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Melbourne big man Luke Jackson will have to make a final decision on whether to walk out on the Demons on the back of two of his quietest games as they bombed out in straight sets.
Jackson, a key player in last year’s grand final triumph over the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium, had seven and nine disposals in Melbourne’s finals defeats to Sydney and Brisbane. He took two marks during the finals series and went goalless.
Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes labelled the West Australian’s “reputation is higher than his performance”.
“Luke Jackson plays one good game in every 12,” Cornes said on SEN.
“His reputation is higher than his performance and it seems harsh but that’s what happens when massive rival deals come and you decide to put off contract talks.
“He would be a bit embarrassed about some of his physical efforts on Friday night. He was in a good enough position to mark the footy a couple of times and he wasn’t physical enough.”
While Fremantle have long been viewed as favourites to win Jackson after lodging a long-term, multi-million offer, the 20-year-old is understood to be weighing up a short-term extension from Melbourne that would allow him to reconsider his future in two years.
Former Melbourne star Gerard Healy believes the Dockers will miss out.
“It’s been my tip the whole way through that he will stay at Melbourne,” Healy said on SEN.
“Melbourne believe it’s not a certainty that he goes home.”
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said the club would hold discussions with Jackson in the coming week.
“We said we’ll give him as much time as we can before he made a decision and I’m sure in the next few days we’ll find out and then you’ll find out,” Goodwin said.
Demons midfielder Angus Brayshaw said he had no idea whether Jackson would stay, but believed Melbourne had built a culture strong enough for the East Fremantle product to seriously consider turning his back on a lucrative move home.
Brayshaw was touted as a Fremantle trade target himself because of his family ties in WA before signing a six-year contract extension in July to keep him at the club until at least the end of 2028.
“I have no idea where it’s at,” Brayshaw said.
“But this is a group where blokes want to be a part of. Speaking for myself, there’s no group of blokes that I love more so I hope he stays and I hope he’s a part of it.
“We’ve got a lot more to do as a group but that’s the reality of the business, you never know what’s going to happen so it’s up to him and we hope he stays.”
Goodwin said injuries were no excuse for the Demons’ upset 13-point loss to Brisbane in the semifinal at the MCG on Friday night.
“They trained fully. The only one that didn’t train fully was Charlie Spargo,” he said.
“I don’t think there would be one club out there that wouldn’t have sore players at this time of year. I don’t think Christian Petracca looked sore tonight.
“Our fade-outs have been a trend. It wasn’t because the injured players were out there.”
Goodwin became emotional when asked how the Demons could harness their disappointment.
“A lot of work goes into a footy season,” he said.
“It’s from the players to our coaches to our support staff, and not only that, our supporters. We did something pretty special last year and we wanted to make sure we came back to the MCG and let them feel what we felt and we weren’t able to do that.
“You feel pretty empty at the moment. But we’ll lick our wounds and come back better as a footy club.”
