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Demons chasing Luke Ball

09/10/2009 08:00:31 PM Comments (0)

St Kilda midfielder Luke Ball wanted to move to a premiership contender, but Melbourne hope he will see potential at the other end of the AFL ladder.

Moments after the trade week deadline passed on Friday afternoon, the Demons were speaking to Ball's manager about a possible move to the wooden spooners.

Ball was one of the big names in trade week talks after he told the Saints he wanted a trade to Collingwood.

But the two clubs could not agree on a deal, making Ball the one big name in trade week whose bid to move clubs was unsuccessful.

Ball's future is now uncertain - St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says he can remain there, but the three-year contract put forward earlier this year is no longer on offer.

If he decides to nominate for the pre-season draft, Melbourne have the first pick.

"We could probably come to a (contract) arrangement with Luke, but we've got to hopefully think that Luke might see some future in Melbourne and then we can start talking about all those things afterwards," said Demons coach Dean Bailey.

"Luke is hopefully going to have a holiday for a week, I'm sure he needs it, and we look forward to trying to catch up with him when the time is right.

"When a class player and a person like Luke Ball becomes available, you've got to seriously consider it.

"We just want to let (Ball's manager) Paul (Connors) know he still has some value, we certainly rate him highly."

Connors would not comment about Ball's options in the wake of the Collingwood deal not going ahead.

Lyon said Ball spoke with Saints officials for about 20 minutes before the trade deadline for an update on negotiations.

The Saints coach added he thought Ball would "obviously" be feeling frustration.

"We painted the picture of the week, what had unfolded, to make sure it was clear in his eyes what discussions had or hadn't taken place," Lyon said.

"He's a respected figure, all year we've wanted to retain Luke.

"What Luke needs to do is go away and assess what he wants to do.

"There are clear, evident options which is come back to St Kilda and train and deliver the actions that get you selected in the senior team or go into the pre-season draft and take your chances."

Lyon said the negotiations with Collingwood did not work out because of the draft picks on offer - 25 and 62.

"We're unlikely to use 62 and in our view 25 wasn't going to get Luke Ball done," he said.

"We didn't think it was an equitable trade so we stood our ground."

Magpies football manager Geoff Walsh said his club was limited in what they could offer after completing the Darren Jolly trade with Sydney.

"We were hamstrung in terms of our picks," Walsh said.

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