St Kilda play down interest in Geelong’s Daniel Menzel with Chris Scott confident he’ll stay a Cat

ST KILDA coach Alan Richardson has played down the club’s reported interest in Geelong goalkicker Daniel Menzel as Cats coach Chris Scott is confident the unrestricted free agent will stay at the club.

Daniel Menzel is an unrestricted free agent.

ALAN Richardson has played down St Kilda’s interest in Geelong goalkicker Daniel Menzel.

Reports emerged on Monday night the Saints are keen on luring the unrestricted free agent to Moorabbin as the club looks to bolster its list on the back of a disappointing season.

Menzel is out of contract at season’s end after signing a one-year deal to remain at the Cats at the end of last year.

The Saints will be aggressive in the trade and free agency space again after failing to land a big fish last October.

CATS OFFER: GEELONG HAPPY TO SIGN MENZEL BUT NOT LONG-TERM

DOING DEALS: SWANS TO DEMAND TOP-10 PICK FOR HANNEBERY

Menzel is the latest player to be linked to the club, alongside gun Sydney midfielder Dan Hannebery and West Coast ruckman Scott Lycett.

“We get mentioned a lot and I understand that,” Saints coach Richardson said. “We’ve said that we’re going to be aggressive, we’re going to look at free agents, we’re going to look at trades and we’re certainly doing a lot of work on the national draft.

“We’re going to look for quality players that can support our list (but) I’m not going to talk about any individuals.

Daniel Menzel is an unrestricted free agent.

“There are times when conversations happen that the coach is not totally across. That’s the job of the list management group and (football boss) Simon Lethlean runs all that.”

Menzel, 26, was open to finding a new club as a free agent at the end of last year after Geelong only offered a one-year deal given his injury history.

St Kilda could offer a multi-year deal in a bid to lure him to the club.

TRADE TALK: SAINTS CONFIRM INTEREST IN HANNEBERY

COACH: MALTHOUSE SLAMS SAINTS’ ‘RIDICULOUS’ HANNEBERY OFFER

Menzel has kicked 23 goals in 10 games this year, including two bags of three since returning from a bad reaction to an injection in his groin.

Geelong coach Chris Scott is adamant he wants Menzel to stay at the Cattery, with talks for a new deal underway.

“I only heard about it about an hour ago,” Scott said on AFL360.

Will Menzel leave Geelong? Picture: Michael Klein

“We want Dan to stay. Contract negotiations began mid-year at the latest. We’d like him to stay.

“He’s an unrestricted free agent and it’s his right, as a player that’s out of contract, to have a look at his options.

“I think there have been some reports about his wage being quite low, which I’m told, I don’t know, but I’m told are wrong and really wrong. Up to 100 per cent wrong, which is a lot.

“We’re pretty comfortable (where it sits).

“We’d like Dan to stay and we’d like him to sign a contract with us but we respect St Kilda and all the other clubs’ rights to investigate the situation.

“My suspicion is that Dan will stay with us.”

Watch every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >