The Western Bulldogs have confirmed their interest in Port Adelaide star Chad Wingard despite the Power trying to hose down talk of the exciting forward leaving South Australia.
Wingard had been given permission by the club to explore his options, but earlier this week word leaked out that he was leaning towards staying.
However, the Bulldogs’ public statement of interest suggests the club fancies it’s chances of luring the 25-year-old east.
"There's no doubt we've got interest in Chad," Western Bulldogs general manager of list and recruiting Sam Power told the official AFL website on Thursday.
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"There is a lot to play out and a lot of movement through the Trade Period, but we're always looking to improve our list.
"Chad hasn't (told he wants to come to the club), but we've obviously signalled to his management he's a player of interest to us.”
Power also said the Bulldogs were working through matters with out-of-contract midfielder Tom Liberatore.
"Tom's been overseas and only just recently returned, so we'll work through that over the short-term, but we're really confident Tom will be at the Bulldogs next year,” Power said.
While the word coming out of the Whitten Oval on Liberatore sounds positive, there are still huge doubts as to where the 26-year-old will be next year.
‘Libba’ missed all but the first few minutes of 2018 after severely injuring his knee in the Dogs’ round one clash against Greater Western Sydney.
Talk turned to his future immediately with the expectation he would sign a new contract during the season, but nothing has yet been done.