Far be it from the Western Bulldogs to be content with the all but confirmed acquisition of Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters, the club have put Adelaide key defender Jordon Butts through a medical as they weigh up a play for the 26-year-old.
The Dogs have long been undermanned behind the ball, with that line the least talent-laden zone on Luke Beveridge's whiteboard.
Now, as reported by SEN's Sammy Edmund, they have gone about rectifying this weakness, with their long-mooted pursuit of Butts taking its next step.
Butts has managed 94 games in seven seasons at West Lakes, but fell down Matthew Nicks' pecking order in the last two seasons, managing 19 games as the likes of Josh Worrell, James Borlase and Mark Keane were preferred to the Murray Bushrangers product.
The news is less promising for Docker Nathan O'Driscoll, who had also been on the Dogs' radar. Edmund reported that given the complexity stemming from the Butters deal - complexity only furthered by the AFL's recent intervention - the Dogs' interest has cooled.
O'Driscoll has a three-year deal in front of him at Fremantle, but cruelly found himself on the outside looking in as the club won their way through to the grand final. After 17 games in Fremantle purple this season, and 18 touches in the qualifying final, the wingman was omitted for the club's semi-final victory over Geelong, and was not recalled for the trip to Sydney.
O'Driscoll registered 22 disposals in a winning WAFL Grand Final side on the weekend, playing his role for Fremantle's WAFL affiliate, Peel Thunder, as they downed Claremont.
However, missing much of the senior side's storied finals campaign has only fuelled speculation that the Northam product is headed for the exits.
