Crows’ impasse with specialist forward Tom Lynch has hallmarks of a modern AFL blinking game

AT a time when the Crows — in facing new Melbourne defender Jake Lever — are reminded of the players who left Adelaide, the Tom Lynch impasse makes many feel most uneasy.

Keeping specialist forward Tom Lynch at the Adelaide Football Club should have been the easiest deal for the Crows to put away in the off-season. The protracted saga on his contract negotiations highlights even obvious deals become lost in big-agenda items in AFL list management. Picture: Sarah Reed

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OH no. Out-of-contract Crows forward Tom Lynch “reportedly” spent the weekend in his native city of Melbourne looking at houses.

We stress “reportedly” because such themes often emerge when quality AFL players are about to fall out of contract — and might mean no more than Lynch considering investment opportunities or life after football.

Keeping specialist forward Tom Lynch at the Adelaide Football Club should have been the easiest deal for the Crows to put away in the off-season. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes

In 2016, with a season to serve with Melbourne, Demons forward Jesse Hogan was buying property in his home city of Perth — and posting pictures on social media to announce his purchases ... and start a frenzy of anticipation of a move to Fremantle.

Hogan did sign a new deal, with the Demons — and remains with Melbourne.

The latest detail in the Lynch saga at Adelaide — where he has tried with repeated frustration to secure a new contract since October — seems all part of the modern way with AFL list management, particularly at West Lakes.

There is the salary cap to consider. Adelaide, according to an AFL review, is at the high end of salary cap spread for the next few years.

There is vice-captain Rory Sloane’s free agency to consider.

There is the draft shuffle to consider, particularly if Adelaide can parcel up draft picks to trade to the top-five of November’s national recruiting lottery.

Very clinical stuff. And there is the constant reminder that there is no room for sentiment in this multimillion-dollar game for the AFL premiership.

But at a time when the Crows are always hit for not retaining players — a sharp point this week as Adelaide faces intercept defender Jake Lever as a rival at Melbourne — the Lynch saga is more bizarre than the recent soap operas with out-of-contract players, such as Josh Jenkins and Mitch McGovern.

Here is a well-respected Crows player — Lynch earned his peers’ vote for the team’s leadership group — who wanted to avoid a protracted and public renewal of his contract by putting his terms on the table soon after the grand final ended.

Here is a player who contributes so much to the team game that Adelaide’s attacking power benefits from his selfless play to link up the Crows defence with a powerful forward system.

Here is a player who would tempt at least three Melbourne-based clubs ... and almost half the season has passed with no deal lodged at AFL House to ease the concerns of Crows fans.

Other teams are joining the race for the services of Crows leader Tom Lynch, right. Picture: Sarah Reed

Rather, there is considerable unease as a valued player who wants to stay at Adelaide endures exactly what he wanted to avoid ... a drawn-out renegotiation.

“I don’t like that at all,” said inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes as he heard a replay of Lynch sounding uncomfortable when a post-match interview on Friday turned to his contract impasse. “That to me is every indication that he’s going.”

Perhaps not, Graham. It sounds more like another AFL player caught in a blinking game with his club — and the Crows having many agendas in the lead-up to October’s market and November’s critical national draft.

But it just doesn’t seem right that Lynch would be caught up in such a vortex of modern AFL list management.

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