Moneyball: Latest AFL contract, signings news for the 2021 season
He might be one of Richmond’s best young players but Shai Bolton is in no rush to sign a new deal. This is where his contract negotiations are at.
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Shai Bolton is in no hurry to lock into a new deal with Richmond, with his manager Ralph Carr saying the speedster will bide his time before making a decision on his future.
The 22-year-old, who was one of the club’s few shining lights in their Anzac Eve loss to Melbourne, made a decision at the start of the year that he wanted to wait until later in the season before starting contract talks with the Tigers.
While the contract delay will pique the interest of WA clubs West Coast and Fremantle about the possibility of luring the dual premiership Tiger home to Perth, Carr told the Herald Sun Bolton was happy at Punt Rd, but wanted to concentrate on his footy in the first half of the season.
“It is just a decision he made at the start of the year (to take his time with his contract),” Carr, who also manages Richmond superstar Dustin Martin, said.
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“He loves Richmond and we want him to stay, but there is no rush to do a deal … he was just saying ‘let’s wait and do the deal later’.
“That doesn’t mean he won’t do it before the end of the year.”
Bolton is averaging a career-high 21.8 disposals per game this season, with Kane Cornes suggesting the Tigers’ No. 1 priority needed to be locking away the former West Australian.
Carr said Bolton’s form so far this season had been strong, which had been a reward for his hard work on and off the field since coming across to Melbourne at the end of 2016.
“His form has been terrific, he has come a long way on and off the field,” Carr said. “Shai has worked incredibly hard. He is a terrific kid.”
SUITCASE EXISTENCE ALMOST LOST YOUNG GUN
Marc McGowan
The Giants’ indifferent relationship with last year’s AFL hub environment has been analysed from almost every angle.
Little did they know, a perceptive and richly talented first-year footballer was doing the same.
Lachie Ash, son of Victorian country football legend Stephen, was one of the game’s most coveted prospects in late 2019 and ended up at Greater Western Sydney with draft pick No.4.
Being thrust into a limited hotel existence in his first taste of AFL football wasn’t a great introduction and sapped Ash of his love for the sport.
After considering re-signing last year, the 19-year-old opted to wait and see how the Giants would react in 2021 to that challenging period.
“I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I was at the start of the year, then there was the stuff with Aidan Corr leaving in the hub — a bit of stuff went down — and we weren’t playing great footy,” Ash told The Daily Telegraph.
“When you’re losing, it’s never an enjoyable place to be, so those were a couple of contributing factors.
“I wanted to see how the group would respond, and it’s been first class and I wouldn’t want to play footy anywhere else.”
Ash’s decision to ink a new two-year deal with GWS reflects that view, removing any doubt about his immediate football future and leaving football boss Jason McCartney with one less headache.
He’s fresh from winning a career-most 35 disposals against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night — it’s the fourth time this season he’s set a new personal high — as his breakout year continues.
The departures of Zac Williams and Heath Shaw, as well as Lachie Whitfield’s prolonged injury absence, offered Ash greater opportunity that he’s grasped.
Whitfield’s likely return on Saturday from a bruised liver means Ash could be shifted from half-back to a wing.
The teenager was set to have a chat with coach Leon Cameron on Tuesday afternoon, but an untimely cold meant he stayed away from the club and postponed that conversation.
However, Ash said he was willing to play anywhere, pointing out how “A-grader” Josh Kelly had embraced his forward role for the team’s betterment.
“I think that’s one of the big shifts in the club. It’s not who but how — and that’s about accepting your role and just moving forward and doing that to the best of your ability,” he said.
“I’ll look to do the same. If it ends up being the forward pocket, then I’ll do my best there.”
Ash, whose 14-year-old brother Ryan is also showing promise in football and cricket, will be on the plane to Adelaide to face the Crows this weekend as the Giants seek a third win in four matches.
“We were pretty good for three quarters against the Bulldogs, then just dropped off a little around our contested ball and that flowed on to other aspects of our game,” he said.
“We’re looking forward to fixing that up this week against an Adelaide team that I imagine will be pretty fired up after losing a close game they probably should have won against Hawthorn.”
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