CHAD Warner is keeping an "open mind" about his contract call this season as the Sydney superstar weighs the biggest decision of his career.
Warner is being heavily sought by West Coast and Fremantle, having spoken with both clubs last season, as he starts his 2025 campaign. The All-Australian midfielder has held off getting into talks with the Swans as he focuses on his season and makes the call between staying with the Swans or heading back home to Western Australia.
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Ahead of his sixth season with the club, Warner said he would take time to work through the process as he considers the options.
"I'm obviously out of contract and just enjoying Sydney at the moment to be honest. I'm very open to everything. It's obviously a big decision that I've got to make this year and I obviously want to make the right decisions, that's why I'm very open-minded and chilled about it," Warner told AFL.com.au.
"It's all up in the air. At the moment I just want to keep my options and my mind as open as it can be, to be honest. The one thing that I do know the most is that I love playing with these boys and love playing in Sydney so I don't want to make the wrong decision either way.
"I'm just playing the year and seeing how it goes."
New Sydney coach Dean Cox said the Swans are prepared for the "noise" that comes with Warner's contract situation, with Cox taking a hands-on approach to keeping the star midfielder.
Cox, who has helped steer Warner into one of the most damaging midfielders in the game as the previous midfield coach at Sydney, steps into the senior role intent on being in constant communication with the 23-year-old about his contract call.
"I've been Chad's line coach ever since he got to the footy club and I'm close with Chad having the WA connection. I've done that move and with all the interstate boys I try to make it as easy as possible," Cox told AFL.com.au.
"The dialogue is constant between Chad and myself, I think it has to be. I want Chad to play his best footy this year, that's what I want. What I can control is the team we put around Chad and that's still challenging Chad to be the best Sydney Swans player he can be this year.
"As we progress, we'll continually have the dialogue about what happens going forward. He knows how much I want him to stay at the Swans but I am also a realist. People's contracts and the calibre of player create a lot more noise and we'll manage that throughout the process and both parties are aware of that."
Warner is out of contract but two years away from free agency so any move would require a trade. As Warner is courted by the Dockers and also the Eagles, who now have former Swans assistant Don Pyke as their chief executive, Cox said he understood Warner being in rivals' sights and wasn't concerned by the gamebreaker weighing his options.
"You need to realise that happens in football. For us, it's about trying to make sure Chad sees this football club as the place to be in the short or long-term. That's the part we have to do. Our job is to provide a footy club, a team and an environment that he sees he can play his best footy in and also to be a part of a successful footy team," he said.
Cox, of course, is no stranger to knowing the game's best midfielders well. Apart from the Sydney engine room that has powered the club to two grand finals in the past three years, the champion West Coast ruckman formed a brilliant quartet with midfield trio Chris Judd, Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr in their 2006 flag triumph.
He stopped short of putting Warner on Judd's level but said his explosiveness was as good as any, with Warner also kicking 35 goals last year from his 25 games.
"He's a phenomenal talent. Most people see the explosiveness and what he can do, but not the time he puts into his game and the way he prepares. He goes back to WA or he goes overseas in off-seasons and comes back in amazing condition," he said.
"His attention to detail is really high and Chris was the same. I'm one who doesn't really compare players and eras but the ability for Chad to go inside to out, and how dynamic he is, is as good as any powerful mid."
Cox also nominated Warner's younger brother, Corey, as one of the less experienced Swans to have shown his ability over summer.
At one session, it was Cox who broke up the Warner brothers from a short scuffle. The new coach was pictured standing between the pair to diffuse the situation.
"I was walking over to the boundary line and it happened just in front of me. A picture can paint a thousand words and it did within two seconds," he said.
"They were around for dinner the following week so it was like 'All right, do we need to do anything here?' As soon as it went from a free kick to a stoppage, they were high fiving and cuddling each other straight away. It was the heat of the moment."
Warner said Cox had maintained a strong bond with the playing group as he steps up into the senior role.
"I've obviously been with him for a while now as the assistant coach at Sydney. He's been a great mate to all the boys for a while and I think it's great he's been able to keep that but also gain the respect as a head coach, so I've been loving it," Warner said.
For more from Chad Warner, watch AFL.com.au's Footy Feed on Tuesday. Catch Dean Cox's full interview with AFL.com.au on the Your Coach podcast series.
