Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson says he wants contract negotiations with gun forward Kurt Tippett decided soon, before they become a distraction for the AFL club.
Tippett is having a break-out season for the Crows, kicking 30 goals from 14 games and is likely to return in this Saturday’s home clash with West Coast after missing the team’s 119-point drubbing of Greater Western Sydney with his second concussion of the season.
The 25-year-old comes out of contract at the end of this season and the Brisbane Lions have expressed an interest in luring him to Queensland.
Sanderson said the Crows remained quietly confident Tippett would sign a new contract with the club.
“But the longer it drags out, the more it becomes a story,” he said.
“Internally, it’s no distraction for us … but we’d like it to be done soon.
“At some point in the second half of the season, Kurt’s going to make a decision about his future.
“If he decides that he wants to stay, that’s great – but if he doesn’t, we’ll have to make adjustments.”
Sanderson said he would not be happy if Brisbane, or another club, made a similar move on Tippett that Geelong officials did with Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak.
Senior Cats’ officials travelled to Adelaide recently to speak with the star who is also coming out of contract and is considering returning to Victoria to be closer to his family.
Boak has been delaying a decision on his future, causing some angst for Power officials.
“I’d be disappointed, but it’s obviously within the rules,” Sanderson said of Geelong’s approach.
“Geelong haven’t done anything wrong. It’s the landscape that we’re playing in at the moment.
“I think it’s going to happen every year now at every club with players out of contract.
“It might just be the nature of the beast.”
As well as Tippett returning against the Eagles, the Crows might also welcome back Jared Petrenko from injury while Michael Doughty should be included after the birth of his first child last week.
Veteran defender Graham Johncock is also pressing for selection.
