'North would love to have him': Snubbed Swans star urged to join AFL battlers
Matthew Lloyd says North Melbourne should target fringe veterans Luke Parker and Ollie Wines to bolster and help guide their struggling stocks in 2025.
Swans veteran Parker is struggling to crack Sydney's senior side after an early-season injury, but has continued to dominate at VFL level.
Parker broke his arm in a pre season match, with the 31-year-old still unable to earn an AFL recall after nine rounds of football.
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He even kicked the winning goal in the form of a 60-metre torpedo to help Sydney defeat North Melbourne by six points in their round seven VFL clash, but is yet to earn AFL selection.
Lloyd says now is the perfect opportunity for Parker to seek other career paths to prolong his time at the top.
Parker has been dominating at VFL level. Getty
Parker is signed with the Swans until the end of the 2025 season, but Lloyd thinks the safer option is to have an exit strategy mapped out now.
"I'm thinking to myself, if I'm Luke, 'I'm trying to get to a club next year ... can I get to a top four club?'," he said on Nine's Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
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"You get an injury and suddenly (Justin) McInerney, (Errol) Gulden, (Chad) Warner, (Isaac) Heeney, all these guys start to go past you, in a sense.
"(James) Rowbottom goes past him, Taylor Adams comes in, he's gone past him, James Jordon's gone past him.
Could Ollie Wines be playing for another club in 2025? AFL Photos via Getty Images
"He can change (a side). It's hard, because North are struggling. You like to be around Luke Parker, because he's as tough as they come."
However, Lloyd says Parker will be more use at a club that is ready to contend and would require his services to propel them to a flag in the next year or two.
"North would love to have him, but if I'm Luke, I'm trying to get to a top four or five club initially, before I'd go to North Melbourne," he said.
If the Kangaroos can't entice the Swans veteran down south, Lloyd says they should look at Port Adelaide's only Brownlow Medallist, Ollie Wines, instead.
"Ollie Wines is as tough as they come," Lloyd said.
"He was best on ground on the weekend (against Geelong), but through opportunity, because Connor Rozee's not playing.
The Kangaroos are winless after nine rounds in 2024. AFL Photos via Getty Images
"When Connor Rozee comes back, Ollie Wines (goes). You can't fit them all in. You've got (Zak) Butters, you've got (Jason) Horne-Francis, you've got (Willem) Drew, Rozee.
"He's another player that I'd be, as a lesser, lower club, going 'he's a bloke I'd love to have in my club'."
The Roos have also been urged to look at Geelong veterans Zach Tuohy and Mitch Duncan, after their 0-9 start.