Dockers' Weller wants AFL trade to Suns

Oct 16, 2017 - 8:19 AM Gold Coast face a tough task to appease Fremantle after the Dockers were left stunned by Lachie Weller's trade request bombshell.

Weller turned his back on a long-term contract offer from Fremantle and asked to be traded to the Suns on Monday.

The 21-year-old is contracted for next season but wants to play for Gold Coast so he can be closer to family and friends.

"It is appealing to us, clearly, he's very committed to Gold Coast as a destination," Suns list manager Scott Clayton told SEN radio.

"We're very keen to get something done. We'll certainly try hard. Fremantle know what we've got. We've got a bit of currency and even a player that wants to go there in (Brandon) Matera.

"We're hopeful but it is more difficult when someone is contracted."

Weller, whose brother Maverick played for the Suns before he was delisted and joined St Kilda, has played 47 AFL games for Fremantle since he was selected 13th overall at the 2014 draft.

He was a member of the Suns' development academy but barely missed qualifying to be taken by the club at the end of his draft year.

The Dockers will be reluctant to let Weller go but his departure could prove a circuit-breaker in stalled trade negotiations with Greater Western Sydney over defender Nathan Wilson.

In an odd twist, it was the four-year contract extension that the Dockers put on the table that sparked Weller's surprise decision.

"We understand there will be some resistance from Freo because he's a very good player and an even better person," Weller's manager Peter Blucher told AFL Trade Radio.

"But if it's not now it's in 12 months and I don't think that situation is good for anybody.

"He was offered a four-year extension at Fremantle and that put things in perspective and he realised he didn't want to live in Perth for another five years.

"Quite quickly he came to the realisation that it's not a case of if he comes home but when he comes home.

"He's of the view that it would be better to be now than later."

Blucher said an in-principle agreement with the Suns is in place, with the club promising to make working a trade a "real priority".

Source: AAP