Which newspaper to believe .....?
Macdonald now in Tigers sights Stephen Rielly From: The Australian November 19, 2009 JOEL Macdonald is likely to be the first selection in next month's pre-season draft, with the former Brisbane defender's name conspicuously absent from the roll-call of delisted players who had to nominate by 2pm yesterday for next week's national draft.
By declining to place himself in the shop window of the national draft, where all 16 clubs will participate, Macdonald, 25, has all but confirmed he has a deal with either Melbourne or Richmond.
The Demons, with first pick in the pre-season draft, are the likely suspects although Richmond, along with North Melbourne and Fremantle, have spoken to Macdonald who was surprisingly cut last month after playing 22 of the Lions' 24 matches last season.
Melbourne had wanted to invest the selection in former St Kilda captain Luke Ball who has instead nominated for the national draft in an attempt to get to Collingwood.
Despite the interest of three other clubs - he was interviewed by North and underwent a medical, and also flew to Perth to meet Fremantle which has since settled for Essendon's Adam McPhee - Macdonald has been keen to join the Demons.
A Queenslander by birth, Macdonald played 80 games in six seasons with the Lions including 39 of 46 in the past two years. This season was his most productive. He played every home-and-away match, averaging almost 19 possessions before being demoted for the two finals the Lions played.
His omission and subsequent delisting surprised the football world, especially when the Lions went out and recruited Andrew Raines from Richmond as his replacement on a back flank.
A measure of this surprise was the fact all the clubs who pursued him have former teammates of Macdonald's on staff. At Fremantle, dual Lions premiership defender Chris Scott is an assistant to Mark Harvey while his brother, Brad, is coach of North.
At Richmond, Justin Leppitsch has joined new coach Damien Hardwick after a decorated career with the Lions that most recently saw him working as Michael Voss's senior assistant this year.
If Melbourne has Macdonald and Fremantle gets McPhee with pick three, Richmond will have the first live selection in the pre-season draft at number two. The Tigers have another former Lion, Rhan Hooper, training with them and he may now be their target although he was one of 52 delisted players who had nominated by yesterday's cut-off, which means he could be selected next week.
Hooper, like Macdonald, has questions being asked about his departure from the Queensland capital.
An elite talent with admitted disciplinary issues, Hooper is only 21 and was under contract for $330,000 next year which the Lions are likely to have to pay out.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/macdonald-now-in-tigers-sights/story-e6frg7mf-1225799489420
