“The brutal reality is…”: Fremantle chief comments on Bolton, Warner and Kelly

Fremantle CEO Simon Garlick confirms the club has significant interest in Richmond’s Shai Bolton.

But there is a “brutal reality” attached to the situation.

Garlick is well aware that it will take some negotiating to get a deal done for the 25-year-old who is contracted with the Tigers until 2028.

He says there is plenty of water to go under the bridge before Freo and Richmond get close to meeting in the middle for the West Australian native.

“We’ve clearly got an interest in Shai,” Garlick said on SEN WA Breakfast.

“He's expressed interest in coming back to WA, but he is contracted. He's actually got four years to run on his contract.

“So that gives Richmond the capability of holding onto him if something wasn't able to be agreed to.

“We'll have discussions during the week and see whether we can land something, but certainly a player of the capability of Shai - an elite user of the ball, an elite finisher, genuine high-end speed and capability - is someone that we'd have an interest in.”

The fact that Bolton is contracted for so long and is such a valuable commodity is not lost on Garlick who says his club must act responsibly when it comes to working on a trade with the Tigers.

“We’re hopeful, but the brutal reality is he’s contracted for four years,” he added.

“Richmond can dig their heels in, they can flat out say no.

“We’ve got a strong desire to bring Shai to our football club, but we’ve got to be responsible too. We don’t need to sell the farm for any one player.

“There’s not going to be one player that’s a silver bullet that is going to make the difference. We think there are players, and Shai is inclusive of that, that can help us get better.

“If there’s a deal that can be done at the right level for us from a responsibility perspective then we’ll certainly entertain that.

“But if it’s not then we move on and continue to build as we have been over the last three or four years.”

It is understood that two first-round draft picks is in the ballpark of what might be acceptable to secure Bolton.

Garlick also commented on Sydney’s Chad Warner who continues to be linked with the Dockers, as well as West Coast, due to the fact he's a Perth-born talent.

“There's no doubt that established WA talent, who are making waves over east or anywhere in the competition, we're going to have an interest in and I don't think anyone's done that more than Chad,” said Garlick on the Swans star.

“So there's no doubt we've got a significant interest in him. If he was to come back home or want to come back home, he's contracted next year.

“Sydney are on the record and very strongly saying that he'll be playing with them and we feel he will be playing in the red and white next year, but funnier things have happened.

“So we'll certainly keep an eye on the situation. But you've seen Sydney too, they've got a record of holding players to contract. I'd be very surprised if he's not playing there next year, but we'll certainly monitor the situation.”

And the third name to be discussed was that of West Coast’s Tim Kelly.

Did Kelly or his management reach out to Fremantle in the last couple of weeks?

“No, I haven't spoken to Tim Kelly's management. I don't believe they've spoken to ‘Wallsy’ (Freo list boss David Walls) in that regard,” Garlick said further.

“Obviously we saw the press reports last week in particular. So again, contracted player. I understand people talk about the fact that contracts don't mean as much as they used to.

“Having a player contracted means that you've got the upper hand in that respect, and Tim's contracted, as I understand it, to next year as well too.

“So he's far more likely to stay at West Coast.”

Listen to the full chat with Garlick below: