AFL Melbourne v Brisbane: Stage set for Hugh McCluggage to prove he’s worth monster contract

A Brisbane legend says the club would be silly to let Hugh McCluggage walk over money and demanded the Lions get more out of the midfielder if he is to become a million dollar man.

Hugh McCluggage is off-contract at the end of this season. Photo: Daniel Carson / AFL Photos via Getty Images. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

Brisbane legend Simon Black believes the club would be silly to let money get in the way of locking down off-contract star Hugh McCluggage and risk losing a player “critical to the Lions’ future”.

McCluggage, 26, is in the final year of his current contract and looms as the biggest name in free agency alongside Western Bulldogs ruckman Tim English.

It is believed the midfielder could command upwards of $1m per-season on his next deal, with a slew of cashed-up clubs ready to contend for the in-his-prime Victorian should the Lions baulk at that figure.

Hugh McCluggage is off-contract at the end of this season. Photo: Daniel Carson / AFL Photos via Getty Images

“You’ve got to draw a line at some point, but I think if they (the Lions) can offer somewhere near his value I’d be surprised if he left for say an extra $100,000,” Black told this masthead.

“It seems like he’s a real fabric of the club type of player. If he’s offered fair value then I would be surprised if he left.

“It’s really important the club secures him long-term and keeps him on-board because he’s reaching the peak of his powers for the next half-dozen years.

“It’s critical for the Lions’ future that they retain him.”

In February McCluggage reiterated his desire to become a Lion for life, telling this masthead: “I definitely want it to happen but it’s definitely a business so you have to make sure you do your due diligence and get the best possible result for both the club and yourself.”

With the salary cap set to soar to $17.7m next season – an increase of almost $2m on 2024 – Brisbane should have the money to make a long-term deal happen.

But if the club is ready to make McCluggage a million dollar man, then Black believes he has to be put to use where he can hurt opposition the most – in the middle.

“I like him when he’s inside on-ball, I think that’s where he’s of most use and that’s where I think he’s produced the most for the Lions, so I want to see him on-ball as much as possible,” Black said.

McCluggage made a name for himself as a smooth-moving wingman in his early years at the Lions, before earning more minutes as an inside midfielder in 2022.

From Round 5 onwards that season he attended 58.5 per cent of centre bounces – up from 24 per cent the previous year.

Brisbane legend Simon Black wants to see more of Hugh McCluggage (left) and Lachie Neale (right) together in midfield. Photo: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

But in 2023 he split midfield duties with boom father-son recruit Will Ashcroft, who hit the ground running with one of the best starts to an AFL career in recent memory.

To allow pure midfielder Ashcroft more time in the middle, McCluggage was deployed on the wing or at half-forward for much of the season.

It wasn’t until Ashcroft went down with an ACL injury in Round 19 against Geelong that McCluggage found himself a regular at centre bounces once again.

He averaged 23 disposals and a goal over his final 10 games and was arguably Brisbane’s best player in the grand final defeat to Collingwood.

“For me personally I’d be orchestrating as much as I could to play him big minutes as an on-baller because I think that’s his best spot,” Black said.

“I think out on the wing he can’t get involved in the play regularly enough … it’s a waste if you put him at half-forward for long periods.

“It can be a challenge when you’ve got Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley who will both play big inside minutes … so it’s really just the third spot there that is up for grabs.

“I appreciate you have to give grabs to (Zac) Bailey, (Cam) Rayner and others that go through the middle but for mine McCluggage is the class. What he gives you as an inside mid is superior to the others.”

McCluggage had one of the best games of his career against North Melbourne last Friday. Photo: Sarah Reed / Getty Images

The early indication is that Chris Fagan agrees with Black’s assessment.

Brisbane’s coach has already upped McCluggage’s midfield minutes this season – perhaps an early sign the club plans to get its money’s worth out of the would-be million-dollar midfielder.

Over the past three games he has attended 64 per cent of centre bounces. Last season he topped that figure only twice.

McCluggage amassed a career-high 36 disposals and 10 inside 50s in Brisbane’s 70-point thumping of North Melbourne on Friday, helping end the reigning grand finalists’ three-game losing skid to open the season.

With a looming Thursday night blockbuster against Melbourne at the MCG, an in-form McCluggage will be vital to the Lions knocking off the Demons.

In Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, Melbourne has proven you can fit two players on seven-figure salaries in the same midfield and still enjoy team success.

It’s a blueprint the Lions would hope to emulate with Neale and McCluggage in their quest to claim the premiership that has eluded them for two decades.

An underrated trait that has helped make Neale one the game’s modern superstars has been his health.

Aside from 2021, when he missed seven games through injury and illness, the dual Brownlow Medallist has been an almost plug-and-play starter each week since he became an AFL regular in 2014.

Melbourne will field two million-dollar midfielders against the Lions on Thursday night. Photo: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It’s a trait shared by McCluggage, who incredibly has missed just three games since the start of 2018.

Last season he became the first player from the 2016 draft to reach 150 AFL games.

Your best ability is availability, and the boy from Warrnambool has it in spades.

In the past two weeks McCluggage has averaged 32 disposals and 6.5 clearances.

A similar showing against the Demons would go a long way towards getting the Lions over the line – and proving to the club he is worth the long-term financial investment.

Originally published as AFL Melbourne v Brisbane: Stage set for Hugh McCluggage to prove he’s worth monster contract