Fremantle are standing firm on holding targeted players to their contracts, with Hawthorn's interest in ruckman Lloyd Meek failing to unsettle Dockers football boss Peter Bell.
Meek is among several Dockers players that have been linked to the exit this off-season, with wingman Blake Acres already traded to Carlton in the opening days of the trade period.
Duo Griffin Logue and Darcy Tucker are on the brink of joining North Melbourne through a trade that will see Fremantle land multiple future draft picks, while both Meek and fellow tall Rory Lobb have also been floated for moves to Victoria.
Lobb's request for a trade to the Bulldogs has been shut down by Bell, with the former Giant seen as a required player and part of Justin Longmuir's planning for the future.
But it seems Meek may join Lobb in being held to his contract for next season, with Bell labelling the fringe ruckman as a "valued member of our team" amid interest from Hawthorn.
โIt's interesting to hear Hawthorn have expressed an interest in Lloyd as a contracted player,โ Bell told fremantlefc.com.au
โWe think he has improved massively this year, and every year he's been at the Club. He's really important for our future plans.
โWe're really eager to retain Lloyd. As I mentioned before, he is contracted and a valued member of our team.โ
Meek's place at Cockburn may very well hinge on the arrival of Luke Jackson, who has requested a move away from the Demons in hope of returning to his home state of Western Australia, allowing the Dockers and Eagles to move on the premiership tall.
Should Jackson land a move to Fremantle, it could allow either Meek or Lobb to see their trade requests permitted by the club.
But with the latter still seen less likely to be granted a switch to the east coast, Lobb has been left "frustrated" by Fremantle's unwillingness given he already purchased a property in Victoria.
โHe's obviously frustrated and disappointed that the discussions have been made through the media about where he sits at Freo, when he thought there probably would be a trade happening this year after discussions after trade period last year,โ Lobb's manager Colin Young told 7 News.
โThat's probably why he bought the house, thinking that a trade would happen.โ
Bell has also confirmed discussions with Suns forward Josh Corbett are underway as he hopes for a move to Fremantle, with the Gold Coast attacker seen as a potential replacement for the aforementioned Logue.
Logue's departure will see the Dockers pocket multiple selections for the 2023 National Draft, a year that boasts an exciting class of future AFL talent in the eyes of Fremantle.
โWe had to be cognisant with the fact that North Melbourne have the first selection in the pre-season draft, so there's always that looming over the negotiations,โ Bell said.
โWe're pleased to report that the negotiations are going really well. At this stage, the trade should involve North Melbourne's priority picks for next year, where they have a future second and third round pick.
โWe think the 2023 draft looks to have a bit of depth about it.
โIt is very early but we do look forward to those types of opportunities. Where we can, we'd like to be heavily involved in 2023.โ
