Stack to get paid for off-season discipline under new two-year deal

Richmond cult hero Sydney Stack is set to sign a new highly incentivised deal that will include financial reward for him meeting fitness targets when he returns after the off-season.

Sydney Stack’s new two-year contract will include a financial incentive for him to return to pre-season in the best shape of his life.

The Herald Sun can reveal both his management and the Tigers are happy to include a clause which would reward him for keeping himself fit through that period.

The new Tiger, second only to Carlton’s Sam Walsh in TAB’S Rising Star betting, nearly cost himself a shot at AFL stardom last off-season.

After an exceptional back-end to the 2018 season he turned in poor shape at the draft combine and was only taken by Richmond after a summer of training under the new rookie clause.

The Tigers are also working on a new deal for exciting mid-forward Liam Baker, while free agent Shane Edwards will also remain with the club into next year.
Stack’s manager and mentor Paul Peos is closing in on a new contract with Richmond list boss Blair Hartley that would sign up until 2021.

Talks have been scheduled for the mid-season break for several months, with many close to WA-raised Stack believing settling in Melbourne the perfect spot to retain his focus.

Walsh is the $1.30 favourite ahead of Stack ($8), but Stack’s combination of aggression and precision off half back makes him one of footy’s most watchable young players.

Sydney Stack has been given an incentive to keep his impressive physique. Picture: Getty Images

Peos said yesterday Stack was happy with a contract with financial incentives over summer — only part of a detailed contract with a range of incentives for performance.

AFL players are often given targets for skinfolds or time trial results when they return to the club over summer so a financial clause could easily be structured accordingly.

“There has been something presented for a couple of years and it’s quite detailed and complex and incentivised,” he told the Herald Sun.

“All parties are on the same page but we are not there yet. It will get done but there is a bit to work through.

“Both parties know he needs another pre-season and there are a few things that we discussed and agreed on that we thought would potentially incentivise it through that pre-season period. As a young boy he is a bit inconsistent in that area and we want to provide some incentives in the contract to work through that period.

“It can be financial, some of the detail we are still working through but all parties are pretty happy and things are moving in the right direction.”

Stack has quickly become a favourite among Tiger fans. Picture: Getty Images

Stack is the top-rated teenager in the AFL on Champion Data’s player ratings, ahead of players including Connor Rozee, Bailey Smith and Sam Walsh.

His kicking efficiency is also the best for any teenager in the competition and the second-best of any player at Richmond despite him consistently taking challenging inboard options.

Stack has quickly become a cult hero at the Tigers, applauded for his embrace of Eddie Betts after the Adelaide star kicked a goal on him late in Richmond’s loss to the Crows before the bye.

Geelong coach Chris Scott said recently there were a vast array of incentives and triggers built into deals to help clubs and players.

The AFL would tick off a deal for Geelong’s Tim Kelly that allowed him an escape clause on a long-term deal and would see the Cats trading him home mid-contract.

GWS midfielder Josh Kelly has a two-year deal with a potential six-year trigger clause that he can enact if he believes the club is moving in the right direction.

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