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A new suitor has joined the race for Brodie Grundy.
Plus the latest on Matt Crouch and Izak Rankine’s futures, and why North Melbourne hopes Alastair Clarkson will help the club attract stars.
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HAWKS ENTER GRUNDY RACE
Hawthorn has emerged as a suitor for Collingwood star ruckman Brodie Grundy, reports RSN’s Mark Stevens.
Grundy has met with both GWS and Melbourne in recent times amid his uncertain future at the Magpies as the club considers offloading his lucrative salary — worth around $1 million per season until 2027 — to clear cap space for the likes of Dan McStay, Bobby Hill and Tim Taranto.
Port Adelaide and Geelong have also been linked to the 28-year old, and now, the Hawks have reportedly entered the race.
“A lot of talk about GWS and Melbourne. You can add Hawthorn to the list there as being interested in Brodie Grundy,” Stevens said on RSN.
“I‘m surprised it’s taken this long for that to pop up considering (Ben) McEvoy’s retired.”
Asked earlier this month about the potential for the Hawks to pursue Grundy, club CEO Justin Reeves was tight lipped.
“That’s one for Mark McKenzie (Hawks list manager). I know that’s a cop out but the reality is there are so many variables in that,” he said on SEN.
“He’s probably got plenty of footy left in him, I don’t know the figures of his contract but what we should say is you look at every opportunity that you think would make your football club better.”
Grundy hasn’t played an AFL game since Anzac Day due to a PCL injury before an ankle setback ruled him out for the rest of 2022.
ROOS HOPE CLARKO COUP WILL HELP ATTRACT STARS
North Melbourne caretaker coach Leigh Adams hopes the signing of new senior coach Alastair Clarkson will help the Kangaroos hold on to key players such as Cameron Zurhaar and Todd Goldstein.
The out-of-contract pair have been strongly rumoured to be weighing up offers from rival clubs for next season.
But Adams was optimistic that the arrival of the four-time premiership coach would not only sway those two, but also attract players from other outfits to join North in 2023.
“I think guys like that, without speaking for them, would be looking to see who the new coach was, and if it’s me, you can’t get a better one, so it would be making me sign,” Adams said following North Melbourne’s 67-point loss to Gold Coast on Saturday.
“I’m sure in the next couple of weeks, once they sit down with ‘Clarko’ and have those conversations that it’ll probably become a lot more apparent what they’re going to do.
“But I think, personally, it can only help with those signatures and hopefully a few guys at other clubs want to come as well, because clearly we’ve got the best coach in the modern era.”
Adams also believed the Kangaroos needed to bolster their on-field leadership in the off-season.
Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury said on Triple M he thinks the Roos’ appointment of Clarkson could make them a “destination club”, with the Pies champion even admitting he’d be keen to join his coaching panel after he retires.
“I think it’s just the draw of the man,” Pendlebury said.
“When I’m finished playing football I’d love to go and experience and work under (him) and see what he does.
“He seems kike the godfather of AFL coaching, he’s almost like the Gregg Popovich of the AFL.”
-With NCA Newswire
CROWS COMMITTED TO CROUCH
Crows assistant Nathan van Berlo has echoed senior coach Matthew Nicks’ sentiment that Matt Crouch is a “required player.”
A report emerged last month that Crouch was left “furious” after being told he won’t be receiving a new contract from Adelaide — more than 12 months before his deal expires — after a meeting with Nicks — a report the Crows boss rubbished as “extremely disappointing.”
It came amid a frustrating season for the 27-year old midfielder where he played 11 AFL games and was dropped to the SANFL on several occasions as injuries have hampered him from getting back to his previous best All-Australian form.
Asked about Crouch’s future and what would be discussed at his exit interview, van Berlo told SEN: “It will be a conversation around his year, which obviously has been a frustrating one for him personally.
“It will be a similar conversation to what we have had in terms of the areas of his game that we’d like him to keep working on and we’ve seen growth in at SANFL level.
“I know ‘Nicksy’ (Nicks) has been really public in the fact that he is a required player and we see Matty being a part of our future. From my point of view, I don’t think that’s changed at all.
“I see aspects of Matt’s game, when it’s at the level and what he’s working on, that is really going to help us. He’s a great inside player and if he can add elements to his outside game and be consistent in that area, then it makes us a better midfield.
“We’ll have those conversations and see where Matty ends up and what he wants to do as well.”
AFL Media reported last month Crouch was open to moving clubs at season’s end if the right options becomes available.
He’s played 136 AFL games since making his debut in 2014.
SUNS AWAIT RANKINE CALL
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew expects to learn of star forward Izak Rankine’s decision on his future “reasonably quickly”.
Rankine has reportedly been offered a lucrative contract to head back home to SA and play with Adelaide from next season.
And while Dew wants to retain Rankine’s services, the Suns coach is confident his potential departure wouldn’t affect the club as much now as a high-profile exit may have done in the past.
“We expect, given we’re now finished, that those conversations will ramp up,” Dew said following Gold Coast’s 67-point win against North Melbourne.
“We’d love to have Izak but what we have worked on is ‘de-individualising’ the club and that’s not directed at Izak, that’s directed at how do we build a team that is resilient enough that if players miss through suspension or injury that players can step in and cover and I think we’re starting to see that.”
Crows coach Matthew Nicks conceded a lack of polish with the ball is an area his side must improve on.
The acquisition of silky-skilled Rankine would help address that issue, but Nicks refused to be drawn on his club’s well-documented interest in trading for the out-of-contract South Australian.
“We don’t talk about players from other footy clubs,” he said.
“That’s been a pretty simple line I’ve given week-in, week-out.
“But I respect and understand the question.”
-NCA Newswire
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