Ryan Daniels: There’s no doubt the West Coast and Fremantle Dockers race for Chad Warner is just beginning

It’s good to be The Chad. The kid from Willetton with a cheeky grin and the first step of a feral feline has been hot property for a while now. Chad Warner enjoyed being wooed, as he should. Dinners at Nobu, golf in Cottesloe. He was careful, considered and gathered all the information – along with the yellowtail sashimi. At different times in this chase, the smoke signals had been heading in the direction of Cockburn, Lathlain and the Harbour City. Chad ended the chase – or at least paused it – on Thursday when he signed for two more years with the Sydney Swans at a shade under $1.4 million per season. The deal takes him to the end of 2027, and into his official free agency status. For the WA clubs, it’s not goodbye – more ‘maybe see you later’. The Warner conversation got kicked down the road by 18 months, and really, it came as no surprise. In the short term, he had no incentive to go anywhere else. If he believed Fremantle were close to silverware, were they any closer than Sydney? Maybe, but who knows? If he went to West Coast, he’d make them better – but not better enough to be a finals side. He’d get tagged every week – Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden aren’t standing next to him at the centre bounce. The departure options were enticing, but not overwhelming. And that’s not for a lack of trying. The West Coast Eagles came with a truck full of gold, the promise of a pairing with Harley Reid, a dream of playing for the club Chad loved as a child – the club his family barracks for – and the responsibility of leading this once-great titan of the AFL back to the pinnacle – or at the very least, respectability. The Dockers offered slightly less gold, but more obvious potential. Midfield co-workers like Caleb Serong, Hayden Young and Andrew Brayshaw. One of the most talented lists in the competition, complete with his East Freo mates Luke Jackson and Jeremy Sharp. He could be part of the Dockers first flag, become an immortal. The counter from Sydney? Familiarity, a stable, successful, powerful club — the envy of most others. His best mate Errol is there, his little brother Corey. In Sydney, Chad can walk down the street, and no one bothers him. Here, he’d be treated like Mark Hamill at a Star Wars convention. Then there’s Dean Cox — Horse successor, Chad whisperer. If John Longmire had been coaching the Swans this year, there’s a good chance that might’ve been enough to swing Chad back to WA. Not because Warner disliked Horse – more because he felt he owed it to Coxy. Warner and Cox have been close for years – the former Eagles champion was the Swans midfield coach, and helped turn a wild long-shot bronco into a thoroughbred All-Australian. Not to mention the fact Chad probably worshipped Cox as a young West Coast fan. This from Chad on Thursday: “He’s (Cox) just such a really connective relationship-built person, the whole time I’ve been in Sydney we’ve developed a really great relationship along the years”. He loves the man. And truthfully, this worked out best for most parties. For Chad, this was the smartest business decision the whole way through. Get paid now, open yourself to even more reward in 2027 – when the salary cap increases again, and Tasmania enters the league, driving up player wages. And, he’ll have a freedom to move wherever he wants – if he wants. West Coast, in a weird way, dodged a bullet. If Chad had chosen them, they’d have needed to sell the farm — and they barely have a paddock at the moment. Not just with his contract, but to appease the Swans at the trade table. You’d be looking at multiple first round picks to get a deal done — with the Dockers waiting on the sidelines to jump in if an agreement couldn’t be reached. This way, the Eagles get to hold onto those picks, attempt to draft the next Chad Warner, and have another crack at the current Chad Warner in two years – without having to trade anything. Warner is a game breaking match-winner — but ideally, he’s the gravy on the Sunday roast – he works best when smothered over the meat and potatoes. The trade may have provided short-term sugar hit, but it wasn’t going to deliver them back to the promised land. The Dockers have a right to feel flat. If he’d picked them, and my mail says they were the likely runner-up, that would’ve immediately branded Freo the AFL’s best midfield, put them over the top in terms of premiership capability, and made them the most exciting team in footy — Shai Bolton, Luke Jackson, Josh Treacy and Chad Warner combining in scoring chains almost seems unfair. Silver lining, the Dockers can focus all their attention, and trade assets, at Kozzy Pickett, then make another play for Warner in two years. Not all is lost.