Levi Casboult will not be at Richmond in 2018

CARLTON forward Levi Casboult has been heavily linked to Richmond, but are the Tigers planning to make a play for the Blues free agent?

Carlton forward Levi Casboult. Picture: Michael Klein

RICHMOND will not offer Levi Casboult a deal next year as it considers bolstering its list with two first-round draftees instead.

The Blues free agent has been heavily linked to the Tigers, who are on record as keen pursue a second key tall.

Coach Damien Hardwick this year confirmed Richmond had pursued Brisbane’s second-year forward Josh Schache, but Casboult will not be at Richmond next year.

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The club’s determination to secure Dustin Martin on a deal in excess of $1 million will stress the club’s salary cap.

It means they could end up using both their first-round picks in the draft, with Brett Deledio deal handing them Geelong’s 2017 first-round pick.

Those picks are currently 15 and 16, with the Tigers also holding an extra third-round pick.

Shaun Hampson returns to VFL football this week and the club is hopeful Ben Griffiths can overcome shoulder and concussion issues next year.

The Tigers won’t be chasing Levi Casboult. Picture: Getty Images

It means Casboult will have to find another bidder for his services, with the key forward keen for a lucrative long-term deal.

Brendon Bolton could not guarantee he would be at Carlton.

“We’ll see how all that unfolds, I’d like to think so, but it always the unknown,” Bolton said.

MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin says Jesse Hogan will remain at the Demons despite speculation he wants to return home.

Rumours about Hogan’s determination to be traded to Fremantle had swept Melbourne this week but Goodwin says he is content with the Demons.

“Jesse is a Melbourne person, he signed to the club last year and he is absolutely committed to the footy club,” Goodwin told SEN Radio.

“We’re committed to Jesse, he’s a quality person that we have invested a lot into. That’s just pure rumour.”

He said Hogan was in a “great headspace” as he rehabilitated his broken collarbone.

Originally published as Levi Casboult will not be at Richmond in 2018