I thought it was reported somewhere he would be staying in Melbourne?
He probably will.
I think on the back of our surprise recruitment of Buddy as a free agent, we have the ability to attract such talent without having to give up valuable draft picks. I have no doubt that if Dusty's management told the Swans he wanted to play for us, we would make room instantly.
Now being the positive person, I would rather choose to believe that giving up Tom Mitchell & not having signed Reid & Jones thus far is not because Buddy has put a squeeze on our cap but rather, just as we let Mummy go, we are clearing up cap space.
I have no reason to believe it is anything else.
Hypothetically of course, how about if we gave Dusty $2.5M in the first year, coinciding with the pay increase and $1M per year for five years after that? So $7.5M for 6 years! Or an average of $1.25M per year until the end of season 2023 when he is 32. Now Freo have just signed Fyfe for $1.4M per year for 3 or 4 years. The landscape has changed.
That would provide him with the ability to set himself up instantly in year one with the ability to earn massive marketing dollars.
Once again it is all talk but it is the type of deal a club would need to do to take him from the Tigers, which is where I REALLY believe he will stay.
The only other team I see Dusty being attracted to is the Hawks, who have salary cap space to burn & don't have the ability to trade with high picks. Free Agency is their only way of bringing in talent.