Melbourne great Garry Lyon believes soon-to-be Essendon coach Ben Rutten must address the future of star forward Joe Daniher immediately.
Daniher remains without a contract for the 2021 season, with Rutten taking over the reigns from John Worsfold for next year while several key names are yet to commit to the club past 2020.
The Bombers have faced plenty of criticism for missing out on a top-eight finish this season, with Lyon stating Rutten must get on top of Daniher's situation as his first call as coach.
โBen Ruttenโs challenges are great and numerous,โ he said on AFL Nation.
โImplementing a game style is one thing but what he needs to do is determine where his list is right now and Joe Daniher is the first thing he needs to confront on that.
โIf Joe came into the office and says โI love this club and I donโt want to go anyone and lead the chargeโ, Ben Rutten would be the happiest man in the world.
โIf (Daniher) comes in and starts prevaricating, then heโs not what you want I donโt think. What are you going to do? Essendon has got to get into the market (for another forward) if Joe (doesnโt want to be there).
โThis is the hard thing isnโt it, when youโve got someone like Joe โฆ weโve got no idea whether heโs committed.
โAmongst everything, thereโs still some flaw in his games. He can mark the damn thing as good as anyone and then kick it as bad as anyone.
โDonโt tell me Joe Daniher is a star. Joe isnโt a star because he canโt kick for goal.โ
Daniher is a restricted free agent as the 2020 season looks to conclude, with Geelong and Brisbane rumoured to be interest in his services.
