Melbourne has made an offer to Collingwood free agent Jamie Elliott.
Sources close to The Age have confirmed the Demons, who have had a long time interest in Elliott, have tabled an offer and are impressed by Elliott's form over the last month.
Collingwood has a two-year offer on the table currently for Elliott and is confident he will stay at the club. But the Demons' offer, which looks set to be two years and potentially more, would almost certainly trump the Pies' offer given the clubs salary cap constraints.
Elliott has rediscovered his best form in recent weeks, kicking 10 goals in his past three matches with a five-goal best on ground effort against Adelaide, 3.4 against Essendon and then 2.1 in an 18 disposal performance in the Pies' qualifying final win against Geelong.
Being an un-restricted free agent, Elliott has the option to move to Melbourne or any club of his choice without Collingwood having to match the offer. The Pies, in any case, would receive a compensation pick if Elliot was to sign elsewhere, depending on the size of the contract signed.
Collingwood faces some difficult list management decisions at the end of 2020 when Brodie Grundy comes out of contract as a restricted free agent and will almost certainly be looking for a significant long-term deal, while captain Scott Pendlebury, live-wire Jordan De Goey and the ever-improving Darcy Moore will also be out of contract at the end of 2020.