MELBOURNE has confirmed its interest in Collingwood key forward Chris Dawes.
Dawes, 24, is under contract at Collingwood, but there is speculation about his future with the Magpies after the club's signing of West Coast power forward Quinten Lynch.
The Magpies announced the Lynch signature on Tuesday.
Tim Harrington, Melbourne's general manager of list management, denied reports that the Demons had missed out on signing Lynch because they were unable to offer him sufficient financial inducement.
He said on SEN's Morning Glory program that Melbourne had never seriously entered into talks to entice the former Eagle to the Demons.
But he confirmed Dawes was "one we’re interested in".
"There's quite a range of tall types that we're making inquiries about, but we’re just watching what happens at Collingwood so that we can make some sort of assessment about whether he is right," Harrington said.
As a contracted player, Dawes would have to be gained through the Gillette AFL Trade Period.
Harrington said Melbourne is still talking to key defender Jared Rivers about remaining with the club.
Rivers, 27, has been exploring his options as an unrestricted free agent. He's been linked with Geelong as a replacement for Matthew Scarlett, who retired after the 2012 season.
"At the minute he's assessing his options and working out what the future is for him and whether he fits into the club," Harrington said of Rivers.
"It would be terrible to lose him but we're fortunate this year that young Tom McDonald came on very strongly. We think he's going to play a key back role for a long time".
Harrington said he's unable to say whether the Demons would nominate for Jack Viney under the father-son rule. The nomination must be made on Friday.
Melbourne has the No.3 selection in this year's NAB AFL Draft.
Under the father-son bidding system, the Demons must match the nominations of the clubs above it in the draft if they are to gain Viney.
With Greater Western Sydney expected to take the Dandenong Stingrays midfielder with the No.1 pick, Gold Coast must weigh up whether to allocate the No.2 selection for Viney
If it does so, Melbourne could gain Viney by matching the Suns' first-round bid. This means it would have to use its No.3 selection.
"We have to weigh all that up, get all the data from the combine, work out what we think we may be able to land in the trade period and work out whether Jack is worth taking at a particular pick," Harrington said.
He said no decision has been made on the futures of Lucas Cook, Cale Morton and Jordan Gysberts, who are all former first-round draft picks.
Morton and Gysberts are contracted until the end of 2013 while Cook, who was taken at No.12 in the 2010 draft, is out of contract.
Harrington said all Melbourne players have been told that free agency means the club is unable to commit to players as early as in previous years.
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