North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw says Ben Brown one of the AFL’s best over past decade

They love Big Ben so why don’t the Kangaroos offer him a long-term deal? Coach Rhyce Shaw explains.

Ben Brown of the Kangaroos. Picture: MICHAEL KLEIN

THEY chased AFL stars like Dustin Martin, Josh Kelly, Jordan De Goey, Isaac Heeney and Andrew Gaff on big-dollar, long term deals_ now North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw has hit back at criticism his club has not offered towering Tasmanian Ben Brown more than three years in his new contract negotiations.

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes says North Melbourne has “insulted” Brown, who has kicked more goals than any other player in the past three seasons, for its reluctance to offer him more than a three-year deal.

North Melbourne star Ben Brown. Picture: MICHAEL KLEIN

As the Kangaroos prepare for their final Marsh Series match against Sydney Swans at Twin Ovals at 1.40pm on Monday, with the inclusion of skipper Jack Ziebell for his first game, Shaw said Brown’s deal would not be made public.

“We keep all of our contract negotiations in-house, but Ben Brown is a fantastic player, one of the best forwards in the competition and probably one of the best forwards over the past decade,” Shaw said.

“He has been a great servant of North Melbourne and he’s a real cult figure, so we are really keen to get Ben locked away.

Ben Brown of the Kangaroos watches on during a North Melbourne Kangaroos Intra-Club match at Adern St on February 14, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Picture: MORGAN HANCOCK/GETTY IMAGES

“We are on constant negotiations and communication with him.

“Everyone else can speculate. We are really happy with where it sits right now.”

Brown (strained calf) is unlikely to be fit for round one.

Ziebell is one of a dozen players coming into the team to play Sydney to secure their spots for St Kilda at Marvel on March 22, along with key players Shaun Higgins, Ben Cunnington, Jared Polec, Todd Goldstein, Jy Simpkin and Tarryn Thomas.

Trent Dumont and Simpkin joined the Kangaroos’ leadership group, and Shaw expects the pair to take their game “to another level”.

Shaw, who has never been to the Twin Ovals, is not looking for anything extraordinary against the Swans.

“We’ve played in spits and spurts this pre-season, and we haven’t been too happy, so it’s an opportunity to play the type of footy we’ve been training for,” Shaw said.