Fremantle chief executive Simon Garlick has stopped short of saying they can afford both Chad Warner and Kysaiah Pickett as they continue to aggressively recruit in pursuit of a maiden premiership.
The Dockers have been linked to both Warner and Pickett, having already added Richmond star Shai Bolton to their list last season as they target WA talent.
Questions have been raised about how they can fit both in their already tight salary cap as well as get trades done, with Warner out of contract but not a free agent and Pickett locked in at Melbourne until the end of 2027.
Fremantle also recently re-signed co-captain Andy Brayshaw on a six-year contract extension to remain at the club until 2031, joining the likes of Luke Jackson, Caleb Serong, Jye Amiss, Brennan Cox, Josh Treacy and Hayden Young who are all signed on until the end of 2027 and beyond.
When asked if they could not only fit Pickett and Warner into their total player payment budget but also get adequate trades done, Garlick was coy on the prospect.
“It’s a hypothetical, it’s tantalising when you mention those names but we don’t get that far ahead right now and certainly not from a public record perspective,” Garlick told ABC Radio.
“We think we’ve managed our TPP in a really effective way and we’ve got opportunities to be active in that market.
“In terms of the numbers and the absolute specifics of players, I’ll keep that up our sleeve for now.”
Garlick denied they could have salary cap problems in the future having signed 17 players until at least the end of 2027.
“Every contract that we offer and negotiate and finally confirm as we did with Andy is done really meticulously and with a mind to what our situation looks like down the track,” he said.
“It’s certainly not a push just for the now, we’re pretty steadfast in the positioning of our club and wanting to contend for an extended period, not just hopefully win it and fall off a bit of a cliff.
“We want to make sure, like other clubs have, that we contending over that sustained period, giving ourselves the best possible chance to win premierships.
“We have a significant amount of scope and levers and other elements we can employ to make sure that we’re in the right position.
“We’ll be active, and we’ll be hopeful of continuing to attract players to our club. We’ve had a really good record in recent years in particular, of attracting really high quality people, but critically, talent as well, from a football point of view.
