Cerra has not yet met with the Blues and industry sources said he was expected to choose them despite the uncertainty surrounding their coach for 2022. David Teague’s fate has yet to be confirmed by the club’s hierarchy.
Cerra’s decision is not based on money at all,and rather about he and his partner being close to family and friends. The Dockers had offered him more than $700,000 a season to stay.
There are few clubs in Melbourne with either the salary cap space,need for the player,or draft capital to attract Cerra. As one source familiar with Cerra’s situation put it:“there isn’t a Melbourne Cup field”.
While Carlton are clearly ahead,Melbourne are the only other viable alternative as a home for Cerra. But the Demons would need to lose a player of note in order to consider Cerra,which is unlikely.
The Blues hold pick six in the national draft,which is expected to be pushed back to pick eight following matched bids for father-son picks Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs) and Nick Daicos (Collingwood).
That pick is short odds to be the centrepiece of a Cerra trade between Fremantle and Carlton,though the Dockers may want the deal sweetened given Cerra was pick No.5 in the 2017 draft and has proven to be a quality player with potentially a decade of football ahead of him.