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Why Mooney is “totally okay” with Dockers signing midfielder for nine more years
Lachlan Geleit, SEN • December 19th, 2024 12:04 pm
Cameroon Mooney backs Fremantle’s decision to hand Fremantle midfielder Hayden Young a contract that ties him to the club until the end of the 2033 season.
As Young was already signed until the 2027 season, the new extension was for a further six years. The deal makes him the player with the longest contract currently in the AFL, ahead of Sam Taylor (GWS), Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide), Noah Balta (Richmond), Max King (St Kilda) and Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs) who are signed until the end of 2032.
While Mooney – like SEN host Kane Cornes – is typically not a fan of long-term deals in the AFL, he thinks that Young’s case is a little different given his age and the fact that he’ll be 32 by the time the deal expires.
He discussed the huge contract with Sam Edmund on SEN Breakfast.
Edmund: “Hayden Young, what a contract this is, committed to the Dockers now until the end of 2033.
“He was already contracted for another three years until the end of 2027.
“He's 23 years of age, but he agreed to sign just a lazy six-year extension through to 2033.
“What an extraordinary piece of contract news that was yesterday.”
Mooney: “He’s 23 years of age now, we talk about these long-term contracts, and I know Kane Cornes talks about it, and most of the time, I do agree with him.
“If you're giving a long contract to someone who's 27 or 28 plus, I think they're stupid as well.
“But for a 23-year-old, I think this is a really good contract, this is a guy I think is going to be a genuine star of our competition. It stops him from coming home to Melbourne and makes him a Docker for life.
“I'm totally okay with this.”
Young will hope to play his 81st career game when Fremantle open their 2025 campaign against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday, March 15.
