FREMANTLE will invite WAFL star Zac Strom to train at the club ahead of the pre-season supplemental selection period deadline on March 9.
The Dockers currently don't have a list spot available but with Luke Valente retiring at the end of last month after three injury-interrupted seasons, the club will have a spot soon.
AFL.com.au understands the Dockers are waiting to complete the paperwork following Valente's departure before getting Strom down to the club, potentially as soon as next week.
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The 28-year-old has been on the radar of AFL clubs in recent years, stacking up consistent seasons for South Fremantle, culminating in the best and fairest in a premiership year in 2020 and the WAFL state team last year.
After 138 league games and 43 reserves games in the WAFL, Strom is set to be given a couple of weeks to press his claim for the vacant spot at the club.
At 198cm and 103kg, Strom is a versatile tall who is a highly accomplished key defender and can also star in the ruck and on the wing.
With Fremantle yet to be affected by COVID-19, it is believed the club wants to bring in a versatile player who can play in multiple positions in the event they lose players during the season.
Unlike almost every other player fighting for a spot on an AFL list during the pre-season supplemental selection period, Strom, the older brother of Fremantle AFLW star Mim, has a professional career of his own away from football.
Strom is a chiropractor who has been working with sporting clubs in recent years, focusing on managing injuries and facilitating rehabilitation, including at South Fremantle where he has worked with the players.
The West Australian is regarded as one of the strongest men in the WAFL and has the fitness base to come straight in and play in the AFL.
It is believed that the Dockers are also interested in Blake Schlensog who is currently in quarantine in Perth after the recent border reopening in the west.
The former Cat had attracted interest from Geelong again at the end of last year, but was overlooked in the drafts despite the 21-year-old earning selection in the WAFL team of the year.
South Fremantle Football Club has produced some of the best mature-age stories in the past handful of years, with Geelong recruiting Tim Kelly from the Bulldogs before West Coast lured him back to Perth.
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The Tigers have struck gold twice in recent years, first plucking Marlion Pickett from the club midway through 2019 before he made his debut in that famous Grand Final win. Matt Parker played six games last year after earning a second chance in last year's mid-season rookie draft, after being delisted by St Kilda at the end of 2020.
South Fremantle fell short of winning back-to-back premierships last year when Subiaco beat them in the Grand Final at Optus Stadium in October, with Lions midfielder Greg Clark winning the Simpson Medal before West Coast drafted the 24-year-old with pick No.62 in the NAB AFL Draft.
West Coast is currently trialling South Fremantle pair Tom Blechynden and Toby McQuilken, with former Fremantle pair Hugh Dixon and Luke Strnadica and West Perth star Tyler Keitel all fighting over two spots, which could potentially become three due to Jack Darling's vaccination status.