Melbourne captain Max Gawn has dropped a subtle hit about Luke Jackson potentially coming back to the Demons.

7NEWS chief AFL reporter Mitch Cleary first reported rival clubs, headlined by Melbourne, were monitoring Jackson’s situation.

The 23-year-old is contracted with Fremantle until 2029 after signing an initial seven-year deal, and has consistently told the Dockers he loves the club and living in the west.

Jackson initially shot down talks of a trade on the eve of the season, but Cleary said on The Tradies podcast last week that it’s “still well and truly still alive.”

And Gawn made mention of a potential trade when speaking on Triple M on Monday.

The superstar ruck was talking about the form of former teammate Jesse Hogan, who is dominating at GWS.

Hogan began his career at Melbourne before requesting a trade home to Western Australia after four years. He joined Fremantle but only played 19 games in two years due to injuries and off-field issues.

He then joined GWS where he has become one of the best forwards in the game. Hogan won the Coleman Medal last year with 69 goals and appears well on his way to adding a second this year after slotting seven in Sunday’s win over Geelong to take his tally to 25.

Gawn, who was delighted to see Hogan tearing it up, explained his theory behind Western Australians moving back home when he made reference to Jackson.

“WA is an unbelievable to place to be when you’re 18, 19, like it’s a great party and these Perth boys go back at 22 and all their mates have sort of grown up a bit,” he said on Triple M.

“There’s so many people that got a trade back to WA and then came back, not mentioning one that potentially could be coming back soon ... let’s hope.”

Host Mick Molloy’s ears pricked up at the comment, to which Gawn quickly said he was only “going off what The Agenda Setters say” and pointed to Channel 7’s Nick Riewoldt.

Jackson has maintained a close relationship with his premiership coach Simon Goodwin after joining the Dockers ahead of the 2023 season.

Fremantle is also heavily pursuing a trade for contracted Melbourne small forward Kozzy Pickett and any move for Jackson could form part of a transaction.

Jackson would also be the perfect long-term replacement for Gawn, who despite still being the premier ruckman in the league turns 34 later this year.