North Melbourne and star forward Ben Brown aren't close on a new deal, according to the star forward's manager Adam Ramanauskas.
Brown is out of contract at the end of the year, out of form and has now suffered a knee injury in his side’s loss to Geelong at the Gabba on Wednesday night.
Ramanauskas confirmed that there were some sticking points which still need to be worked through before any new deal is reached.
“The conversations with North Melbourne were really good before COVID-19 and they’ve been good after,” he said on ABC Radio.
“Ben (Brown) is out of form and he’s stated that he and North Melbourne are trying to do everything they can to get him back into form.
“I wouldn’t say we were close, there were still some real sticking points within our negotiating that we were arguing about and discussing but I don’t think we were close to the terms we both wanted and there probably was a gap in money as well.”
Ramanauskas said the injury sustained was one Brown had been carrying and the tackle “stirred” it up.
Coach Rhyce Shaw said any pre-existing injury wasn’t serious.
"We all carry stuff when we're playing footy. Benny's had some knee issues but nothing that has been substantial," Shaw said.
"He was available, fit and ready to play this week."
