Carlton ‘resigned to losing' Jack Silvagni as Western Bulldogs ‘well and truly alive' in battle with Collingwood
The 27-year-old is on the verge of a previously unthinkable exit to become the first in his family to pull on a different jumper in the AFL.
The Pies were the first club to be linked to Silvagni — and Craig McRae's controversial public comments suggested they might already have their man.
Silvagni's long-time best mate Dan Houston was seen as the trump card for Collingwood.
But the Western Bulldogs soon arrived on the scene, also boasting friends of the 128-gamer.
'Many thought it was a done deal for Collingwood, or close to it,' 7NEWS Melbourne's Mitch Cleary said on The Agenda Setters.
'I think the Bulldogs are well and truly alive in this race. We all talk about the Dan Houston impact and his relationship at Collingwood — I don't think we can discount the role that Matt Kennedy will have in potentially wooing Jack Silvagni to the kennel.'
Kennedy is coming to the end of his first season at the Bulldogs after being moved on by Carlton with a year to run on his contract.
Just last month he spoke glowingly of life at the Dogs, saying it had helped to be reunited with former teammates Liam Jones, who also played with Silvagni at the Blues, and ex-GWS man Rory Lobb.
'I'm loving how much this club embraced me and my family since moving here,' Kennedy told 3AW, also praising midfield leaders Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli.
'I mentioned a few of the leaders before in Libba and Bont, the way they've put their arms around me and really tried to learn structure and stoppage and whatnot as well as the coaches.
'Having an old teammate in Lobby and Jonesy, these little things make a big difference, I think, when you feel comfortable and confident and loved from players.'
The Blues would dearly love to keep Silvagni but the defender is in the rare position of deciding between three clubs without consideration for money or a go-home factor.
All three offers are 'in the same ballpark', according to Cleary, putting a premium on his fit on and off the field — not to mention his premiership aspirations.
'I think the Blues are the third option right now,' Cleary said.
'There are people at Carlton resigned to losing Jack Silvagni. They feel he has well and truly played his last game in the navy blue.'
Premiership winners Luke Hodge and Kane Cornes both described a Silvagni-Bulldogs partnership as a 'a perfect fit'.
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The 25-year-old is facing a ban after admitting making a homophobic slur to a Collingwood opponent during Adelaide's three-point win last Saturday night. Rankine apologised to the unnamed Magpie player on Sunday as the AFL's integrity unit launched an investigation. Collingwood coach Craig McRae, asked on Wednesday if his player involved was OK, replied: "Yeah, I think so. "We had a good chat over the weekend and then again Monday morning just to check in, it's about making sure our players are safe. "But I don't want to demonise Izak either. "Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, and the young lad seems like a really respectful young man and he's made an error. "The AFL will take their own course on that, but you're allowed to make mistakes too." Rankine risks being suspended for the entire finals campaign of ladder-leading Adelaide, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The Crows have one home-and-away game remaining and are then assured of hosting two finals. Rankine didn't train with his teammates on Wednesday afternoon as Adelaide postponed a scheduled media conference with coach Matthew Nicks until Friday. Approached by reporters at training, Nicks said Rankine is "doing all right" with support from the club. Nicks admitted the intense spotlight in recent days had been a distraction for the Crows ahead of their clash with North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday. "But no, we're locked in on what we're doing this weekend," Nicks said. "We just put support around Izak because it is a tough thing to go through, and he knows it's going to be tough from here. "But we'll work our way through it." Last month West Coast's Jack Graham was banned for four games for making a homophobic remark to a GWS player. In April last year, Port Adelaide's Jeremy Finlayson was banned for three games, then the following month Gold Coast's Wil Powell was suspended for five matches, both for homophobic slurs. 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"It was picked up on the microphone, I addressed it then and there, because ... if you make a comment like that and it's picked up on-field by an umpire's mic, there'll be severe ramifications. "Clearly I couldn't foresee what was going to happen in Gather Round and in subsequent suspensions for those things." Scott again addressed such slurs with his players after Finlayson's ban. "It's disappointing it keeps happening, but we have got to keep educating," he said. "I have a high level of confidence that we don't have a homophobia issue in our game, we have just got a lack of education issue. "And players who, in moments of frustration, use words that they really don't understand the ramifications of the words they're using, but now they do, so there's no excuse." Two VFL players have also recently been banned for directing homophobic slurs at opponents. Sydney defender Riak Andrew last month was suspended for five matches for an anti-gay slur while playing for the Swans' reserves team against North Melbourne. And in July last year, St Kilda's Lance Collard was banned for six games for homophobic comments while playing in the VFL for Sandringham against Williamstown. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Fullstop Australia 1800 385 578
