A Collingwood gun has returned to the training track ahead of a second-half of the year return.

North Melbourne has locked away two pillars of their future, while the Cats are ones to watch in a race for a speedy Saint.

And more contract news from around the competition.

All that and more from media buzz...

Gun Pie pushing closer to return

Collingwood's Bobby Hill has been spotted on the training track once again after the delivery of his third child.

Hill has been pushing for an AFL return, but has spent the past fortnight on the sidelines ahead of the birth of his newborn.

The Norm Smith Medallist is understood to rejoin his teammates in the VFL squad and will make a push towards a top-flight return in the second half of the season.

Cats a watch on speedy Saint

Geelong will be a close watch when it comes to the future of St Kilda's Darcy Wilson.

Wilson is out of contract at the Saints and has held off talks with the club as he weighs up his future.

North Melbourne is an interested party, but the Cats, as they do, linger in the background.

Roo beauty

North Melbourne has locked away George Wardlaw and Paul Curtis to new deals following a historic win over Gold Coast.

Wardlaw has penned a two-year extension until the end of 2028 writes AFL Media, while Curtis is understood to have agreed to a five-year deal, locking him away until 2033 according to Channel Seven's The Agenda Setters.

Stengle update

Geelong coach Chris Scott has defended the speculation surrounding Tyson Stengle as the Cat recently returned to the club.

Stengle has played football this year amid personal struggles, and Scott has warned off those who are making assumptions as he attempts to work his way back to the AFL.

“My position hasn't changed, I'm really optimistic that we can really help Tyson, and he can really help us,” Scott said.

“It's tricky for us, because we're actually limited in what we can talk about publicly. And you know how strongly I feel about players' sort of personal sort of medical situations, because it just leads to speculation,'

“The one thing I can guarantee is, there are people who would be speculating about Tyson's situation who have it wrong, and it's disappointing in some ways that I can't clarify it for you.

“This is probably too personal to elaborate on, but some of the things that Tyson's had to deal with over his life, if you only pinpointed a couple of them, I'm sure you would sit back and say, ‘It's almost a miracle that he's doing as well as he is'.

“And hopefully that helps you understand the way we think about the current situation.”

Length of MSD deals revealed

Almost half of the 18 MSD prospects taken on Tuesday have signed 18-month deals at their respective clubs.

Jaxon Artemis, Kye Annand, Ollie Francou, Caleb May, Xavier Bamert, Alex Van Wyk and Campbell Lake are understood to have been locked away until the end of 2027.

Collingwood trio Harrison Coe, Liam Puncher and Mitch Podhajski, Carlton's Flynn Riley, North Melbourne's Ollie Griffin, Adelaide's Hugo Hall-Kahan, Melbourne pair Lukas Cooke and Joel Fitzgerald, Hawthorn's Max Beattie, West Coast's Marcus Herbert and Demon Max Mapley are understood to have contracts until the end of the year, according to AFL Media.

Tigers confident on Lalor call

Richmond is confident that former Pick 1 Sam Lalor will recommit to the club despite being in no rush to re-sign.

Lalor comes out of contract at the end of next year, coinciding with Tasmania's introduction into the AFL.

"He's a Richmond player," Richmond recruiting manager Rhy Gieschen told Gettable on Wednesday.

"He loves our club. You only have to walk through the changerooms and see how popular he is and what an impact he has had on our club. You watch his on-field talent, and he's pretty special, but then you see the impact he's had and what a great person he is and how much he's bought into our culture.

"He's a future leader, and we're really confident he'll stay. He's in no rush to sign, nor should he be. He's contracted for another year after this. But we're fully expecting him to stay at Richmond and have a really fruitful career."

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