Moneyball: Latest contract news, whispers from around the AFL

Paddy McCartin is making progress in the US with his concussion issues but his future is still undecided. Plus, the big offer for Tiger Brandon Ellis and the Lion that Melbourne clubs are chasing.

Brandon Ellis of the Tigers reacts after kicking a goal.

Richmond will be desperate for rivals to drive the price up on Brandon Ellis rather than hoping they can find the money to keep him.

If Ellis secures a four or five-year contract elsewhere on as much as $500,000 the Tigers could realistically expect a second-round compensation pick for the 26-year-old after eight years’ service.

In an ideal world the Tigers would have the cap space to keep the free agent wingman/half back.

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But with a fleet of highly paid stars — including Tom Lynch, Alex Rance, Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin ad Dion Prestia — they won’t be able to come close to rival offers.

West Coast secured an end-of-first-round compensation pick when Scott Lycett left on a five-year, $3 million deal, but the Tigers won’t get that much.

The Dogs got a second-rounder for Luke Dahlhaus last year on a four-year, $2 million deal.

Brandon Ellis is in form at the right time for the Tigers, and his contract talks.

MELBOURNE CLUBS TARGET LIONS GUN

Brisbane is locked in a fight to keep gun utility Tom Cutler from heading home to a Melbourne club.

The 190cm running machine is being heavily targeted by rivals after playing only three games so far this season.

Cutler has battled a foot problem but has also faced stiff competition securing a permanent spot in the full-strength Lions’ team earlier this year.

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He has an exciting mix of athletic traits and the skills to play almost any position on the ground, averaging 21 possessions and five marks in his three senior appearances this year.

In his sixth season, Cutler is ready-made to have a strong impact at a new club next year if he can put his injury issues from this season behind him.

Brisbane is extremely keen to keep Cutler, knowing he is in line to take Luke Hodge’s position on a back flank in 2020. But the 24-year-old is highly regarded in club land and has several options to return home to Melbourne next year.

Cutler’s manager, Nick Gieschen, will resume talks with the Lions about a contract extension at season’s end.

Lions teammate Lewis Taylor, who has also played only five games and been squeezed out of the team, is also a chance to depart.

The Lions have had an excellent run on the injury front this year, ramping up competition for spots.

Tom Cutler is on the radar of Melbourne clubs.

PADDY McCARTIN’S BIG CALL

Patrick McCartin’s concussion symptoms have improved after a trip to a US clinic, but he still has a decision to make on his football future.

The Saints have a trio of concussed talls in McCartin, Billy Longer and Lewis Pierce.

Longer has stepped away from footy with concussion issues and is expected to move on, while Pierce is also uncontracted and has been in full training but hasn’t been passed fit because of the result of continued brain scans.

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McCartin is contracted for next year but admitted on Triple M this year he could barely conduct daily functions including going to the supermarket or driving a car.

There is a chance he might decide he cannot play next year, which would lead to talks about a financial settlement for his 2020 salary.

The former No.1 draft pick said he had lost his identity as a footballer and a person, saying “I’m a shell of a person that I was, really”.

EX-CAT SET TO CASH IN AT LIONS

Brisbane placed so much faith in its capacity to turn around Lincoln McCarthy’s body issues the Lions handed him a three-year deal with an option for a fourth season.

He had battled to just 29 games since 2012 at Geelong with footy and soft tissue injuries before being lured north.

Now the man who won Brisbane the stunning Round 22 clash against his old mob with an old-fashioned speckie and goal is cashing in, too.

He had a modest base to his deal but, having played 20 games already on match payments will soon have played enough games to be on a guaranteed deal in coming years.

If he can keep fit that fourth season should automatically tick over, rich reward for a player the Cats didn’t want to lose.

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Lincoln McCarthy takes a spectacular matchwinning mark against his old team.

WHY KANGAROO CALLED IT QUITS

Most retirements these days are actually players being sacked, with more spin than a Shane Warne leggie.

But North Melbourne’s Scott Thompson, who plays his last AFL game this weekend, legitimately retired.

Despite still playing excellent football he told the club he was totally cooked, unable to even contemplate saddling up for another pre-season.

PALMER WANTS TO PLAY FOOTY AGAIN

Former Docker and Blue Rhys Palmer is planning a footy comeback next season after a life-threatening car accident this year.

The former Rising Star winner lost his spleen after he was involved in a serious accident on his motorcycle in south Perth in March.

But Palmer, 30, will attempt to make his return with Swan Districts in the WAFL next season.

Palmer is consulting with medicos about the potential dangers of playing football without his spleen including the serious risks of infection.

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Originally published as Moneyball: Latest contract news, whispers from around the AFL