By Sam McClure and Nell Geraets
Melbourne will turn their attention to out-of-contract stars Luke Jackson and Angus Brayshaw after successfully securing midfield bull Clayton Oliver on a mammoth seven-year contract worth more than $6 million.
But sources close to Jackson say the Demons are becoming increasingly concerned that the lure of returning home to Fremantle is hanging over the homesick Jackson’s head.
While the Dockers have been tight-lipped on whether they have made a formal contract offer to Jackson, who grew up playing for East Fremantle, they made their intentions clear before last year’s grand final in Perth that they want him to be a long-term player for them.
With Oliver, Christian Petracca, Max Gawn, Steven May and Jake Lever all earning over $750,000 per season, Melbourne are following a similar salary cap model to the one employed by Richmond and GWS – whereby they pay their best six players high amounts of money on long-term deals, and divide up the rest with everyone else.
And while the club would be comfortable with adding Jackson to that list, club sources have indicated they would find it difficult to match a seven-figure offer, if one came from the west.
Jackson has close ties to Fremantle. He finished sixth in the best and fairest for East Fremantle’s Colts team despite only playing eight games in his draft year.
On Wednesday, Goodwin spoke of his desire to retain Jackson and Brayshaw for the long haul. Both star players come out of contract at the end of the season, but Goodwin said there was “no rush” on contract talks.
Brayshaw is enjoying a stellar year after changing positions yet again this season. Following a move to the wing in the Demons’ premiership tilt last season, Brayshaw was employed across half-back earlier in the season when Christian Salem was injured. Brayshaw has dominated and in doing so proved his value and flexibility.
Although shining no light on the length of the contract they would offer, Demons football manager Alan Richardson told SEN Melbourne were “incredibly keen” to lock in Jackson and relatively confident he would re-sign.
“We think Luke is a fantastic player. We think the potential is enormous for Luke, we don’t think he’s anywhere near his best yet, which is a bit scary given what he’s already done.
“We’ll work through that with TLA management group to make sure that Luke is comfortable and he’s happy.
“It’s pretty obvious that he’s taking a bit of time. We’ve allowed him to do that, we’ve encouraged him to do that to make sure he makes the right decisions for him and for his footy.”
Oliver, however, has been well and truly locked away. The three-time best-and-fairest winner’s contract was not due to expire until the end of next season, but Melbourne were determined to secure the gun midfielder before he entered his free agency year.
Clayton Oliver signs mammoth deal with Demons.Credit: Michael Willson/Getty Images
The 24-year-old, known affectionately as “Clarry” to his coach and teammates, has made impressive strides since his selection at pick four in the 2015 national draft. He is a vital part of the Dees’ midfield engine room, and is averaging 34 disposals per game this season.
Richardson said securing arguably “the strongest performing player at age 24 in the competition” was not only terrific news for the team, but for the club and fans alike.
“We’re just delighted. He’s an incredibly good player that consistently performs at a high level. To have him signed up for that length of time is just a great result,” Richardson said.
“Clearly with free agency happening for Clayton next year, we were really keen to make sure we knocked that on the head and he was always wanting to be a Melbourne person for the rest of his life.”
Touching on the length of the contract extension, Richardson said it was what clubs needed to do to secure the players they believed to have an X-factor, and he was comfortable with that commitment.
“If you’re going to try to get a player like that out of another footy club, you’re going to pay a lot of money and give a really big, long contract. We’re comfortable doing that with great people and great players like Christian [Petracca] and like Jack Viney and now Clayton Oliver.”
Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb said the club was overjoyed to secure one of the team’s best players in such a mammoth deal.
“We are delighted that Clayton has turned his back on free agency and chosen to commit to the club. It shows the faith he has in our playing group and coaches, and it is huge endorsement of the culture we have built under [coach] Simon [Goodwin],” Lamb told reporters on Thursday morning.
In his 138 games so far, Oliver has averaged 29 disposals and six clearances. His list of accolades is substantial, including two All-Australian selections and the AFL Coaches Association award for best player throughout the 2021 season.
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