Gold Coast officials are still in the dark about Tom Lynch's future and believe he could still end up at any of the three Melbourne clubs pursuing him, according to a report by AFL Media.
Reports surfaced on Wednesday night that Lynch's management had told Collingwood and Hawthorn their client had decided to join Richmond next year.
However, the Suns still believe Lynch will tell them about his decision once his desired club has been eliminated from the finals.
The Suns are believed to have offered Lynch more money than the Tigers, Magpies and Hawks, but with all three teams making the top four, success is a primary motivator for the star forward.
The Suns can match any any offer to the 25-year-old and force a trade, but they are expected to accept the AFL's compensation pick, which at this stage will likely be pick three in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft.
Former Essendon captain, Tim Watson said he is impressed by Richmond's abilty to fit Lynch into their salary cap.
“They’ve done a magnificent job of getting Lynch and they’ve done an amazing job to fit him into their salary cap,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
“They’ve got five franchise players now. Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance, Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin and now Lynch."
“Then they’ve got to keep Shane Edwards who was just All-Australian, Kane Lambert who might be in their top five players, they’ve got great players in their backline like Dylan Grimes and other young players coming through.
“I mean, it’s an amazing job they’ve been able to do there at Richmond.”
The Tigers have re-signed Jack Riewoldt, Alex Rance, Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin in the last 12 months.
Riewoldt is known to have taken a pay cut to keep the list together.
