Melbourne has confirmed its off-season plans as the club prepares to land Brodie Grundy.
Plus as many as eight clubs are interested in a Fremantle big man, and a Cat has admitted he’d love to play alongside his younger brother amid trade links.
Get the latest AFL player movement news in Trade Whispers!
Watch Fox Footy’s massive line-up of Grand Final week coverage on Kayo including live pre-game, half-time and post-game coverage with full analysis from the best team in the business. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
DEES CONFIRM GRUNDY INTEREST
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has confirmed the club’s interest in Collingwood star ruckman Brodie Grundy as the Demons look to replace the impending void left by Luke Jackson.
Jackson last week officially requested a move back to Western Australia to join either Fremantle, who’s considered the favourite, or West Coast as Melbourne will now look to facilitate a trade for the young gun.
It comes as the Demons have long been linked to Grundy including meeting with the dual All-Australian as a contingency plan for Jackson’s looming exit.
There’s been some queries around how Grundy will fit into Melbourne’s side and play alongside Max Gawn, and whether the Dees should instead target a forward in a bid to help their struggles in attack after bowing out of the finals in straight sets.
But speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360, Goodwin said the club has mapped out what bringing another established ruckman into the side would look like and was confident it’d function effectively.
“We wouldn’t have had these discussions if we didn’t think it would work. We’ve got some planning in and around that, we’ve spent some time analysing how that would look within our game system and style,” he said.
“We think it works for us as a team.
“We’ll go all out to fill that void that Luke Jackson is going to lose for us, and Brodie is one of those players we’re looking at … we’ll get more information in the next couple of days, he’s a contracted player at Collingwood at the moment.”
It follows Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph revealing on Fox Fooy’s On the Couch that Grundy has played his last game for Collingwood after a crucial meeting which saw the club declare his salary — which has another five years to run on a $7 million deal signed in 2019 — needs to be offloaded.
The Magpies have several other targets including Dan McStay, Bobby Hill, Billy Frampton, Brayden Fiorini and Tom Mitchell in what stands to be an busy off-season at the AIA Centre.
And Ralph confirmed that Port Adelaide ruckman Sam Hayes is another player Collingwood has “a little bit” of interest in.
Hayes played just seven AFL games in 2022 despite Scott Lycett’s long-term shoulder injury.
EIGHT CLUBS CIRCLING DOCKERS RUCKMAN
Up to eight clubs are reportedly interested in Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek.
Despite being contracted for 2023, Meek is one of several Dockers who faces an uncertain future at the club, while its likely addition of Luke Jackson will only push him further down the ruck pecking order.
Speaking on SEN radio, Hagdorn revealed the 24-year old Meek is in “heavy demand” and will double his earnings by making a move to a rival club.
“I think Meek is most likely to head to GWS where he’s going to jump from about $300,000 a year to about $600,000 a year and get a three or four year deal,” he said.
“GWS is the most likely, but Gold Coast, North Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda and Geelong are all showing interest in Meek.
“He’s another one of the contracted players that is looking around and probably going to get a really good deal elsewhere.”
Meanwhile AFL Media reports Hawthorn and West Coast are also circling the big man as he weighs up his options.
Meek played six of his 15 AFL games for the Dockers in 2022.
HENRY CONFIRMS INTEREST IN REUNION WITH BROTHER
Geelong defender Jack Henry says he’d love to play alongside younger brother Ollie at the Cattery as the young Magpie prepares to make a call on his future.
Ollie, who fell out of favour of Craig McRae’s side midway through the season including failing to make a senior appearance beyond Round 17, is uncontracted at Collingwood for 2023.
And the former Pick 17 and ex-Geelong Falcon is only set to fall further down the Magpies’ forward pecking order with the impending arrivals of Dan McStay and Bobby Hill this trade period.
Ollie has most been linked to the Cats, and his elder sibling has admitted he’d like to like to line up alongside him like teammates Cam and Zach Guthrie.
“Definitely it would be cool. I was just chatting before about playing with your brother (and) how special it looks,” Jack told The Age.
“Even seeing what Cam and Zach have got here it looks like a pretty cool thing. It would be cool, but it’s not my decision to make.
“I haven’t been through that personally so I would not know what advice to give him.
“We don’t necessarily chat too much footy when we do talk because it is pretty consuming in terms of doing footy for a living. Sometimes it is the last thing you want to talk about especially early days when you are young.”
