One of the biggest stories of 2022 has taken another turn, with Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy revealing thatย he has reached out to Melbourne premiership ruckman Luke Jackson on the topic of his playing future.
When talking on Triple M, Darcy told listeners that he personally reached out to Jackson to check on how he was coping amidst all the discussion and speculation on his playing future.
"I just checked in on him mentally," Darcy said. "With everything going around. Itโs pretty tough on him. His nameโs in the newspaper every day.
โI had a little bit last year when (reports said) I was desperate to leave. But that never came from me, that was more media making it up.โ
However, he was quick to not comment where Jackson was playing his footy in 2023, with Darcy saying "I'll leave that to Peter Bell", referring to Fremantle General Manager.ย
Jackson's potential move across the Nullarbor to Fremantle has been one of the biggest stories ahead of the 2022 AFL trade period.
The premiership ruckman is yet to recommit to Melbourne officially, with much speculation Fremantle has offered Jackson a lucrative contract.
Fremantle is set to be one of the more active clubs in the 2022 AFL trade period, with key position player Rory Lobb, utility Griffin Logue and defender Nathan Wilson among a few names linked with a move away from Western Australia, with Fremantle potentially having to free up salary cap space to accommodate Jackson's sizeable contract.
When speaking on 3AWย this week, Bell flagged the Dockers are confident in retaining Logue beyond this season.
โFirst of all, we absolutely want to keep โGriffโ,โ Bell said.
โHeโs a big part of the group, a really popular player and heโs a big part of our plans moving forward.
โWeโre in constant dialogue with his management and Griff himself.
โHeโs absolutely within his rights as a player falling out of contract to have a look around. If heโs doing that then thatโs his right.
โWe think that we can put together a pretty compelling case for him to stay and for him to continue to improve his football.
โWe hope that thatโs exciting and compelling and weโre really confident that heโll choose to stay with us and hopefully thatโs the case.โ
Jackson and the Demons will face Carlton this weekend as they look to strengthen their top four changes heading into finals.
