The Melbourne Demons have emerged as the latest club to deny interest in Ben Cousins, reaffirming their quest for youth in ahead of the upcoming pre-season draft.
Cousins, who was brushed aside in Saturday's national draft, is hanging his hopes for an AFL return on the pre-season draft, with his manager Ricky Nixon approaching Demons chief executive Cameron Schwab in a desperate attempt to rekindle the career of the 2005 Brownlow Medallist.
But after securing Jack Watts with their No.1 pick on Saturday, the Demons are keen to remain youth focused.
"We'll still draft a young kid," Melbourne coach Dean Bailey told News Ltd.
"We've been pretty firm in our commitment to go and draft young players.
"Most people will understand why we're doing it, (to) build a list of young players who are going to come through together."
With Brisbane and St Kilda both steering away from Cousins, his remaining options look very limited.