DELISTED Fremantle midfielder Michael Barlow expects to play on next season, with his management having received interest from other clubs.

Barlow, 28, can be signed as a delisted free agent from next Tuesday. 

He told Perth radio station 6PR he knew he was in trouble at Fremantle when he did not receive a contract offer despite playing well at times during 2016. 

"I felt my form was always really strong, and in particular when I came back from my stint in the WAFL, I had a really good six or seven week period," Barlow said on Tuesday. 

"If Brad Lloyd, our list manager, doesn't contact your manager after some of the performances I put in … I think the writing was on the wall for me. 

"I've been prepared for this for quite some time. I'm really respectful of the decision but I didn't walk into my meeting yesterday with any hope of a contract offer." 

Barlow was dropped after the Dockers' round seven loss to Greater Western Sydney but racked up 39 and 44 disposals in the WAFL over the next fortnight to fight his way back into the senior side. 

Surgery on his left shoulder after a heavy bump from Geelong's Lincoln McCarthy in round 17 ended his season and Barlow said in a tweet on Monday he knew his time at the Dockers was up after that match.

The Dockers did not put an offer forward to Barlow at any point this year, despite him finishing eighth in the best and fairest from only 13 games. 

"I would have loved to have a decision to make and be offered a contract. When you're going alright and think you deserve something to be put in front of you and it doesn't eventuate, that's probably the hardest thing to cop," Barlow said.

The club's slide down the ladder in 2016, from minor premier last year to third-last, was a key factor in the Dockers deciding not to keep the tough onballer. 

"The whole football world knows the direction Fremantle is going and there's got to be some collateral (damage) along the way," Barlow said. 

He was drafted as a mature-aged rookie in 2009 and played 126 matches for the Dockers. He was part of the Grand Final side that lost to Hawthorn in 2013.

A badly broken leg in his first season interrupted what had been a stellar debut year, with 12 Brownlow Medal votes from 13 games. 

Barlow said he would play for any other club and did not rule out playing for cross-town rivals West Coast. 

"Marty Pask, my manager, has had some really constructive approaches over the past little period. There's some good strong interest, which is really pleasing," he said.