Hawthorn, Collingwood and reigning premiers Richmond have already flagged their interest in restricted free agent and Gold Coast forward Tom Lynch. In a move that will be worth in excess of more than $1.5 million dollars, the 25 year old could become the AFL's first $2 million dollar man.
As reported by The Age's Jake Niall, the Suns do however have the financial capability to match any realistic offer that is presented to Lynch.
Lynch who has kicked 110 goals in the past two seasons at the Suns, has many experts questioning as to whether it is justifiable to have such money dedicated to one player is a salary cap of only $12-and-a-half million. Garry Lyon, is one expert that has questioned this on SEN Breakfast.
“Whilst I’m sure there will be a suitor prepared to write a cheque for one and a half million dollars and more for Lynch, maybe the question that needs to be asked is, will there be greater value from acquiring three good to very good players at 500k a piece, as opposed to going out and looking for a saviour for $1.5 million,” he told SEN Breakfast.
Lyon believes that the model that has seen Richmond and Adelaide adopt in previous years to much success, might be a better approach to building balanced list.
Richmond, in the 2016 trade period targeted Josh Caddy, Dion Prestia and Toby Nankervis, who are believed to be on pretty normative wages, which are players that played a crucial role in helping them win the premiership last season. Lyon also cited the impact that Tom Lynch has on the Crows as another example.
“Let’s use the other Tom Lynch as an example of such a player. His impact on the Crows, it could be argued, is as profound as the other Tom Lynch’s impact on the Suns, at a fraction of the price," Lyon said.
“Is Tom Lynch going to be the answer for Collingwood or Hawthorn? Do they invest $1.5 million, $1.7 million, even up to $2.0 million they’re talking about for Tom Lynch, or do you go, hang on a minute, let’s go and handpick.”
In a year which will be dominated by free agency, Tom Lynch will be subject to much speculation, as will stars like Rory Sloane, Andrew Gaff and Luke Dahlhaus. How they'll cope with such speculation, is an intriguing prospect for the upcoming season.
