Moneyball: Carlton enters chase for Ned Reeves, Tom Lynch wants new deal, Judd McVee latest
Carlton has entered the chase for a fringe big man to bolster its ruck stocks should Tom De Koning depart - but they’re not alone as the annual ruck merry-go-round heats up.
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Carlton and Collingwood have expressed interest in Hawks backup ruckman Ned Reeves as he looks to find more opportunities elsewhere.
Both clubs have shown interest in Reeves who is on the hunt for a new home next season after falling behind Lloyd Meek at the Hawks this year.
It comes as the AFL is considering changes to its ruck rules which have disadvantaged jumping ruckmen such as Reeves.
As the ruck merry-go-round gains pace, clubs are assessing fallback plans across the league.
Carlton will lose Tom De Koning to St Kilda, Saints’ big man Rowan Marshall could land at Geelong, Sam Draper could switch from Essendon to Brisbane Lions while Collingwood is so far refusing to hand Darcy Cameron an improved contract past 2026.
The Pies are aware they could boost Cameron’s contract for 2026 in good faith but have not yet done so despite locking in Bobby Hill when he had time to run on his contract.
Clubs are working through their options with fellow backups including Gold Coast’s Ned Moyle unwilling to move.
The 210cm Reeves remains contracted at Hawthorn for next season and would require a trade, but wants to make a move to a new home for more senior opportunities.
New AFL footy boss Greg Swann said on Tuesday the ugly wrestling tactics were on the nose at AFL House.
“I don’t think it’s good for the game to lose the ruck jump. That’s something we’re going to look at,” Swann said on Triple M.
“In the centre bounce ruck contest, only one in five is a jump. The other four (contests), they walk across the line and wrestle.
“When they do cross the line and grab each other, it’s like chook lotto when they blow the whistle, ‘Who is getting the free?’
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“Because they’re both wrestling, they’re both holding, and I think it’s going to stop.”
Rule changes to stop ruckmen locking arms at the centre bounce would be a welcome move as it would help revive the art form of ruck and tapwork.
But clubs want clarity before the upcoming exchange period to help plan for next season as any changes could considerably favour athletic talls such as Reeves who prefer to jump at the ball rather than wrestle.
In the VFL, Reeves has averaged 38 hit-outs, 15 disposals and five clearances a game and was originally recruited to Hawthorn by Graham Wright who will lead the revival at Carlton as new CEO.
The Blues are still considering whether it needs a replacement ruckman for De Koning, and has pledged to give Marc Pittonet more ruck time as an audition leading into 2025.
They are assessing the ruck market with irons in fires in case they decide they need to get into the ruck race.
But they could face a fight for Reeves’s signature as several clubs weigh up ruck swaps.
Geelong is also low-key assessing the market and has eyes for Marshall who would be usurped by De Koning at Moorabbin next year.
Collingwood has offered Cameron a modest three-year deal, and would also be on the hunt for a new big man if they lost him to West Coast.
As the Herald Sun revealed last week, Collingwood has aggressively tried to prise key defender Jack Silvagni out of Carlton in a bombshell move for one of the Blues’ favourite sons.
Silvagni would be an ideal addition to the Magpies’ defence, but Cameron’s future remains unclear without an improved four-year deal.
The ruckman looks set to put off a decision until the end of the year as he steams towards a second-straight top-three finish in Collingwood’s best and fairest.
Gold Coast’s Moyle signed a four-year deal aware he might have to bide his time behind Jarrod Witts, who has been in career-best form this year.
He loves living on the Gold Coast and continues to learn every time he plays seniors so he will not be on the move this year.
SAINTS DRAW LINE IN THE SAND ON MARSHALL
St Kilda has no intention of trading ruckman Rowan Marshall to Geelong or any other AFL club at the end of the season.
Marshall did nothing to dispel speculation he could seek a move next year when quizzed about his future this week, just hours after he played a key role in orchestrating St Kilda’s Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera miracle last quarter comeback against Melbourne last Sunday.
The Cats are among a handful of AFL clubs interested in Marshall, with Carlton’s Tom De Koning almost certain to join the Saints on a monster long-term $1.7m per season deal.
But Moneyball understands St Kilda is determined to keep the 29-year-old, who has two more seasons to run on his current deal, even if Marshall decides he wants a fresh start.
They could even look to offer him a sweeter of an extra year to placate Marshall, who has yet to decide on what he wants to do next season.
