THE MANAGER of Darcy Lang has confirmed Gold Coast's interest in the Geelong midfielder, who could become a bargaining chip in the Cats' move to get Gary Ablett home.

Lang, 21, is out of contract after 44 games since he was drafted in the first round (pick No.16 overall) in 2013.

He's from the Geelong region and had a positive semi-final after a mid-season fractured fibula, but has been encouraged to contemplate the rival "considerable interest" in him with the Cats yet to offer security.



LISTEN: Tune into NAB AFL Trade Radio weekdays 7am-6pm AEDT

"Right now, we have a player that doesn't have a contract offer in front of him," Lang's manager Scott Lucas told NAB AFL Trade Radio on Monday.

"Right now, talking about it, you'd have to say it's less likely based on the virtue that we have nothing to sign as such, and that's Geelong's right with the way they're managing their list.

"We can't just sit and wait for a potential offer, we need to survey the landscape strongly and present a set of options to Darcy, which is the same for all players.

"He's one of several players at Geelong out of contract … we're prepared to consider all options that he has, that includes Gold Coast, and there's certainly some interest from Victorian-based clubs.

"We'll sit down and have those conversations over the next week or two."

With Ablett expected to move back to the Cats and small forwards Lincoln McCarthy and Cory Gregson to put injury-ravaged seasons behind them, opportunities for players like Lang could become limited at the Cattery.

He was one of their best in the semi-final win over Sydney, in his first AFL game since round 14.

Meanwhile, Lucas also said he expected Richmond premiership forward Jacob Townsend to be offered a contract extension after his 16 goals in five games since round 22.

"We would think so … certainly times have changed in the last six weeks, which is fantastic," Lucas said.

"It shows you've really got to play not only the game until the final siren, but the season to the final siren.

"There's a lot going on at the Tigers this week, but when we sit down and work through that, you're quite right in saying ‘when’, not ‘if’."

While Lucas expects Ty Vickery to remain at Hawthorn and see out his two-year contract in 2018, he is fielding interest in speedy Hawk Billy Hartung, who isn't a lock to stay at the club.

He said Richmond's Jake Batchelor was in a similar boat after he spent most of 2017 in the VFL, with "some interest" in the versatile defender.