Western Bulldogs and Geelong are believed to be neck-and-neck in the race for Zak Butters' signature, and any slight advantage could turn his decision.
Both clubs have offered monster club-breaking contracts, and from a trade and draft perspective, are likely to offer similar deals to appease Port Adelaide.
So the decision could rely heavily on the location of each side, which Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge admitted was a concern of his.
"If you want to really start to be concerned, it's the geography," Beveridge said on Footy Classified.
"Darley, his hometown, and how relative it is to metropolitan Melbourne versus Geelong or the Bellarine Peninsula, whatever's being sold to him down there.
"We were just hoping that he'd want to come and be immersed in the western suburbs and live in Williamstown or somewhere like that.
"The geography is the one for me I'd been concerned about. It still sort of sticks in my head. So hope he can get through that.
"But as far as the potential and which club might be successful in the future, I'm sure Zak is seeing some really good signs from us. He knows we're a club that's solid. We've got great people, and he's met a lot of them.
"And he played with a few of them from both teams in the state games, so he's had a connection there already."
The Bulldogs are also set to land Adelaide unrestricted free agent Jordon Butts, and have been linked to Gold Coast's Charlie Ballard, who is contracted until the end of 2029.
But in-demand forward Arthur Jones is also a sticking point for the Whitten Oval club, which is attempting to re-sign the emerging youngster amid interest from Brisbane and Essendon.
The Lions deem Jones a potential Zac Bailey replacement if he takes up the Crows' lucrative offer, while the Bombers have cash to splash.
The Bulldogs gave Jones a one-year extension at the end of last year due to his injury woes. The 23-year-old wanted a multi-season deal, and has now earned those offers.
Beveridge explained the club's position last year, and hoped Jones remained at the Whitten Oval.
"He's had a real challenge with his body in the early parts of his career," he said.
"Last year, it sounds like, and it reads as though he's taken it as a harsh message to not get two years, but that's just the state of the competition and the lack of demand for someone who hasn't proved themselves who's had injury.
"To see him now really progress and become a key player in our team has been nothing short of brilliant and a really nice surprise.
"We're just hoping he gets the spoils with us and smells our roses and we keep going."
