Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has labelled Richmond gun Shai Bolton as a player who would "help us become a better team" following reports this week that the Tigers livewire is open to returning to his home state of Western Australia.
Suggestions that Bolton had lodged a trade request to depart Punt Road were hosed down by Bolton's management on Monday. However, his agent did not rule out a move to WA.
Bolton is signed to the Tigers on a five-year deal that will expire at the cessation of the 2028 season, meaning any desire to join either Fremantle or West Coast needs to be approved by Richmond this off-season.
While the Eagles would hold some level of interest in the Kataning product, Fremantle are viewed as a more likely landing spot, given their wealth of draft picks for this year's intake.
The Dockers hold first-round picks attached to Collingwood and Port Adelaide as well as their own, with those three selections currently sitting at Picks 9, 17 and 10, respectively.
Two of those will likely be needed to satisfy the Tigers, who will still be reluctant to trade away Bolton but could be swayed given the club's current position and the strength of this year's draft crop.
Quizzed on the situation that surround Bolton in the wake of new updates on the star Tiger's future by 7 News Perth on Tuesday, Longmuir played a straight bat but offered some praise to the quality of player Bolton has become.
"I haven't," Longmuir said when asked if he had spoken to Bolton or his management.
"He's obviously contracted, so (we) respect that contract. In the end the ball is in his court. "I haven't met him, no.
"Clearly someone of his ability and someone of his experience would help us become a better team, but those things will play out later in the season.
"It's in Shai's hands at the moment. We will wait and see."
Fremantle's draft hand could take a hit this week but it would come at an acceptable cost, with the Dockers able to move back into the top eight with a win over Port Adelaide to end their home and away campaign.
They would also be relying on at least one of Hawthorn, Carlton or the Western Bulldogs to lose their Round 24 games, while Brisbane could still fall out of the top eight via unlikely circumstances.
The Dockers, who sit on a three-game losing streak, will host Port Adelaide at Optus Stadium on Sunday afternoon and will likely know by the opening bounce whether their season is still alive.
A loss could see them surpassed by Essendon by the end of the weekend, while the Bomber and Demons could go past Collingwood to further increase the value of the Dockers' draft hand.
The WA club acquired Collingwood's opening selection after trading forward Lachie Schultz back to Victoria, while the Power's selection landed with Fremantle in a swap of selections during last year's off-season also.
