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EMERGING Fremantle midfielder Lachie Weller has dropped a late NAB AFL Trade Period bombshell, requesting a move to Gold Coast.
Weller is contracted for 2018 but AFL.com.au confirmed he has sought a trade to the Gold Coast to be closer to his family.
The desire to move came about when the Dockers put a four-year contract extension on the table, triggering the realisation he wanted to return to the Gold Coast.
"It is essentially the go-home factor. Gold Coast is home for him, it's home for his long-time partner," his manager Peter Blucher told NAB AFL Trade Radio on Monday.
"He was offered a four-year extension at Fremantle and that sort of put everything into perspective, that he didn't want to live in Perth for another five years.
"He wants to live on the Gold Coast.
"Quite quickly, he came to the realisation that it's not a case of if he comes home, it's a case of when he comes home, and he's just come to the view quickly that it's better to be now rather than later."
The Suns face an uphill battle to convince Freo to part with the promising 21-year-old, who looms as an important part of the Dockers' list rebuild.
However, an "agreement in principle" is in place, with the Suns to do their best to prise Weller out of Fremantle.
"I just have an absolute commitment from (CEO) Mark Evans and (list manager) Scotty Clayton that he's a real priority and that they'll get it done," Blucher said.
Weller's desire to get to Gold Coast is a huge boost for the expansion club in the wake of its struggle to land a Geelong player as part of the proposed Gary Ablett trade.
A deal for Weller could be incorporated into Fremantle's talks with Greater Western Sydney on contracted Giants defender Nathan Wilson.
If the Suns can convince Fremantle to part with Weller, they might also be happy to accept a draft pick rather than a Geelong player for Ablett.
Weller seemed more than comfortable at the Dockers when he signed a two-year contract extension with the club at the start of last year.
"I'm really happy, it's a great club and I want to play my whole career here," he said at the time.
Weller was pick No.13 in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft and has played 47 games for Freo. He has not missed a game over the past two seasons.
He grew up in Tasmania but played the last three years of his junior career on the Gold Coast after his family relocated to support elder brother Maverick, who was a foundation player with the Suns.
Maverick joined St Kilda as a rookie at the end of the 2013 season, while Lachie has been previously linked with a move to the Saints.
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