The pursuit of Richmond free agent Dustin Martin has taken an unusual turn with Essendon publicly denying they've made an offer to the star AFL midfielder.
On Monday, former Melbourne forward David Schwarz told SEN listeners he believed the Bombers had already tabled a mammoth $1.6 million a year deal to Martin's management.
Schwarz's contention comes a week after Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell flagged his club's interest in securing the bullocking onballer.
But the Bombers moved quickly to pour cold water on Schwarz's claim.
"Essendon Football Club can categorically confirm that no offer has been made to Dustin Martin or his management and reports suggesting otherwise are unfounded," a club statement released on Monday night read.
Martin's future has been the focus of intense speculation since he and manager Ralph Carr put off negotiations on a new deal until the end of the season.
Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin remains confident Martin will spurn big-money offers from rival clubs but wouldn't be drawn on what it would take for him to stay at Punt Road.
"The money side of things ... I have no interest in buying into that," Cotchin told the Nine Network's Footy Classified.
"It'll be something that they discuss at a (later) time.
"The reality is that it is what it is - the club and Dusty have said that they're going to make a decision at the end of the year."
North Melbourne are also believed to be a big player in the hunt for Martin, as well as young Greater Western Sydney star Josh Kelly.
While stopping short of naming names, Kangaroos coach Brad Scott said not all will be lost if they fail to secure a high-profile recruit at the end of the season.
"We'll take our draft picks and bank a hell of a lot of money in the salary cap to go again," Scott told Fox Footy's On The Couch.
"But we're not just going for a big fish at all costs ... there's still some list management underneath that.
"We've got to make sure that we do our due diligence.
"We'd love to bring some players in but if we don't we'll take our early draft picks and get our salary cap into an even stronger position.
"We'll have a fair war chest going forward if we don't get anyone in this year."
North are reported to have tabled a multi-million dollar, nine-year deal to Kelly in a bid to lure the budding superstar.
Share
