Fremantle has been urged to go after Swans midfielder Chad Warner in the wake of two game-breaking performances, while Sydney is confident the 23-year-old will re-sign long term.
Warner is coming off two BOGs in wins over Carlton and the Western Bulldogs, with his efforts in Round 10 rated as the second best performance so far in 2024 on AFL player ratings.
The star on-baller is contracted to Sydney until 2025, but played his footy for East Fremantle before being drafted back in 2019.
Dockers great Troy Cook – who played 150 games for Fremantle in the early 2000s after 42 appearances with Sydney - believes Warner would be a fantastic complement to gun Fremantle midfielders Caleb Serong and Andrew Brayshaw.
“If Freo are looking to try and inject someone into their team, I’d be throwing everything at Chad Warner,” Cook said on SEN WA’s The Run Home.
“I think he’s amazing, he adds something different to the midfield, he’s classy, kicks goals, strong, doesn’t panic and he’d look good in the purple, I think.
“I think it’s proven we need a bit more class through the midfield… he puts people under pressure going forward.
“The other thing is convincing him to leave Sydney, a team that is going to be up for a long time, is going to be pretty hard.”
Fremantle currently holds three first round picks in the 2024 National Draft as it loads up for a reported play at fellow Swan Logan McDonald, also a Western Australian, whose contract expires this year.
Paul Hasleby, who won four Ross Glendinning Medals in a 208-game career for Fremantle, has previously suggested Warner would be a better fit at West Coast given the Eagles' midfield woes.
However, that call came prior to Harley Reid’s debut, with the mercurial 19-year-old arguably singlehandedly turning around West Coast.
Warner is averaging 24.6 disposals and just shy of two goals a game so far in 2024, but it’s his ability to win a game off his own boot that has distinguished him among the A-grade midfielders of the competition.
In the last fortnight, he’s had a combined 24 score involvements, kicked seven goals, directly set up six more while also collecting 22 contested possessions.
Sydney recently re-signed Errol Gulden on a long term contract, while James Rowbottom and Ollie Florent have also put pen to paper on new deals.
The Swans are also fighting to keep free agent Will Hayward beyond the end of this season, with the tide recently turning in favouring the talented forward staying in red and white.
Sydney CEO Tom Harley told SEN on Thursday that Warner’s signature is a top priority for the club.
“He's clearly a priority player for us going forward. He does have another year on his contract,” Harley said.
“When you're working through your list and your priorities, he's right at the top of that.
“We would love to extend Chad tomorrow beyond 2025 and those conversations will happen at the right pace and the right time, but he's a very integral part of what we're doing.”
Warner, who has 71 AFL games to his name, last re-signed in 2022 when adding a further two years to his contract.