It is understood the Saints believe he and De Koning could make a powerful force next year and beyond, if they can convince Marshall of the split between his time in the ruck and when used forward.
Marshall has previously worked in a ruck tandem with Paddy Ryder, with St Kilda eager to bolster its big man stocks, believing they lack height in attack.
He has finished in the Saints’ top 10 of their best and fairest four times, while De Koning has only once made it through to the top 10 of the Carlton club champion award.
De Koning had a strong start to 2025 but, like his club, has struggled in recent months, particularly since being moved to a forward role as Marc Pittonet took over the main ruck minutes.
He conceded recently he had taken some time to adjust to the forward role he has assumed.
St Kilda has locked away mature-aged rookie Max Hall on a multi-year deal after playing 19 games this season, with a deal to be announced soon.
Hall, 23, has averaged a goal per game this season since being a mid-year draft selection last year, with his best returns being three goals against Hawthorn and Sydney.
GIANTS LOOK TO EXTEND TOBY
Greater Western Sydney will look to add an extra year onto Toby Greene’s current deal, which will likely see him become the first Giant to reach 300 games at the one club.
The Giants’ skipper will miss Thursday night’s clash with Western Bulldogs after he chose not to appeal his one-ban ban for his dropped forearm on Swan Isaac Heeney.
He is already contracted until the end of 2026, but in keeping the Giants’ assertive list decisions, they will look to extend the 31-year-old out to the end of 2027.
Greene is 42 games short of the 300-game mark (he is currently on 257 games), with Lachie Whitfield just five games behind him.
VETERAN TIGER CLOSES IN ON NEW DEAL
Tom Lynch’s one-year extension to remain at Richmond is on track as the club’s president John O’Rourke lauded his impact this weekend.
Lynch will take a massive pay cut on a deal that averaged $1 million but was heavily back-ended to play on into 2025.
The club’s young key forwards are coming on at speed with pick 14 Jonty Faull looking more at home by the week, Thomas Sims playing as a ruck-forward and Harry Armstrong returning through the VFL from a hamstring tendon injury across the weekend.
The Tigers are aware his presence has still been valuable kicking 19 goals from 13 games before his five-week suspension for striking Adelaide’s Jordan Butts.
O’Rourke said on Sunday that he was working his bum off trying to help the club’s youngsters during his suspension, which has only one more week to run.
Meanwhile, Richmond will kick-start discussions on a new contract for coach Adem Yze once the 2024 season has ended.
Having entered the season with some suggesting they may not win a game this season, the Tigers have won five matches this season, including the round 1 scalp that delivered an early blow to Carlton’s 2025.
Richmond is confident it has the right man in Yze, and while he is already contracted for next season, it is understood he will win an extension in the off-season.
The Tigers are also starting to look at options for a new base while its Punt Road renovations are underway later this year and into next year.
The AFL’s recent purchase of Waverley from Hawthorn could provide the option of a potential home if it can be arranged.
SHIEL OPEN TO CONTINUING AT BOMBERS
Veteran midfielder Dylan Shiel is opening to playing on again next season if Essendon thinks he can assist the development of the next wave of talent in red and black.
Shiel, 32, is in the final year of his contract with the Bombers, but has split his time between the AFL and VFL this season, playing 10 games at both levels in 2025.
He was one of the Bombers’ best players in the 93-point loss to the Bulldogs last Friday, but hasn’t yet made a decision on his future.
Asked if he was open to playing a 15th AFL season next year, Shiel said: “Yeah, sure … I’m open to it. I enjoy coming to work with these young guys.”
“My body feels good. We will assess at the end of the year whether I am going to play on or not. But I’m open to it.”
It’s not yet known if the Bombers would consider handing Shiel a one-year deal, or whether another club could throw him a lifeline.
He said the young Bombers were keeping him young, saying the most important thing at the moment was to help the injury-decimated Dons get through the last five games.
“We are not getting the results we want now, but this core of players will get there,” he said.
“It is hard for the public to see but they are doing a lot right from Monday to Friday. I love their energy and their work ethic.
“You get (inconsistency) with young groups … but (the next month) provides a good opportunity to focus on improvement each week and guys basically controlling what they can control. That’s all we can do, just keep trying to get better.
“I feel like the boys have bought into that and they are having a crack.”
