‘We’ll give him the world’: Yze wants to keep Baker at RichmondMarc McGowan
The Age
April 1, 2024First-year Richmond coach Adem Yze declared after his maiden win for the Tigers that they would give star vice-captain Liam Baker “the world” if he wanted to stick around.
Baker, who is out of contract at season’s end and in Fremantle’s and West Coast’s sights, has enjoyed a strong start to the year, including amassing 21 disposals and two goals in Richmond’s five-point upset of previously unbeaten Sydney at the MCG on Sunday.
Making matters more interesting is the transition period the Tigers are going through under Yze as they move further away from the golden era of three premierships in four years from 2017 to 2020.
“He’ll make his decision, and the club will work with him with that, and we’ll give him the world if he wants to stay at our footy club – but if he decides to go, well, then that’s the nature of the game,” Yze said.
“While he’s here, we just want him to play free and enjoy his footy, and make that decision when the time comes.
“That’s my only thing I’ve been talking to him about – is I just want his effort to be high and just enjoy walking in the footy club, and we love him. He knows that. He’ll make that decision. The last couple of weeks, he’s played with some freedom, which is nice, so hopefully, he can keep that going.”
Yze said list boss Blair Hartley would work out the finer contract details with Baker’s agent, Jason Dover, but made it clear he was “very much a player [who] we want to keep”. But he emphasised the Tigers would not judge him if he left.
The Dockers seem a better fit for Baker – who was born and raised in Western Australia – with their age demographic than the rebuilding Eagles, plus Fremantle are armed with three first-round picks, so they could potentially use one of those to strike a deal.
However, more pressure-filled performances and victories like Sunday’s win – 11.16 (82) to 11.11 (77) – should only help Richmond’s cause in retaining him.
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Baker will wait anxiously for match review officer Michael Christian’s assessment of his second-quarter incident with Lewis Melican, where he flew in and braced late, ultimately making contact to the Swans defender’s head.
Melican was able to get up before briefly going to the bench, but he did not undergo a concussion test and returned soon after.
“I didn’t see the incident, but we’ll look at it later tonight or tomorrow,” Yze said.
“If he’s gone and done something outside the rules, we’ll have to wait and see, but I think Melican played the whole game, so that’s a positive ... ‘Bakes’ is pretty small; Melican’s a big man.”
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/we-ll-give-him-the-world-yze-wants-to-keep-baker-at-richmond-20240331-p5fgeq.html