Melbourne midfielder Tom Sparrow's career-best season has come at the perfect time. And his performance against the ladder-leading Fremantle on Saturday is only going to add zeros to his next contract.
The 26-year-old was dominant in the Demons' engine room in a blistering match between two of the league's best sides.
Sparrow was clean with the ball, hard in the contest and impacted the scoreboard.
He collected 24 disposals and kicked two crucial goals in arguably the game of the year. The Demons came from behind to beat the Dockers by four points in a high-scoring thriller at the MCG.
A native of South Australia, Sparrow is out of contract and is currently being courted by both Port Adelaide and Adelaide, with the former leading the race for his signature if Sparrow does decide to leave Melbourne, which is no guarantee.
With superstars Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver departing the Dees during last season's trade period, Sparrow has been given the keys to Steven King's midfield this year and has exceeded expectations.
Sparrow is averaging 22 disposals, six tackles and five clearances a game across 21 matches this season to go with 11 goals.
The Demons have an exciting young midfield brigade brewing, with Harvey Langford, Caleb Windsor, Kysaiah Pickett leading the way in the guts.
It will be worth monitoring whether Sparrow seeks a trade home, or if he stays to hunt a second premiership at Melbourne.
Sparrow has played 138 games for the Dees since being taken with pick 27 in the 2018 national draft.
