Melbourne captain Max Gawn remains confident fellow ruckman Luke Jackson will re-sign with the side – and club great Gerard Healy agrees.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Gawn said Jackson was entirely happy at the Demons.
“I’m pretty confident he’s going to be a Melbourne player still and I know that’s very far from what the consensus is out in the media, but I’m pretty confident,” the skipper said.
“He was the happiest person I’ve ever seen beating Fremantle, the team he’s supposed to be going to.”
Healy, who played 130 games for the Dees, is getting the same vibe.
“I think he stays too, for some reason. I think he stays,” Healy told Sportsday.
“But, if he’s desperate to go home, that may prove me incorrect, but I just don’t know why a young bloke in such a perfect position, being schooled by Max Gawn, would go over.
“I’m not sure what role he’s going to play (at Freo) and how it would do anything other than destabilise, unless they’re going to run two first rucks.
“And we thought Dusty (Martin) was leaving right until the end and then he said ‘no I’m staying’.”
However, Matthew Lloyd still believes he’ll depart for Fremantle.
“The draw home, it’s just got me thinking he just wants to be around his family and if this goes into the finals series, I just think he’s leaving. You’d want to get it done before the finals begin I would’ve thought,” he said.
“They would’ve given him their best offer, Melbourne – so why hasn’t he signed it?”
If Jackson does leave for the Dockers, how will he and Sean Darcy mesh together in the same side?
“Big Sean Darcy might have to lose a kilo or two and whether they can both work together as that forward-ruck option, they’d be different forwards, I wonder if the two can create havoc together as different kinds of ruckmen and different types of forwards,” he said.
“The forward line isn’t good for Fremantle either, that was terrible (on Friday).
“Rory Lobb’s gone right off.”
Healy added: “They would argue their ball movement and how slow it is (makes it hard for their forward line).
“Sam Switkowski was a big loss.”
Fremantle will be looking to keep their top four aspirations afloat and put a dent in the Western Bulldogs’ finals hopes on Saturday afternoon.