It appears only a matter of when, not if, Chad Warner will be moving back home to Western Australia.
That’s the latest update from Code Sports chief football writer Jay Clark just one day after the Swans were rocked by reports star defender Nick Blakey wants to leave.
Blakey was one of five players stood down by the Swans following an incident at a Melbourne hotel last month.
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He has since been subject to trade rumours with a number of clubs said to be interested in his services. Per The Age, Blakey has reportedly indicated to his associates that he wants to leave the Swans.
It has been claimed his relationship with the club has deteriorated, with both parties understood to have become frustrated with one another since the events in Melbourne.
Blakey was suspended along with four teammates, Isaac Heeney, Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice, after partying into the early hours of the morning following a win over Essendon, which included bringing women back to the team hotel.
Warner has in recent years been linked to a return to Perth both before and after he signed a two-year contract extension with the Swans.
That deal, which extends through to the end of the 2027 season, takes Warner through to free agency where he will command the richest offers of his career.
Warner’s football future is now more clouded than ever with Clark saying West Coast will likely snap him up as early as the 2026 AFL Trade Period.
“Chad Warner, I think he’ll be back in WA if not this season then next,” he said on Triple M.
“Probably in a West Coast jumper. I think it’s going to be hard for Fremantle, clearly. I think he’ll head West.”
Hawks champion Isaac Smith responded to the news by saying: “That’s massive for the Eagles.
“If you think about (Harley) Reid and (Willem) Duursma and then you throw in Warner, that is box office.”
Clark said there is “a whole host of clubs into Blakey”.
Blakey has a seven-year contract that takes him through to the end of the 2031 season.
Heeney is in the middle of a six-year contract that takes him through to the end of the 2028 season.
Bice at the start of this year extended his contract at Sydney until the end of 2028.
Jordon is also contracted until the end of the 2027 season.
The five players have been wiped out for the remainder of the 2026 season and have not returned to club headquarters since being stood down.
The players were suspended for breaking team behaviour standards during the night out following their win over Essendon last month.
Swans coach Dean Cox said the punishment was handed down because players were “drinking” and for bringing women back to the team’s Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne.
Victoria Police are investigating a separate incident after an allegation of sexual assault was made.
All five Swans players have strenuously denied any criminal wrongdoing, and no charges have been laid over the alleged assault, with Bice no longer a person of interest.
News.com.au is not suggesting any of the men in the room engaged in the conduct alleged, only that it has been alleged.
The Swans have refused to comment on the futures of the players involved, with The Age reporting Blakey is angry about the club’s handling of the incident.