Melbourne young gun Luke Jackson will shoulder most of the ruck duties in Thursday night’s clash against Brisbane.
Jackson has struck a formidable combination with Max Gawn, but with the Demons captain sidelined with an ankle injury, the 20-year-old will be the number one ruckman for the next few weeks.
Kane Cornes says it’s a “massive night” for Jackson, who falls out of contract at season’s end and is the subject of reported interest from West Coast and Fremantle.
Jackson’s stocks rose significantly last year after winning the Rising Star award and playing a key role in Melbourne’s drought-breaking premiership.
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“It’s a massive night for Luke Jackson. He’s been getting ridiculous offers,” Cornes told SEN SA Breakfast.
“Out of contract 20-year-old who burst onto the scene with Kozzie Pickett, but playing in a role that is conjunctive to that because Gawn takes most of it and he does the bit parts and comes up and rucks against the second ruckman and then floats around a little bit.
“Let’s see if you’re worth a million bucks tonight as you are the main man, so I’m looking forward to this game.”
Melbourne GM of Performance Alan Richardson says the club is “comfortable” with where things sit regarding Jackson’s future.
“We think he’s going to be a Melbourne player for a long time, so we’re reasonably comfortable with where that sits,” Richardson told SEN’s Whateley on Wednesday.
“Of course, we’d rather have that done and dusted given the stage of the year, but we’re comfortable with where it sits.”
The East Fremantle product was selected by Melbourne with the third pick overall in the 2019 draft.