AFL
Jason Phelan 6y

Dockers' Weller wants trade to Suns

AFL

Fremantle midfielder Lachie Weller has turned his back on a long-term AFL contract and asked the Dockers to trade him to Gold Coast.

The 21-year-old is contracted for next season but has requested a trade to the Suns so he can be closer to family and friends.

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

"It's the buzzword of the week ... it's the 'go-home' factor," Weller's manager Peter Blucher told AFL Trade Radio.

"The Gold Coast is home for him and it's home for his long-time partner.

"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."

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.

"We understand there will be some resistance from Freo because he's a very good player and an even better person," Blucher said.

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

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

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