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NORTH Melbourne is circling Brisbane Lions midfielder James Aish despite the 19-year-old declaring Collingwood as his preferred destination.
The Magpies remain the front-runner with Aish understood to have completed a medical at Collingwood on Friday but the Kangaroos have renewed their interest.
The Kangaroos’ list manager Cameron Joyce told NAB AFL Trade Radio the club had been interested in Aish before the Lions drafted him with pick No.7 in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft.
He said the possibility of North Melbourne midfielder Ryan Bastinac being traded to the Lions had put them in the conversation about Aish.
"We really liked James [Aish] in his draft year and the interest has grown with the potential that Ryan [Bastinac] might move to Brisbane, but there’s still plenty to play out," Joyce said.
"Once the conversations with Ryan happen with Brisbane then we’ll gain more information from that."
Aish declared the Magpies his preferred destination last week after two years with the Lions.
The original response to Aish's request from Lions board member Leigh Matthews was that the club would send him to the NAB AFL Draft rather than trade him.
If he went through the draft the Lions would not receive anything in return for losing the No.7 selection at the 2013 NAB AFL Draft.
However AFL.com.au understands Collingwood and the Lions opened negotiations on Thursday regarding the possible trade options for Aish.
But the Kangaroos are keen to explore their options and Joyce said the club had spoken to his manager about Aish.
"We’ve spoken to Liam Pickering about James, and I have, throughout the year, shown interest in James, so that’s been ongoing," Joyce said.
The Kangaroos have entered the hunt for several players late as they chase outside speed with Adam Treloar, Hamish Hartlett, Paul Seedsman and Jeremy Howe all linked to the Kangaroos in the past month.
The Kangaroos landed former Hawthorn midfielder Jed Anderson and pick No.38 and No.40 for pick No.15 on Friday.
