AFL contract news 2021: Stay up to date with the latest player movement buzz
Nick Vlastuin has inked a new long-term deal with Richmond and despite being a free agent, he didn’t want to push anyone out with a big contract. He’s frank as he explains why.
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Richmond star defender Nick Vlastuin says he was desperate to follow the lead of club leaders in signing a fair contract that did not push a teammate out of Punt Road.
Vlastuin signed a five-year deal on Thursday when holding off as one of footy’s premiership free agents would potentially have forced the Tigers to match a more lucrative deal.
But Vlastuin told the Herald Sun he never considered rival offers and wasn’t even sure what he was worth on the open market.
It came as Vlastuin revealed scans on Thursday had finally revealed bone bruising to his hyperextended knee that required a cortisone shot and potentially more rest.
His manager Paul Connors knocked off a deal that will likely pay one of footy’s premier defenders handsomely while also giving the club wriggle room to keep its stars.
“I had nothing to do with it, it was all up to Paul but I said to him I don’t want to force anyone out, I want what is fair for me and fair for the club. He knows all the figures but you don’t want to be the one that forces the club to kick someone out. Everyone else has done it and set that precedent. I don’t even know what I am worth, but it happened quickly and everyone was happy and no one played hard ball,” he said.
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“Even if you got to another club, they might offer you another couple of hundred grand but you pay half of it in tax, you might have to move interstate, you might not like the club. It’s fun here at the moment. That makes everything easier. Winning and having fun around the club.”
Vlastuin jokes that he would love to have injured his knee in a courageous on-field move when instead he hyperextended with an air swing as he tried to kick the ball into orbit.
“It was after a contest and I hit Ed Curnow and tried to follow through but I was off balance. I tried to kick it 100 metres off the ground but hyperextended my knee. It didn’t hurt much but once I tried to jog around it was no good and once the swelling kicked in I couldn’t bend it,” he said.
“It was very sore for three or four days and then it improved very quickly. I was thinking I was a sneaky chance for Round 2 and then ran around on it and it didn’t pull up well.
“I had another scan on it (on Thursday) and some bone bruising got picked up on the scan.
“It’s good news that I know what I am dealing with. It tells me why I was having symptoms and getting sore. I am not playing Saturday but the docs put a cortisone shot in it and I am off legs for two days. I was waking up feeling good and getting to training and within a few minutes it was sore and I had a good limp up.”
Vlastuin was door-stopped by the media on the morning after his injury and blasted his critics as “idiots” if they didn’t believe he needed to be subbed out on a historic night for the league’s rules.
“Yeah, I was pretty annoyed actually,” he said.
“It feels like everything we do as AFL players gets criticised. I even felt for the doc. He had to make a call on game-day. I was saying, ‘I think this is what happened but I have pulled up lame and can’t walk’.
“He was under the pump to make the call then and there. There was a media storm afterwards and then I had three or four days to sit on the coach with nothing better to do than look at social media so that didn’t improve my mood.
“(Criticism) is part of football but being from one of the more successful teams people are going to cut you down and the tall poppy syndrome is pretty big in Australia.
“As our media person says, Richmond sell papers, if it’s good news or bad news. It feels like in 2017 we couldn’t do a thing wrong and now we are the worst people in the world. But it’s part and parcel of the industry.”
Sydney Stack returned to Punt Road early in the week after his $6000 COVID fine in Perth but by his own admission is only 25 per cent fit to play AFL.
He is eligible to play AFL after Round 5 but clearly will need longer to reach match fitness.
“He has just been jogging and running laps and doing boxing with the boxing coach and doing extra training. It’s going to be a pretty tough month or two training-wise. We got flogged in January and February and he is coming now but he’s kept his head down, and I am looking forward to talking to him and getting to know him again,” Vlastuin said.
“He has been through a fair bit and not many 20-year-olds would be in prison over New Years like that, so it’s a hell of a story. Just with his upbringing, I can’t understand the things he has had to go through so it will be good to put my arms around him.”
EXCITING TIGER DEFENDER LOCKED IN
– Jon Ralph
Richmond’s brilliant young premiership defender Noah Balta has agreed to terms with the Tigers on a new two-year deal through to 2023.
The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday morning that the Tigers were close on a new deal, with the club confirming the contract on Tuesday afternoon.
