MELBOURNE appears in the box seat to claim disgruntled Saint Luke Ball should the 25-year-old fail to come to terms with his club.
Ball had wanted to cross to Collingwood but the Magpies were unable to reach an agreement with St Kilda during trade week.
Saints coach Ross Lyon later revealed a three-year deal that had previously been on the table for Ball had since been withdrawn – leaving Ball’s future up in the air.
Should Ball refuse to stay at Moorabbin he will need to seek another home through either the national or pre-season drafts.
And the Demons, who watched Friday’s trade progressions with interest, might be ready to swoop.
Speaking at the conclusion of trade week, Melbourne coach Dean Bailey said Ball was a “fantastic young man”.
“We've actually had a chat with (Ball’s manager) Paul Connors and we'll be pursuing it and seeing where Luke sits,” Bailey said.
“He's got great leadership and he's a fantastic player… we were a bit surprised nothing got done. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, the pre-season option is there.
“We're not going to hound him or pester him … but we hope that we can be in the frame, when he starts to make those decisions.”
Melbourne possesses the first selection in the pre-season draft and could easily nab the hard-at-it ballwinner should he take that path.
Should Ball nominate for next month’s NAB AFL Draft, the Demons also possess four picks inside the top 20 and could easily use one of those to select him.
Collingwood, hell-bent on gaining Ball this week, doesn’t have a selection until pick 30 in the national draft, with its next pick coming at 62.
The Pies will also follow several other clubs in the pre-season draft.
“To state the obvious we couldn’t satisfy the Saints,” Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said upon leaving Etihad Stadium.
“There were a number of deals on the table involving a few clubs but in the end it couldn’t be completed.”
Saints coach Ross Lyon revealed Collingwood had initiated a deal that offered St Kilda picks 25 and 62 in exchange for Ball.
But with the grand finalists unlikely to go as far as pick 62 in the draft, that didn’t appeal to those at Moorabbin.
Walsh said once his club had completed its trade for Darren Jolly, there was little else the Pies could do to tempt the Saints.
“We were hamstrung in terms of our picks,” Walsh said.
“We’d completed a deal earlier in the week with Darren Jolly … the players mentioned weren’t in any way entertained by us.
“So therein lies the stalemate.”
Walsh said the Pies hadn’t discussed the option of selecting Ball in the draft and, as it stood, the onballer remained a St Kilda player.
