Alastair Clarkson is pulling out all stops in a bid to fast-track North Melbourne’s rebuild.
Plus two big contracted stars continue to loom large over the trade period.
Get all the latest player movement news in AFL Trade Whispers!
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CLARKO SOUNDS OUT YET ANOTHER PROSPECT
Greater Western Sydney youngster Tanner Bruhn is reportedly the latest player approached by Alastair Clarkson in a bid to bolster North Melbourne’s list.
Reports this week have suggested Clarkson has already sounded out St Kilda’s Ben Long and West Coast’s Junior Rioli about moves to Arden Street, while Brad Hill is also considering a move despite having three years to run on a deal with the Saints.
Bruhn is yet to renew his tenure at the Giants beyond the two-year deal he joined the club on when it selected him with pick No.12 in the 2020 draft.
The Age reports Clarkson has spoken with Bruhn, who is likely to return to Victoria during the trade period despite the Giants’ best efforts to sway his thinking.
Geelong is among the clubs interested in Bruhn and is also expected to land teammate Jacob Hopper, while Tim Taranto is likely to nominate Richmond as his club of choice, with an offer believed to be in excess of $700,000 a season.
Richmond assistant coach Adam Kinglsey is completing his final duties at the club before taking up the Giants’ senior coaching role.
SUNS SIGHTS SET ON DUSTY IF TRADE REQUEST COMES
Richmond remains confident Dustin Martin will be playing for the side in 2023, but Gold Coast looms as an interested suitor should the superstar lodge a trade request.
Martin has two years remaining on a contract worth roughly $1.3 million a season, but he has been linked with a move interstate due to personal reasons.
Speaking on Fox Footy, Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph said the Tigers expected Martin to remain at the club, but that the Suns were a potential interested party.
“Richmond from Brendon Gale down is adamant that Dustin Martin will be at the club and will see out his two-year contract for about $2.6 million. His Richmond friends, they believe that’s the case as well and that he isn’t really showing any sign he wants to leave,” he said.
“But – and it is a big but – if it was that he wanted to go to a club like Gold Coast, I believe they’d be a suitor for him.
“They certainly haven’t spoken to him – Ralph Carr, his manager, is over in LA – and yet I think they feel like if he wanted to leave the fish bowl, they certainly have the picks, they have the salary cap room, they’d have to shuffle some things around.
“They’ve just lost Izak Rankine from a marketing and a forward perspective as well. I think it’s definitely long odds, I think he’s very likely to stay, but he has got a suitor.”
GRUNDY SUITOR DOWN TO ONE
Brodie Grundy is set to play for Melbourne next year if he leaves Collingwood, the Herald Sun reports.
Grundy has five years to run on a lucrative deal, but has met with the Dees and is a growing chance of parting ways with the Pies, who would pay a portion of his salary cap as part of a deal.
Melbourne’s interest in Grundy is contingent on Luke Jackson, who is highly likely to be playing in West Australia next year, with Fremantle leading West Coast in the race for his services.
Geelong and Port Adelaide were among the clubs initially in the mix for Grundy, but the 28-year-old wants to remain in Victoria, while the Cats have instead focused their efforts on Greater Western Sydney player Jacob Hopper.