Instead of holding out to assess his extraordinary upside the 32-gamer was prepared to re-commit to the Tigers early in the season in a huge show of faith.
While Balta’s raw power and intercept marking gifts would make him a target of rivals if he had held out until the end of the year, the deal is done.
A two-year deal means he comes out of contract at a time when the Tigers have more cap space and he could secure the kind of lucrative contract that he should command.
Balta said on Tuesday the decision was easy given his faith in the club.
“I have loved every second (of being here). It was not a hard decision for me to make,” he added.
“My time here has been unbelievable; I love every single one of the boys that are here and could not picture myself being anywhere else.”
If Lance Franklin takes the field against Richmond on Saturday at the MCG Balta can expect the ultimate test of his growth given they would likely play on each other at some stage.
The Tigers will also re-commit to All Australian Shane Edwards in the early part of the season, with the brilliant midfielder keen to continue on despite turning 33 this coming October.
Jack Riewoldt is also in talks on a new deal for 2022.
Balta has been slotted into Alex Rance’s full back position after debuting on the day Rance played his last game and barely missed a beat.
This year he is already averaging four intercept marks and 6.5 intercept possessions a game alongside Dylan Grimes, Nathan Broad, David Astbury and Nick Vlastuin.
Before he won his first premiership last year assistant coach Justin Leppitsch said his athletic gifts were off the charts.
“With his athleticism and power, as an athlete he is the most gifted I have seen as a kid coming through,” he told the Herald Sun.
“He could be years away from being the player we think he will be, but the things he does are unbelievable.”
Balta has already become a favourite of Richmond senior club advisor, a dual premiership player for the Tigers from 1970-79, with the 21-year-old wearing Balme’s No.21 jumper.
Coach Damien Hardwick says the ability of his players to sacrifice bigger deals has allowed them to keep their playing group together during their premiership era.
Richmond’s Shai Bolton and Daniel Rioli are also keen to re-sign despite their potential, with Bolton’s manager Ralph Carr saying recently his player would stay at Punt Road.
CONTRACT WATCH: HOW TIGERS ARE NEGOTIATING WITH STARS
Richmond’s brilliant young premiership defender Noah Balta is in talks with the Tigers on a new two-year contract.
Instead of holding out to assess his extraordinary upside the 32-gamer is prepared to recommit to the Tigers early in the season in a huge show of faith.
While Balta’s raw power and intercept marking gifts would make him a target of rivals if he held out until the end of the year, talks are progressing well.
A two-year deal would mean he comes out of contract at a time when the Tigers have more cap space and he could secure the kind of lucrative contract that he should command.
If Lance Franklin takes the field against Richmond on Saturday at the MCG Balta can expect the ultimate test of his growth given they would likely play on each other at some stage.
This year he is ranked the fourth-best key defender behind Darcy Moore, Sam Frost and Sam Collins and has the third-most intercept marks.
The Tigers will also recommit to All Australian Shane Edwards in the early part of the season, with the brilliant midfielder keen to continue on despite turning 33 this coming October.
Jack Riewoldt is also in talks on a new deal for 2022.
Balta has been slotted into Alex Rance’s fullback position after debuting on the day Rance played his last game and barely missed a beat.
This year he is already averaging four intercept marks and 6.5 intercept possessions a game alongside Dylan Grimes, Nathan Broad, David Astbury and Nick Vlastuin.
Before he won his first premiership last year assistant coach Justin Leppitsch said his athletic gifts were off the charts.
“With his athleticism and power, as an athlete he is the most gifted I have seen as a kid coming through,” he told the Herald Sun.
“He could be years away from being the player we think he will be, but the things he does are unbelievable.”
Balta has already become a favourite of Richmond senior club advisor, a dual premiership player for the Tigers from 1970-79, with the 21-year-old wearing Balme’s No. 21 jumper.
Coach Damien Hardwick says the ability of his players to sacrifice bigger deals has allowed them to keep their playing group together during their premiership era.
Hardwick has also signed a new three-year extension through to the end of 2024.
Captain Trent Cotchin said on the weekend his ability to inspire the players through his storytelling and passion showed why he could continue at the club for a very long time.
Richmond’s Shai Bolton and Daniel Rioli are also keen to re-sign despite their potential, with Bolton’s manager Ralph Carr saying recently his player would stay at Punt Road.
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