Collingwood star Jack Crisp is expected to open contract talks with the Magpies early next year according to his manager Antony McConville.
Crisp will enter 2023 as a free agent, with his contract - which was last signed in 2019 on a four-year deal - coming to an end within 12 months.
The former Lion is currently in the best form of his career, having claimed his second successive Copeland Trophy this year and asserting himself as a key cog in Collingwood's engine room as they reached the penultimate match of the season.
AFL clubs have looked to lock away their top 'pre-agents' this year, with the likes of Carlton duo Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow, Demons superstar Clayton Oliver and Sydney co-captain Callum Mills among those that recommitted to their respective clubs beyond 2023.
Crisp could join that same list of stars in re-signing before a ball is bounced next year, with McConville confirming to The Age that his client is expected to open discussions with Collingwood as early as January.
“We expect conversations will be had in the early part of next year. Ideally, we can get to some common ground and arrangement,” McConville told The Age.
“I think he has a good three, four, five years left at the top end.”
Crisp has played 182 games in the black and white with no interruption, holding the current record for consecutive games played in the AFL.
That run started eight years ago during his last season with the Lions, with Crisp's durability a large bargaining chip for the 29-year-old.
Crisp isn't the only senior Magpie set to enter the final year of his contract come the new year, with Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jeremy Howe also seeing their contracts expire in 2023.
Collingwood's more senior players are expected to begin pre-season training in the coming weeks, with next year being Crisp's 12th in the AFL and ninth with the Magpies.
