The Melbourne Demons are in heavy pursuit of Giants key tall Wade Derksen as they look to bolster their forward depth in 2026.

The Demons have reportedly ramped up their effort to acquire the signature of Derksen, with Channel 7's Xander McGuire stating the 24-year-old has "a desire to get to Victoria or Western Australia.โ€

Derksen is yet to receive a contract extension from the Giants for 2026 and was unable to be moved in the 2024 trade period, despite requesting a trade to Victoria. He is yet to make an AFL debut but has starred at the VFL level in a variety of roles, including up forward, highlighting how he could pose as an affordable option for the Demons to bolster their key tall stocks.

Through 12 games for the Giants' reserves this season, Derksen has collected at least 20 disposals seven times and is averaging 9.5 marks. Arguably his best game came against Gold Coast in Round 13 this year, where he won 14 marks and had 24 disposals.

He hasn't featured forward as regularly as he did in 2023 and 2024, but he kicked multiple goals 14 times over 36 games in those years.