North Melbourne midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke has made a huge pledge about his future.
Speaking with Mitch Cleary on Seven News, Davies-Uniacke said that he sees himself continuing to play for the Roos and that he’d like to repay the club for drafting him with pick No. 4 in the 2017 Draft.
The 25-year-old star becomes a free agent at the end of next season and has been linked to a big-money move to St Kilda, but all signs point towards him staying put at Arden Street after his latest statement.
Cleary called the statement a ‘pretty big admission’ despite expecting big offers to still be sent his way before he signs on the dotted line.
“It’s good news for those Kangaroos supporters, he wants to stay at North Melbourne long term,” Cleary said on SEN Breakfast.
“He’s a free agent at the end of next year, he’ll get big offers and I think they’ll still come for him.
“But it’s a pretty big admission from Luke Davies-Uniacke when he’s going to have a few different suitors available to him. He said, ‘I want to repay this footy club that took me in the top five of the draft seven years ago and recommit my future’.
“I wonder whether he might have cost himself $100,000 or $200,000 of negotiation power? But it’s a good sign for the Roos that he can see things turning and he wants to stick around.”
While all signs point towards Davies-Uniacke staying put, Cleary says that players have changed their minds in the past after making public statements that they were hoping to stay.
Despite it not being 100 per cent across the line, Cleary is sure Roos fans would have slept easier after hearing Davies-Uniacke’s statement.
“It’s happened across the journey,” Cleary said.
“I remember Dan McStay at the start of his contract year at Brisbane saying that he wanted to stay, stick around do the right things for Brisbane, then he upped and left.
“Those contracts can do funny things to people. I’m sure that clubs won’t take that as a finality, but to hear it from his mouth, it’s on the record now, and he’s got 18 months to work through his next deal.
“I’m sure Roos fans would have at least slept a little easier last night because, for a player like him, he’s going to receive big offers.”
He also expects North Melbourne to offer him a deal that rivals will find hard to match given their salary cap situation.
The only club he can really see competing with them from a financial point of view is the Saints.
Despite St Kilda looming, Cleary thinks that the Roos will have some more negotiation power after hearing of Davies-Uniacke’s public wish to stay.
“North Melbourne is in a position right now to pay more than anyone because of their salary cap situation,” Cleary said.
“They’re paying Harry Sheezel, George Wardlaw and Colby McKercher and more to come … but right now you’ve got to hit 95 per cent of your salary cap and in order to do that there’s going to be big offers for guys like Davies-Uniacke to stay.
“St Kilda to be the one for him (if he were to leave), I don’t think there are many other clubs out there that will be able to pay much more than North.
“In terms of pure negotiation power, North will know that he said that now and they might have the upper hand when it comes to the bargaining table.”
The star midfielder plays his 100th game when the Roos face the Dogs at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.