North Melbourne star Luke Davies-Uniacke wants to see on-field improvement under coach Alastair Clarkson, and will wait until the new year before discussing a contract extension with the club.
Davies-Uniacke, 25, shapes as one of the hottest prospective restricted free agents next year, and has indicated he wants to remain at Arden Street.
While the Kangaroos are keen to broker a new deal, Davies-Uniacke’s manager, Robbie D’Orazio of Connors Sports Management, said discussions were temporarily on hold.
Blue-chip star: North Melbourne can expect rival offers for Luke Davies-Uniacke.Credit: AFL Photos
“Luke loves the North Melbourne footy club, especially his teammates. He wants nothing more than to see improvement in 2025 and, of course, winning games is a big part of that,” D’Orazio told this masthead.
“There is no timeline on his contract. It’s something we will look at in the new season.”
A Kangaroos spokesman said the club was comfortable with Davies-Uniacke’s decision.
“There is no timeframe on it from our perspective. We’re really comfortable with that approach,” he said.
Should Davies-Uniacke explore free agency, the robust midfielder would be one of the most coveted signings by rival clubs next season.
Davies-Uniacke claimed his maiden Syd Barker Medal in September, having enjoyed a dominant year when he played in every game for the first time in his seven seasons at the club, averaging 27.7 disposals and 6.3 clearances per game, and shone against several finals-bound opponents.
However, Davies-Uniacke craves on-field success, the Kangaroos having finished no higher than ninth – that being in his rookie season in Brad Scott’s final full season in charge – since he was taken with the fourth-overall selection in the 2017 national draft. The Kangaroos won only three games in 2024, finishing second last.
Despite the club’s on-field battles, Davies-Uniacke polled 18 Brownlow votes this season, having had 27 career votes before this year’s count – highlighting that he catches the eye of umpires for his bullish work and skills with ball in hand.
He is a cornerstone of what the Kangaroos hope will be their next premiership side, given they now boast a deep midfield that includes young stars George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel, co-captain Jy Simpkin, and veteran ex-Swan Luke Parker.
They have added to their fleet of runners by taking the versatile Finn O’Sullivan from the Oakleigh Chargers with the No.2 pick in the national draft, adding to fellow top-10 picks Colby McKercher, Zane Duursma, Wardlaw and Sheezel taken in the past two years.
Midfield gun: Harry Sheezel (picured) and Davies-Uniacke are two men the Kangaroos hope to build a premiership side around.Credit: AFL Photos
The Kangaroos also made a surprise decision to trade next year’s first-round pick to Richmond in exchange for the final pick of this year’s first round, a selection they used to snare versatile tall Matt Whitlock to bolster their key position stocks. As part of this deal, they also received the Tigers’ future second-round pick.
In a busy off-season, the Kangaroos also signed veteran West Coast premiership forward Jack Darling through the trade period to provide marking support for key forward Nick Larkey, while former Western Bulldog Caleb Daniel will provide dash and creativity from half-back.
Kangaroos recruiting boss Will Thursfield said his club understood its improvement needed to show on-field in the win/loss column.
“We’ve got enough kids in now, and we’ve hit the trade period and got some mature boys in, so it’s time to get moving,” Thursfield said.
“You’d hope we’d improve quite a bit, given the cattle we’ve brought in and [with] another year in these young kids, but it’s hard to say. At the end of the day, we’ve got to back ourselves in a bit.”
Swingman Charlie Comben is on the mend from post-season shoulder surgery, while the Kangaroos hope speedy forward Brayden George can still have an impact after he ruptured his ACL for the second time in June.
He had missed the entire 2023 campaign, having initially hurt himself not long after being taken with pick No.26 in the 2022 national draft. He is yet to make his senior debut but the Kangaroos awarded him a two-year contract extension in July.
