Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains has admitted there’s still some “distance” between the club and Luke Dahlhaus in their attempts to re-sign him.
The 25-year-old has previous stated he’d “love” to remain with the Bulldogs, but Bains said work is still required for the two to get on the same page.
“We’ve had productive discussions with Luke’s management, he’s keen to say and he’s been vocal about that,” Bains told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“At the moment there’s a bit of distance between us in what that contract looks like hence why there hasn’t been any strong progression.
“More in terms of years (not dollars).”
Tom Liberatore is another player out of contract, but Bains said the focus would be on allowing him to recover from his ACL injury for the time being.
“He’s been fantastic, he’s made an effort over and above his rehab being around the club and being at games supporting the boys,” he said.
“We had a brief discussion with his management prior to the season starting, but everyone’s agreed in the context of the first heavy part of his rehab that that’s what needs to be his focus and we can have a chat as the year progresses.”
Dahlhaus is averaging 22 disposals so far in 2018, down from an average of 26 disposals across the previous three seasons.