[ad_1]
Melbourne young gun Luke Jackson has officially requested a trade home to Western Australia.
But he is willing to play for either West Coast or Fremantle, the Dockers long mooted as the favourite to nab the 2021 Rising Star winner and premiership player.
The Demons said they were disappointed to learn of Jackson’s decision after selecting him with pick 3 in the 2019 national draft.
Watch every match prior to the AFL grand final Live & Ad-Break Free In-Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
“There is no doubt that we wanted Luke to remain at the Demons, but we respect his decision to want to return home to Western Australia to be closer to his family and friends,” Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb said.
“We will now work to secure a deal that compensates the club accordingly.”
Fremantle is expected to land Jackson, with a number of players having been offered smaller contracts in an effort to fit in the ruck-forward, on a deal worth as long as seven years on up to $900,000 a season.
But many analysts view West Coast as a better long-term option, given Nic Naitanui is coming to the end of his stellar career, while the Dockers have Sean Darcy.
The Eagles also have a better haul of draft picks to offer Melbourne, owning pick 2 plus 20, 26 and 38. The Dockers have pick 13 and then nothing until the 70s.
Melbourne skipper Max Gawn said on Monday he “wouldn’t hold any grudges” if Jackson departed.
“I’m looking forward to him telling me. he hasn’t told me yet,” Gawn told TV reporters. “Right now he’s a Melbourne player and I presume he’s here.
“The club is still hopeful and there’s still a chance we can be a ruck combo for the next few years. But that’s the way footy is at the moment with the world we live in and free agency.”
Rival recruiters spoken to by Foxfooty.com.au suggested the Eagles, who have begun their rebuild and need to draft lots of young talent over the next few years, would be wise to listen to offers from rival clubs that want to move up the draft order and were prepared to offer the Eagles multiple early picks in return.
If the Eagles, though, wanted Jackson and were happy to trade Pick 2 for him, they’d need permission from the AFL to part with the selection after trading away several first-round picks in past years due to the Tim Kelly trade. The Age reported the AFL would allow the Eagles to do so.
But it’s highly likely the Demons will ask Jackson’s preferred club for multiple first-round picks — considering Jackson’s initial draft position (Pick 3 in 2019), AFL feats (2021 Rising Star winner and premiership player), athleticism, age (nearly 21), talent and versatility, it’s a fair starting point for trade negotiations.
Port Adelaide premiership midfielder Kane Cornes believes the Demons can afford to lose Jackson, who was “poor” in Melbourne’s two recent finals losses to Sydney and Brisbane and would’ve been “embarrassed by some of his physical efforts”.
“For a player that hasn’t done a whole lot, we speak about him a whole lot,” Cornes told Channel 9’s Footy Classified. “He plays one good game every 12, I reckon.
“If he goes, I actually don’t think it’s the worst thing for Melbourne because what you’re going to get back is two first-round draft picks for him. So you sure up your future and you get Brodie Grundy in with Collingwood paying a large chunk of his wage — and he’s a much better player than Luke Jackson is.
“Certainly in the short-term — and if they get their drafting right with the picks they get for Jackson — this isn’t a disaster at all, Luke Jackson leaving. I’m still not sure and not convinced he’s a 250-game AFL player.”
[ad_2]
Source link
