Fremantle’s General Manager of Football Peter Bell admits they were surprised to receive a trade request from Lachie Schultz and said it was “interesting” he had chosen a destination club.
The Dockers were expecting a fairly calm trade period beyond settling the future of Liam Henry but the Schultz bombshell has disturbed their calm waters.
Bell said the club was caught by surprise given they had been in conversations about a multi-year deal after triggering an extension in June.
“Lachie advised (on Monday) for a few different reasons he was interested in a move back to Victoria and elected to play at Collingwood,” he said on AFL Trade Radio.
“With the context and background and nature of the trade period, you’re never completely surprised,
“But we’d had conversations around him to playing through to the end of his contract and continue those conversations from that standpoint it was a surprise.”
However, despite the shock request Bell said there is still a good chance Schultz will still be part of the Dockers line-up next season.
“We were open to listening to Collingwood but in the conversations we’ve had, in an open way with Lachie, there’s a good possibility he’ll be playing for us in 2024,” he said.
“He’s a pretty valuable payer and durable player and he’s a big part of our plans and is under contract.”
Schultz reportedly has a five-year offer from Collingwood but the Dockers will put a high price on the two-time Ross-Glendinning winner who has a year left on his contract.
Bell would not put a price on Schultz instead waiting to see what Collingwood is willing to offer.
“It’s not appropriate to go into exactly what we value Lachie at we’ll listen to what Collingwood has to say,” he said.
“We’ll let those processes take place but we’re not comfortable in losing him in any case.”
Schultz had cited family reasons as the main go-home factor which Bell understands but will not force a move.
“It is an interesting one when players want to move back to home but identify a particular club,” he said.
“He’s understanding and we’re understanding of his reasons but an acknowledgement of that is not a commitment to trade.”
It is an interesting one when players want to move back to home but identify a particular club.
Schultz joins a lengthy list of Dockers who have walked out the door in recent seasons but Bell does not believe it is a club or culture issue.
“I think you look at them case by case every now and then there’s one or two you’d like to keep,” he said.
“We’ve got a number of guys committing long-term to the footy club and we’re really comfortable with the list we have.
“Every case is different there are some layers to Lachie’s situation that we understand but there is frustration and disappointment.”
Bell did not give an update on another wantaway Docker Liam Henry, with discussions with St Kilda still ongoing.
“This is a different situation when a player is coming out of contract and you’ve got all kinds of different contract offers in front of the player for the best part of a year and they don’t sign on, you get a pretty good indication that a move could be on the cards.” he said.
“We and he had to build his body and develop his game and we were just starting to see the fruits of his and court labours and in that context, we are disappointed he’s elected to ply his labour elsewhere.”
The Dockers are reportedly asking for a late first-round pick something which St Kilda are unwilling to give up.
However, there is one Docker Bell is not worried about, believing they can lock away Sean Darcy on a long-term deal.
“We’re very keen to get is contract locked away long-term,” he said.
“He’s really excited about the partnership with Luke and we’d like to explore how that tandem can work going forward.”
The AFL Trade Period closes on Wednesday, October 18.