Port forward needs rethink

PORT Adelaide will meet with unsettled small forward Sam Gray’s manager “in the next few days’’ after he failed to secure a trade in the exchange period.

The 27-year-old’s future was left in limbo after his main suitors, St Kilda and Carlton, failed to make a bid for him.

The Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne also are understood to have shown some interest in Gray, who kicked 20 goals from 20 games this season.

The out-of-contract Gray, who has played 96 games and kicked 83 goals for the Power since debuting in 2014, tested the market after being offered only a one-year deal (on less money than he received this year) by Port.

“We’ll sit down with Sam’s management over the next few days and have a look at where Sam wants to end up and give him our view on 2020 as well,’’ Power football general manager Chris Davies said.

“Unfortunately for Sam, who was the one who said that he wanted to look at what his options were, there wasn’t any interest in him throughout the trade period at all. It wasn’t the fact that we were holding out for a better deal or anything like that, it was just that unfortunately there wasn’t a home for him.

“He is going to have to have a think about that now and from a club perspective we will meet with his manager over the next little bit and contemplate what the future holds.’’

Gray’s manager Peter Rohde said he had a couple of options, including accepting Port’s reduced one-year offer or delisting himself as an uncontracted player and entering the pre-season draft.