A beloved Magpie is keeping his free agency options open, while a Docker is eyeing an extension after ‘leverage’ links to his former club.
Plus St Kilda’s bold bid to unite two superstar brothers has been revealed.
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SAINTS’ MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BROTHERS BID TO FAIL
St Kilda has made a bold play to lure brothers Tom and Sam De Koning to the club on a pair of multi-million dollar deals – but at least one of them will fail.
Sam De Koning, who has become Geelong’s No.1 ruckman, is set to sign an extension at the Cattery according to Seven News.
But it came after the Saints offered the pair the chance to play together in Victoria.
“Sam De Koning is now committed to staying at Geelong,” Xander McGuire reported.
“The Cats’ 2022 premiership defender-turned-ruckman fielded rival offers, but has now made a contract extension at Kardinia Park his priority.
“St Kilda approached both Sam and Tom De Koning … opening a discussion around whether the high-profile brothers — both out of contract at the end of the year — would consider a bombshell multi-million dollar reunion at Moorabbin.”
The Saints are still believed to be keen on Carlton’s Tom De Koning, with a reported seven-year deal worth at least $1 million a year on the table.
The irony in the brotherly pair-up offer is the Saints have long been expected to try and unite its own star tall Max King with his brother Ben, who plays for Gold Coast.
‘WHATEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS’: PIES STAR’S CHANGE OF TUNE’
Premiership Magpie Brayden Maynard is keeping his options open in free agency a month after suggesting he was likely to re-sign with Collingwood.
Maynard, 28, last month said he was expecting to sign a new deal with the Pies instead of entering free agency.
However the heart-and-soul Collingwood defender gave a less convincing response when opening up on where his contract status sat last weekend.
“I am going to let my footy do the talking for the next little while,” Maynard told the Herald Sun.
“Like I said a little while ago, I would feel weird in another jumper but it is a business so whatever happens, happens.
“I love Collingwood and we have a great culture here, so we will see what happens.”
Speaking on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle, fellow Herald Sun reporter Scott Gullan noted it was a “change of tune” from Maynard, flagging how the arrivals of Dan Houston and Harry Perryman on big-money deals worth up to $900,000 each might’ve impacted things.
“He’s going: ‘This is my last contract, this is my reward contract. I’ve taken unders (previously), we got the premiership. I understand I’m not the Nick Daicos, I’m not asking for that money. But I’m as good as Houston and I’m a better player than peryman. Maybe it’s time I got some love’.
Gullan added: “This is where Collingwood fell into trouble a few years ago, (Adam) Treloar and (Brodie) Grundy departed because people were getting overpaid.
“North Melbourne came hard for him in the off-season, I’d be knocking on his door later in the year because this could go on.”
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Colleague Jon Ralph pointed out that North Melbourne, who was linked to Maynard last year, is sitting on a war chest and could come hard for the backman.
“North Melbourne can afford to throw money and fat contracts around like confetti; they have got so much cap space ($4-5 million). This guy is 28, probably doesn’t want to play for the Roos … make him the ‘Godfather’ offer,” Ralph said.
“It would look very weird to see him in Roos colours, but if they say to him: ‘We’ll give you five years as a 28-year-old at $1.2 million’ — it’s going to be hard to refuse that.
Maynard is one of nine players from the club’s 2023 premiership winning team who will enter free agency at the year’s end, all of which are in the back half of their AFL careers.
JACKSON KEEN ON FREO EXTENSION AFTER DEES ‘LEVERAGE’
Luke Jackson’s preference is to sign an extension with Fremantle until 2033, with recent links to Melbourne seen as leverage, reports Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph.
However the Dockers are reportedly in no hurry to renegotiate his lucrative contract.
Jackson this week shut down trade rumours and speculation he’d reached out to former Demons teammates about potentially rejoining the club.
And Ralph revealed his preference is in fact to add four more years to his current contract with the Dockers, which expires in 2029, the same as Hayden Young.
Luke Jackson shuts down trade rumours | 00:55
“I don’t think anyone close to Luke Jackson denies he probably said to his Melbourne mates he wouldn’t mind playing with them. They’re saying it’s just a joke now,” Ralph said on Midweek Tackle.
“But I think quite clearly it’s being used as leverage to get him a long-term deal. He’s open to that deal, my understanding is he’d sign for another four years — that’s his preferred outcome.
“The problem is the Dockers are in no hurry, he’s signed until 2029, maybe even longer than that, the fine print of the contract would be fascinating. He’s on a very, very big deal.
“So right now Fremantle is saying: ‘Sit tight, you’ll be very well paid for a long term’. I think at some stage towards the end of the season they might get to that one because they want him to be happy here.
“But the thing that happens is these guys are honest and all of a sudden they have to pull back because the managers potentially say: ‘Toe the party line here. It’s not helping your brand value here’.”
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