The futures of Western Bulldogs duo Jack Macrae and Caleb Daniel are reportedly up in the air after the pair have fallen down the pecking order at Whitten Oval.
Macrae was subbed on for Daniel in last weekend’s loss to Geelong, with Dogs coach Luke Beveridge explaining post match that the club is looking towards the future and expose its young talent to bigger roles.
It comes after Macrae, who has three All-Australian blazers and five top-three best and finishes, started the year outside the senior side as he ramped back up fr0m an off-season hamstring issue.
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Speaking on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark believes rival clubs will come hard for the 29-year old despite his lucrative salary being a potential roadblock.
“If there was a mid-season trade period this year, I think he’d be 1A on the trade carousel,” Clark said of Macrae.
“But there’s a bit of a hitch to this issue — because his salary is so significant — and we believe that to be about $700,000 — it really is a bit of a handbrake on any potential move.
“We know Jack Macrae loves the Western Bulldogs … but clearly he’s struggling to get a game. It’s all eyes on selection for Friday night against Essendon.
“Speaking to clubs, they say: ‘How is Macrae not in their best 22? Is is it a speed issue? Is it wanting to get Ryley Sanders and some of that young talent (into the midfield)?’
“I would be surprised if Jack Macrae is not on the trade block at the end of the season. But is this a situation where the Dogs may have to pay some of his salary to activate that trade?”
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Beveridge said Macrae was still a part of the “core midfield group” and suggested there’s a pathway for the on-baller back to the 22 depending on various factors including selection circumstances and player roles.
Macrae, who started losing midfield minutes last year, is contracted at Whitten Oval until the 2027 season after signing a five-year deal in 2022.
“This is where the debate gets interesting — has he fallen in the eyes of the Dogs match committee or has he fallen generally?,” Herald Sun journalist Sam Landsberger posed on The Midweek Tackle.
“Is he still the player he was, or are the Bulldogs seeing something we’re not and he actually has declined?”
Landsberger questioned if there’s “too much wasted money” on the sidelines at Whitten Oval, with several highly-paid, senior players and currently out of favour.
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“Jack Macrae and Caleb Daniel have been substituted in and out and they’ve got Rory Lobb and James Harmes in the VFL — that’s $2.5 million of salary cap space on four available players you’re getting one game out of,” he said.
Clark believes the Dogs, who are 2-2 on the season, face some big list management calls at the end of the year.
“(Club list boss) Sam Power is going to be making some moves, you can’t have $2.5 million sitting in your VFL team,” he said.
“If they don’t achieve and succeed this year, there will be some moves made.”
Daniel, a South Australian native contracted until 2026 on a big-money deal, is another name to watch after being sub affected in two games this season.
He claimed best and fairest and All-Australian honours in 2020.
“There is a problem of sorts with Caleb Daniel … he’s clearly in the Jack Macrae bracket now in my eyes as to how Luke Beveridge is choosing to use him,” AFL journalist Damien Barrett told Channel 9’s Footy Classified.
“Daniel is on big money — $700,000-$750,000 plus for those remaining two years of the contract.
“The party line will be he’s a contracted player. But there’s going to be interest in him given he’s now twice out of the four games played either started or ended up as the sub.”
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