Fremantle senior coach Justin Longmuir is open to entertaining the possibility of reuniting Brisbane superstar Lachie Neale with his former club.
Neale will become a free agent at season's end, with the Lions understanding if the two-time Brownlow medallist were to return to Western Australia amid personal issues throughout the off-season.
While it's not something urgent on his agenda, Longmuir confirmed Fremantle's potential interest in the 32-year-old.
"It's something we'll have to look at throughout the year," Longmuir told Nine News Perth.
"I wouldn't say I wouldn't entertain it. But it's not my job, especially at this time of the year.
"He's a contracted player at another club and I haven't really put any time thinking about 2027, let alone player personnel for 2027 from other clubs."
Neale's ties to Fremantle make him an obvious target for the Dockers, with the dual Brownlow medallist playing 135 games in the purple chevron guernsey before departing for Brisbane ahead of the 2019 season.
Neale starred in his seven seasons at the Cockburn-based club, winning three best-and-fairest medals.
Longmuir highlighted his desire for Fremantle to become more ruthless moving forward - and targeting one of the game's all-time great midfielders to bolster an already dominant engine room would certainly play into that theme for this year.
"As a club at times, when we've had a good season, 16 wins and return to finals, we can take a bit of a deep breath out," Longmuir said.
"Sometimes, that shows up after a good period of three or four wins in a row. It's time for us to move on from that type of mindset and deliver each week."
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter has also said the Eagles will stay "open" in a pursuit of Neale, should the two-time premiership hero desire a return west.
Neale had a game-high 31 disposals and 10 clearances in Brisbane's Community Series win over Gold Coast on Thursday night, with the Bulldogs up next to kick off each club's home-and-away season for 2026.
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