KEY BACK WANTS TO REMAIN A DOG
Top end Western Bulldogs draft pick Jedd Busslinger wants to be a part of the club for the long term, shutting down any suggestions he could seek a return home to Western Australia.
Busslinger, who was taken as pick 13 in the 2022 draft, is contracted until the end of next season but insisted the patience the Bulldogs have had in developing him as a defender will assist him deep into the future.
The 21-year-old played his third AFL game last week, having a career-best 15 disposals, and he credits the man whom he kept out of the team - veteran backman Liam Jones - for part of his development as a defender.
“Liam and I came to the club at the same time (the end of 2023) and he has been really good for me,” Busslinger said.
“He is a super competitor. I am always talking to him about defensive craft and I am always trying to take a leaf out of his book.”
Busslinger has no issues with the fact he has had limited exposure so far at AFL level, saying his 49 VFL games have built a good base of experience.
“I am not the first person to not get picked so there have been a lot of people I could lean on and learn from,” he said.
“I certainly don’t think it has hurt me (playing a lot of VFL football). I have had to bide my time a bit but I have no doubt it will hold me in good stead going forward.
“I absolutely love it here. I want to play good football for the club … all of the young boys, from the first to four year players, are really close.
“I lived with Luke Cleary and Sam Darcy last year, which was good, and now I am living with Buku (Khamis) and Bailey Dale.
“I can’t imagine another club which has as many tight friendships.”
Busslinger made his debut earlier this year when was assigned the job on Giant Jesse Hogan, and he knows the importance of the Bulldogs staying on the winning list as the race for September hots up.
“We have to keep on winning, hopefully we can take the learnings out of (the Essendon) win and use it going into next week and hopefully the finals.”
CAN SWAN GET BACK TO SENIORS BEFORE TRADE PERIOD?
Sydney wingman Ollie Florent will focus on winning back his spot in the senior side instead of worrying about his future in the game but will have suitors at the end of the season given a prolonged VFL run.
Florent is contracted to the end of 2029 on a lucrative deal but has played seven VFL games in the second half of the season as the Swans look elsewhere.
He has played only one senior game since 11 but played only 40 minutes as the sub against the Bulldogs.
He has been a hugely consistent wingman who churned out 98 games in the previous four seasons including winning 24 possessions in the grand final.
But his drop in form is another indicator of the Swans’ below-par season, with too many stars not able to replicate the form of previous seasons.
DEE CONTRACT SAGA TO ROLL ON
Judd McVee’s contract impasse will likely drift to round 24 as he considers his future in the fallout from the Demons Marvel Stadium disaster.
As the Herald Sun revealed this month, he is putting off signing a new deal yet despite having a contract in front of him for the full season.
McVee hasn’t yet decided to leave but has delayed that signing as he considers if he could play a role elsewhere as a more aggressive defender higher up the ground.
Despite speculation the Demons have not made any moves to consider the trade value of Jake Lever, with coach Simon Goodwin adamant he will fulfil his contract.
He would be a perfect fit for a club like the Dogs in the premiership window with a need for another quality key defender.
Melbourne has no current suitors for Clayton Oliver, who has some interest in a fresh start, given his hefty wage bill.
So unless something extraordinary happens with him taking a massive pay cut it seems like he is destined to stay at Melbourne next year.
LION FACING CHALLENGING PATH WEST
The AFL’s complicated free agency compensation rules mean the path for Brandon Starcevich to head to West Coast is extremely challenging.
The Eagles are keen on more senior players to help coach Andrew McQualter but securing free agents will be a challenge because they will likely secure the No. 2 overall pick for departing free agent Oscar Allen.
The Lions want to keep premier small defender Starcevich as a restricted free agent and if they lose him will get nothing in compensation because they are already adding Oscar Allen and potentially Sam Draper.
Under the AFL’s rules compensation is decided by net gain or loss, so adding two stars and losing one would mean they get no compensation pick for Starcevich.
West Coast have strong interest but the No. 2 pick would be pushed back if Starcevich arrived.
So it makes all the sense in the world for the Lions to pay up to secure Starcevich.
He had asked for a two-year deal at Brisbane but they are open to offering him a longer contract.
Vic clubs are also sniffing around given his partner is from Victoria.
He is in Perth for the Freo clash in round 23 where he will come closer to a decision
Originally published as Moneyball: Carlton enters chase for Ned Reeves, Tom Lynch wants new deal, Judd McVee latest
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