Author Topic: Veteran & fringe Tigers' futures to be determined later in the year (afl site)  (Read 1287 times)

Offline one-eyed

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... Fringe Tigers Sam Lloyd and Corey Ellis face a less certain future at Punt Road, with negotiations about their out-of-contract status expected to come much later in the year.

As the Tigers continue to be linked to free agent Tom Lynch, who will come with a high price tag when he officially declares his intention to leave Gold Coast, there are a number of players that will have to wait before their own talks kick off.

Premiership forward Jacob Townsend is in that boat, with his manager Scott Lucas saying this week he remains optimistic his client will remain at Punt Road, but that he'll have to be patient.

"For a lot of those players, and I would imagine Jacob included, it is more a conversation at the end of the year," Lucas told Macquarie Sports Radio on Wednesday morning.

"Let's not be silly, the phrase at the moment for a lot of clubs, (is) 'we don't know if we've got a million dollars or no dollars'. 

"And Richmond I would say it's fair to suggest would have a strong interest in Tom Lynch, so what they do, and how they manage their books is attached to the decision that Tom will make - as it is for Gold Coast and other clubs that are interested."

Bachar Houli, Shaun Grigg, Oleg Markov, Shai Bolton, Nathan Broad, Reece Conca and Connor Menadue are other Tigers coming out of contract at the end of this season.

Grigg told RSN Breakfast on Thursday morning "there's no contract on the table" at this stage but was "sure it would work out" if he continued to stay in form.

"It's an interesting one," Grigg said.

"There's been a lot of talk with some players coming to the club or not coming to the club, and when you get to my age, I've just hit 30 and it's to be expected that I wait and be one of the last ones signed or not.

"The ball's sort of in my court, I can just keep playing footy and keep contributing to the team … I feel like my body, touch wood, still has some years to go and I'm still contributing.

"All I can do is hopefully show 'Dimma' and the coaches and Blair Hartley, the list manager, that I'm some value going forward."

Houli's manager was at Punt Road on Thursday, but it is understood negotiations about his future aren't expected to get underway until the 30-year-old has a few weeks of form behind him following his return on Saturday night from a groin injury.

Source: AFL website