Lynch to become a Tiger on Monday

TOM Lynch will officially join Richmond next Monday on a six or seven-year, multimillion-dollar contract.

The Tigers lodged the paperwork with the league yesterday to sign the former Gold Coast co-captain as a restricted free agent.

The Suns have until Monday to match the offer, but they will instead take the AFL’s compensation of the No.3 draft pick.

While Luke Dahlhaus moved to Geelong and Tiger Reece Conca joined Fremantle as unrestricted free agents, the fates of several other players remain unclear ahead of the AFL trade period starting on Monday.

Fremantle chief executive Steve Rosich told AFL trade radio that the club wanted to retain star midfielder Lachie Neale and would not be swayed if Brisbane Lions offered its first-round draft pick as part of a deal.

But as the Dockers launched their 2019 membership campaign yesterday, it was noticeable that Neale did not feature in the composite publicity photo.

His fate is one of the hottest topics of the trade period.

He has a year to run on his current contract and then becomes a restricted free agent.

Asked yesterday if they had ruled out Neale staying next year, Rosich said: “Certainly not.

“We remain positive he’ll be at our footy club not just next year, but beyond that.”

Rosich also rejected speculation about the Lions offering the No.4 pick for the player.

“We wouldn’t be accepting of it,” he said. “We want to retain Lachie.”

St Kilda also said yesterday it would not give up its firstround draft pick to secure GWS star Dylan Shiel, who has attracted strong interest from Victorian clubs.

The Saints are vying for Shiel along with Hawthorn, Carlton and Essendon.

The star midfielder is set to announce his intentions early next week. But St Kilda list manager James Gallagher said its No.3 draft selection would not be on the table.

“That’s incredibly unlikely . . . we think we’ll be able to get a deal done if he chooses us,” Gallagher told Macquarie Sports Radio.

“At this stage, we’re really keen to go to the draft (with the No.3 pick).”

Conca has also moved to his native WA on a three-year contract and Richmond will receive a late pick in the second round as compensation.

Conca was the first confirmed player move in the free agency/trade period.