Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick says the club would look at a possible deal to bring Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale back to the club “really objectively”.
It emerged on Channel 7 on Sunday night that Neale was considering a return to Perth, with pregnant wife Jules hoping to raise their first child back in Western Australia.
Garlick said the club would always do what’s best for the overall make-up of the list, intent to take the emotional element of Neale’s possible homecoming out of any decision.
“Our job is to look at it really objectively and make sure we’re making the best decision for Fremantle on behalf of our members,” he said on Channel 9.
“While there is that connection, we have to separate ourselves from that to make the right call.”
Brisbane confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that Neale was considering his options, but no trade request had been lodged yet.
Lions board member and coaching great Leigh Matthews said Neale was “stuck between a rock and a hard place” as he weighed up his loyalty to the club while also ensuring his family was at the forefront of any decision making.
“When the story popped up from outside the Lions and Lachie Neale, it came as a surprise to everyone that he was seriously thinking of going back,” he said on Sportsday.
“But the knowledge that his wife was keen to go back to live in Perth before becoming a mother, that didn’t come as a surprise.
“It would have hit them between the eyes that it’s quite possible that Lachie will say that is wife wants to go back to Perth and he feels like he’ll have to (follow her).
“If his wife wants to go back to Perth, it’s very hard for Neale not to think that should be the first priority is his life. He’s (stuck) between a rock and a hard place.”