Shane Kersten will leave the Fremantle Dockers after a split with coach Ross Lyon, with paperwork expected for an immediate release to be finalised in the coming days.
AFL.com.au believes that a confrontation following the departure of Lachie Neale to Brisbane was the beginning of a broken relationship between Kersten and Lyon and has been building for several months.
After moving to Fremantle on a three-year deal in 2017, the former Cat has played 29 games for the Dockers. A pre-season foot injury has seen Kersten sidelined from both AFL and WAFL levels this season, with the utility player barely sighted at the club throughout the year.
The arrival of key forwards Jesse Hogan and Rory Lobb and the development shown from the likes of Joel Hamling, Alex Pearce and Luke Ryan, it was unlikely that Kersten was going to be re-contracted for the 2020 season.