In huge news for Bulldogs fans, defensive distributor Caleb Daniel is reportedly set to start negotiations with the club over a contract extension in the coming weeks.
Daniel, who has been at Whitten Oval for all seven seasons of his AFL career, is one of the key parts of Luke Beveridge's set-up, with his distribution by foot unparalleled throughout the side.
The 25-year-old was taken at Pick 46 in the 2014 National Draft and has since established himself as one of the best half-backs in the league, winning a maiden flag with the club in just his second year of AFL football.
Midfielder
Disposals
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Clearances
In a pandemic-interrupted 2020, Daniel had a career-best season winning both the club best and fairest and an All-Australian blazer.
According to Riley Beveridge of AFL.com.au, the Doggies are set to start talks over an extension before the end of the year, with Daniel contracted until the end of 2022.
Recently speaking to the AFL Draft Night Countdown, Daniel's manager Marty Pask revealed that negotiations were in the pipeline.
"They're not underway yet, but we're going to catch up in the next couple of weeks actually," Pask said.
"The footy club has reached out and we're going to have initial chats and have a discussion around where everything sits. There's no timeframe or timeline and, from our end, we're always happy to sit down and listen."
With the Dogs set to secure Daniel, their gaze will begin to shift towards a host of other key players off-contract at the end of 2022.
Bailey Smith, Jack Macrae, Tim English, Bailey Dale, Josh Dunkley, Jason Johannisen and Toby McLean are all out of contract come the end of next year, with every cent of the salary cap set to be utilised.
It'll be intriguing to see how the Dogs list management team can possibly retain all of these players, with the likes of Johannisen out of favour in 2021 and possibly on the lookout for a move elsewhere.
Earlier in the season, the club managed to pin down superstar captain Marcus Bontempelli on a multi-year deal which will see the 25-year-old through to the end of season 2025.
If the Dogs can do the same with Daniel, then Beveridge will have secured two of his most important players to help keep the team's spine intact.
The Bulldogs had a successful draft night with a fresh intake of promising youth hopefully set to complement the club's best 22.
Father-son talent Sam Darcy was taken at Pick 2 as well as mid-forward Arthur Jones at No. 43 and intercept defender Luke Cleary at No. 61.
After being humiliated in the 2021 Grand Final, the side will have revenge on their minds as they head into the pre-season, with the club more than capable of righting the wrongs committed in this year's decider.
