation with what we thought was an attractive draft hand, we were open-minded about what a selection of picks to satisfy Essendon might look like," Swans football boss Charlie Gardner said.

"We were open to exploring a number of options but it was made pretty clear to us that pick five and pick nine, or two first-round draft picks, wasn't going to be enough."

Sydney forward Tom Papley's move to Carlton and Gold Coast forward Jack Martin's move to the Blues were other key trades that didn't get over the line.

Deals that were finalised on the last day of the trade window included St Kilda sending Jack Steven and Bruce to Geelong and the Western Bulldogs respectively and Bradley Hill moving from Fremantle to the Saints.

Adelaide shipped Alex Keath to the Bulldogs and Josh Jenkins to Geelong in deals done in the last hour of trading.

After days of relative inaction, 29 trades were completed on deadline day with paperwork for a total of 46 deals lodged with the AFL over the 10-day trade period.