Out-of-contract Demon Luke Jackson has put off contract talks with the club until the end of the season, according to Melbourne's head of footy Alan Richardson.
After a recent spate of re-signings at the Demons, Jackson remains the latest big name without a deal, with speculation that the 20-year-old premiership ruck will be heading west come seasons end rife.
Melbourne announced a new six-year deal for Angus Brayshaw earlier in the week, keeping him at the club until at least the end of 2028. While Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca have also inked long-term deals with the club so far this year.
Speaking on AFL Nation, Richardson was asked if anything had changed regarding Jackson's contract status following the breakthrough signings of his star teammates.
“No it hasn’t,” Richardson said on AFL Nation.
“He’ll wait until the end of the year and then sit down with management and his family. Obviously those conversations have been happening all the way through.
“We’d love him to have already committed, that hasn’t happened. But we respect that he's a young bloke and he just wants to get his game and his footy out of the way.
“We all hope that it goes really late for him and he ends up signing and committing to us, but we’re unsure.”
Jackson has played 47 matches for the Demons across his three-years at the club, including 2021's drought-breaking premiership win.
Throughout his 17 games in 2022, Jackson has averaged 14.4 disposals, 10.4 hitouts and 2.4 clearances.
While reports have suggested that Jackson will be on his way to Fremantle next season on a big money deal, Richardson remained optimistic that the Demons could pull off yet another big signing.
“We’re really optimistic and hopeful. We know he loves his time here, he loves his teammates, his last couple of weeks have been his best footy,” Richardson added.
“We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.”
