There's no secret that Gold Coast's Tom Lynch is the most in demand player in the game with the spearhead comfortably set to command a seven-figure salary in his next contract however former Brisbane captain Alastair Lynch has said the Suns must offer the forward the biggest deal in AFL history to secure his long term services.
After the Herald Sun reported the Suns were happy to offer Lynch a seven-year deal worth up to $1.5 million per year, Lynch told SEN that there will be no shortage of big money offers for the Suns star.
“Be absolutely sure that the number Tom Lynch gets will be the biggest contract in AFL history, there is no doubt about that,” he said.
“The Melbourne based clubs are lining up for an on and off field package that will present very nicely.
“This is where the start of the season is so important.
“The Gold Coast Suns will give him the number he needs to stay long tem, but the same will be coming from the likes of Collingwood.
“They need to get off to a good start because if by halfway through the season, if they're going ordinary, Tom Lynch is drifting further away.
“I want him to stay, he is a star, but there will be a lot of pressure to drag him back to Melbourne.”
Meanwhile, former teammate Gary Ablett told The Age that it was "hard to say" if Lynch would remain up north.
While the Geelong star added he hoped Lynch would remain a Sun, he was unsure of what was ahead before saying Gold Coast's success this season could have a lot to do with Lynch's decision.
‘‘I’m not too sure. You would hope so. But again, it comes back to when you’re winning football games it makes things a lot easier around a football club because I think when you’re not winning games you start to question the way you’re going about things.
‘‘And it’s not that you’re necessarily going about things the wrong way, it’s just might mean that you need to make a few small changes here and there.
‘‘So you know, I think it’s important, I feel when I left that they [the Suns] were heading in the right direction. They had a lot of great people around the football club. There was a lot of hard work invested by a lot of people and I’m really hoping they can win some footy games this year and play some fine footy, it’d be really great to see.’’
"He's always been a great leader. You've been able to see that from day one when he got there, just the way he goes about things. He's the ultimate professional, leads by example and Steven May's another one, you can't take anything away from him. I think they've made the right decision appointing both of them as co-captains, but both fantastic footballers and fantastic leaders."