Sun Blues has joined his younger brother at Carlton.
Elijah Hollands has been traded by Carlton to the Gold Coast.
FORMER TOP-10 SELECTION After being traded to the Blues from the Gold Coast, Elijah Hollands will join his brother Ollie in Carlton in 2024.
On the penultimate day of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period, the Suns and Blues agreed to a deal for Hollands, the No.7 pick in the 2020 draft.
The Blues have sent a future third-round selection and pick No.26 to the Suns for Hollands, in exchange for pick 28 and a future fourth-round pick.
Hollands, 21, was contracted to the end of 2024 but has struggled for opportunities at the Suns, playing just 14 games since being drafted.
Hollands made five senior games in 2022 and nine this year, although his numbers dipped in 2023, with lower averages for kicks, handballs, marks, and goals per game.
“Elijah was looking to return to Victoria for more opportunity at AFL level, which we were happy to facilitate,” Gold Coast list and strategy manager Craig Cameron explained.
“By exchanging our selections in this year’s draft with Carlton we have been able to increase our points total to secure our Academy talent and we have also acquired a future selection we can utilise next year.”
The 21-year-old enters fresh off a stunning performance in the VFL Grand Final, where he finished with 33 disposals, 10 tackles, and eight clearances in a title win.
He joins his brother Ollie at the Blues, a first-round pick in his own right, who made a big impact in his debut season in the Navy Blue this year.
According to Carlton list boss Nick Austin, Hollands will be injected as a high-impact attacker who can roll into the midfield.
“We’re very excited to welcome Elijah, who will obviously be joining his brother, Ollie.” “It’s fantastic for the family, and the boys are overjoyed,” Austin told Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio.
“He has qualities that we like. He’s most likely been underutilized and played out of position.
“We see him in the front half causing some chaos and going through the midfield, so it’s a good fit.”
Carlton has a long history of brothers playing together, with Elijah and Ollie joining the ranks of John and Don Nicholls (1957-1961), Stephen and David Kernahan (1988-1993), and, most recently, Ed and Charlie Curnow (2016-2023), who became the Blues’ first brothers to play 100 games each.
Their great-grandfather Martin Cross played 36 games for Carlton in the early 1960s, giving the Hollands brothers a connection to the Navy Blue.
