AFL 2024: Cam Zurhaar labels contract questions as ‘ridiculous’ as North Melbourne backs itself in
One of the biggest free agents in the pool this year, Cam Zurhaar had little interest in talking about his contract ahead of round one as the Roos provide an update on their plans to keep him.
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North Melbourne is adamant it is doing everything right to convince Cam Zurhaar to stay as the free agent labelled questions about his contract as “ridiculous”.
The dynamic forward is one of the jewels in the free agency market this season and has been public that he will wait and see how the Roos perform this year before making his mind up about his future.
Despite being linked to Zurhaar, Sydney has not yet made a play for the 25-year-old and this masthead revealed this week that the Swans face a salary cap crunch this season.
Zurhaar has won just 24 of his 99 games for North Melbourne and will wait to see how the young side progresses this year before truly assessing his options.
Roos footy boss Todd Viney said communication was still open with Zurhaar’s management and “we haven’t been told anything is on hold”.
“We understand that free agency doesn’t come around that often, nearly every (free agent) I have had to deal with will take the opportunity to take a deep breath and see what the marketplace is saying,” he said.
“They have got to be happy and confident that they are at the right place and all we can do is put the best program in place, create the right environment and as far as I am concerned (Zurhaar) is believing we are doing the right thing at the moment. It will all fall in place but in free agency we know is can take a bit of time to unfold.”
When asked on Thursday, Zurhaar said he was happy at Arden Street but laughed at being questioned before North Melbourne’s season had actually began.
“I’m really happy at the club at the moment, I can’t fault it at all,” he said.
“I just want to play the best footy I can and hopefully we play finals soon.
“We haven’t even played round 1 yet and (I) get these questions. It is pretty ridiculous to me. I know it is going to happen, it happens every single year and I am just the subject this year.”
Zurhaar said he has blocked out footy news and is only kept in the loop on chatter about his contract by his father, who regularly sends him articles.
As he hits his 100th game on Saturday against GWS Giants, the forward said he had shed a “couple of kilos” over summer and was ready to shrug off injuries.
He has only played 20 games in a year once in seven seasons.
While Zurhaar’s new deal promises to be the biggest contract call of North Melbourne’s season, Viney said the club would be open to early extensions for prized picks Colby McKercher and Zane Duursma, who will both make their debut against the Giants.
Both first-round picks signed three-year deals, a change in the new collective bargaining agreement, and can’t ink extensions until after round 6.
Industry figures expect draftee extensions to be slightly muted by the extra year tacked on to first-round player’s draftee deals after top prospects regularly added two years to their deals by the halfway point of their maiden seasons.
“If they are open to doing that we are certainly keen to speak to their managers about their long-term futures,” Viney said.
“I think over (recent years) more have committed for an extra couple of years than previously but now with the first round draft picks they are extended to three years, so it is a slightly different landscape at the moment.”
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