Premiership Demon Luke Jackson is expected to make a call on his future in the coming days, with the 20-year-old tossing up whether to remain a Redleg or collect the riches in his home state.
Jackson has been linked with a return to Western Australia for the entirety of the 2022 season following reports that both West Coast and Fremantle were pursuing the shaggy-haired ruckman arising as early as mid-March.
While the Demons have tabled their own deal to Jackson in an effort to retain the blossoming big man, club CEO Gary Pert claimed in the hours before Melbourne's semi-final defeat to Brisbane that the specifics of their pitch won't be improved upon.
“We’ve put an offer to Jacko and it won’t be anything to do to with the money or that (rival) offer – there won’t be an expectation that will change," Pert told 3AW.
The rival offer Pert speaks of is a $6.3 million pitch from fellow finalists in an effort to lure Jackson for the next seven seasons.
While the eye-watering finances remain sway enough, the ability to represent his boyhood club alongside the colossal frame of Sean Darcy act as tantalising selling points.
Speaking in the wake of the shock loss to the travelling Lions, Demons coach Simon Goodwin offered a cagey response to a line of questioning that has ran unimpeded for just under six months.
“We said we’d give him (Jackson) as much time as we can before he made a decision and I’m sure in the next few days, we’ll find out then you’ll find out," the premiership steward offered.
Though a final decision is yet to be made, Herald Sun and Fox Footy journalist Jon Ralph claimed on Saturday that a final call from Jackson's camp was imminent.
“(Melbourne) are about to lose their young emerging ruckman,” Ralph said on Fox Footy's coverage of Fremantle's clash against Collingwood.
“Luke Jackson’s trade request is likely to come mid-week – a deal that could run to seven years on as much as $900,000 a season.”
Having commenced a hunt to pair Collingwood's Brodie Grundy with skipper Max Gawn, Melbourne appears consigned to the fact that Jackson's future will lie in purple and white.
While a contracted name on Craig McRae's roster, the Demons' reported pitch of $800,000 to the South Australian could well be enough to have him training further up Swan Street next season.
Melbourne will likely need to part with a first-round selection to land Grundy at the trade table, however, as the departure of Jackson is sure to land them a bounty from across the Nullarbor, it is a price that will be paid if the contenders have a void in the park that requires filling.
Jackson had donned the Demons' red and blue on 53 occasions since being selected with the third selection of the 2019 National Draft.
The Western Australian's output across the course of his debut season saw him earn the Ron Evans Medal, awarded to the competition's Rising Star each season.
