It has been revealed that Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has secretly met up with West Coast defender Tom Barrass in an attempt to lure him to Victoria.

Barrass - who is contracted until the end of 2027 - is seriously weighing up a move away from the Eagles, a club he won a flag at.

According toย Channel 9's Tom Morris, it is believed that the 2018 premiership player's eye is "wandering because he believes West Coast hasn't held up its end of the bargain following a verbal agreement 18 months ago."

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Barrass reportedly wanted to restructure the deal to accurately reflect previous interest from Sydney, which the club reportedly agreed to.

However, in the here and now, both the Hawks and Western Bulldogs have staked their intentions to bolster their defence with the 28-year-old, with the latter reportedly offering a four-year deal, with an option for a fifth.

Channel 7's Mitch Cleary revealed that Mitchell, after the Hawks dismantled Adelaide on Sunday, took a flight west to meet with one of the competition's most in-demand players.

There are strong links to both clubs if Barrass were to head to Victoria, while his sister's reported moving to Melbourne will also likely play a strong part.

Hawthorn assistant coach Adrian Hickmott was previously at the Eagles under Adam Simpson while Daniel Pratt is now at the Bulldogs having worked with Barrass in 2018.

However, to the dismay of Bulldogs fans,ย Herald Sun journalist Jay Clark believes that Barrass has a "clear front-runner" for his services.

"Hawthorn is a clear front-runner for the Eagles stopper's service," Clark said on Fox Footy'sย Midweek Tackle.

"We know the Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell flew west to meet with Tom Barrass over in Perth, have a face-to-face discussion.

"And those talks have obviously gone well. The Hawks are in the box seat, edging out the Western Bulldogs."

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This is the second occasion that Mitchell has engaged in contact with rival players, firstly talking to unrestricted free agent Josh Battle.

Barrass just played his 150th game for West Coast in the loss to Fremantle.