Tigers young gun reportedly nearing new deal

Richmond young gun Sydney Stack is reportedly nearing a new deal to remain at Punt Road, per The Age's John Pierek.

In his return to Damien Hardwick's side this season, Stack has played four matches for the Tigers, with his latest a career-best outing against the Dockers.

Albeit in a loss, Stack accumulated 25 disposals, 10 marks, 12 intercepts and five rebound 50's at a disposal efficiency rate of 96% in Sunday's defeat.

Speaking on the 21-year-old's performance post-game, Hardwick lauded Stack's efforts from the match, expressing his delight to see the Perth product thriving once again.

"We stuck by him as a footy club, and Sydney worked incredibly hard and had to earn the trust of the group again - not only from our players, but our coaching group as well," Hardwick said.

"He's been head down, backside up. It's a great sign for him. But the challenge is certainly there moving forward for Sydney.

"He's an incredible football player, there's no doubt about it.

"I've been really impressed with his ability to learn and grow from an off-field perspective, which we think is going to hold him in good stead moving forward.

"He's only scratching the surface of his career. There's no doubt he can play the game, and we'll continue to invest in him both on and off the field."

Stack has faced immense adversity over the past 12 months of his career, including two separate incidents that saw the young Tiger breach COVID-19 protocols, one of which leading to his arrest and extended jail time.

Since making his return from a lengthy 10-game ban that was handed down from Richmond after an incident on the Gold Coast last year, Stack has earned back his place in Hardwick's best 22.

Stack is showing great progress in 2021 and looks to have returned to the trajectory that placed him in contention for the 2019 Rising Star Award in his rookie year.

Speaking to The Age, Richmond's senior adviser Neil Balme revealed that talks between Stack and the club are progressing in the right direction.

“It shouldn’t be a problem, I would think,” he said on working to a finalised deal.

“It’s a two-way relationship, isn’t it? You have got to give them a chance and help them, and that’s what we have done, and he has responded well.”

Stack has played 30 matches for the Tigers since making his debut two seasons ago, becoming a key contributor to Richmond's defence.

The Tigers will face North Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday in what is a must-win game for their finals hopes.