As a coach, Harvey wanted Ryan Bastinac instead of Nat Fyfe. Thankfully, it wasn't his call. As a coach, I'm sure Roly would want Ballas next year. But it really just his call. I don't care what the journo thought the context of the question was. The actual context is 'would you give Ballas a two year extension to ensure he will be around next year.' That's the question, it's not an easy one, and Roly doesn't have all the information or I suspect the final say.
And why is it Roly's job to put out the spotfire created by Ballas' manager agitating? Ballas has put his trust in a manager who has decided that the best way to extort a contract out of Freo is, at best, to threaten the request of a trade, and at worst, leak a story to the media about him asking for a trade to West Coast.