Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge is disappointed about "made up" reports proposing that Luke Dahlhaus was made available for trade during the AFL trade period.
Following the Bulldogs failure to defend their 2016 premiership win, reports began surfacing that Dahlhaus could find his way to another team, possibly accompanying Jake Stringer in a trade after they saw their form trend southward in comparison to their premiership season.
Alongside Dahlhaus and Stringer, Clay Smith and Tom Liberatore were also names that were mentioned in the trade realm, suggesting the Bulldogs were shopping these players for the right price.
During his media conference, Beveridge told SEN he had spent most of the day reassuring his players about their position on the team.
“Think about the hypothetical, your workplace, you hear, read on the public domain that your organisation is shopping you around to other outlets, and you don’t know about I, and you like your workplace and you actually enjoy where you work, how would you feel about that?,” he told SEN at his weekly press conference.
“I’ve spent half a day reassuring our players that it didn’t happen, because it’s a fabrication. It’s been made up.
“It’s really disappointing, because here we are heading into Round 1 and there’s a lie online about us as a club, who love our players to death, offering them up for trade, when it didn’t happen.”
Both Dahlhaus and Liberatore are going to be free agents at the conclusion of the 2018 season, meanwhile Smith currently has one-year remaining on contract.
Beveridge also spoke with afl.com.au about the issue, reiterating that the players were not available for trade, despite the reports.
"Neither Luke, Libba or Clay were ever mentioned by our club in trade discussions, and I don't even think clubs asked [former list manager] Jason McCartney whether or not they were available," Beveridge told afl.com.au.
"The story is a total fabrication, something that has been made up, a lie, which is really concerning and disappointing."
"They are very much-loved players at our club and they weren't on the trade table."
The Bulldogs coach is confident the team is working towards retaining Dahlhaus long-term, mentioning the clubs intention to sign him to an extended contract.
"I'm sure clubs are attracted to Luke and his game is appealing, and it's something we've got to deal with and manage in our negations with his management in reaching an agreement on a new contract."