‘Extremely disappointed’: Dockers to drive hard bargain for winger

Fremantle is disappointed young gun Liam Henry has requested a trade to St Kilda

FREMANTLE remains “extremely disappointed” in departing young gun Liam Henry but will attempt to use the winger to push up the draft board in a trade with St Kilda.

Henry was taken with pick No.9 in the 2019 AFL Draft after graduating from the Dockers’ Next Generation Academy.

The 43-gamer became a regular on the wing in 2023 and showed signs of breaking out late in the season, averaging 24 disposals in his last 10 games, however, he requested a move to St Kilda following his campaign.

Speaking to Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio on Thursday, Fremantle list boss David Walls said the Dockers were only just beginning to bear fruit from their years-long investment in Henry, indicating their desire to drive a hard bargain for him on the trade table.

“He’s worth a lot. We’ve put a lot of work into him from a young age,” Walls said.

“He’s come a long way and improved the areas that he needed to, and was just starting to get reward for that.

“A wing spot opened up with Blake Acres leaving last year, and that had been part of Liam’s issue – he hadn’t, in his eyes, had a lot of opportunity.

“That spot opened up, he did play well, and we were looking forward to having him play for 10 years, so extremely disappointing for him to put his hand up and say he wants to move east.

“We’ll catch up with St Kilda and work through a deal that we can get value for.”

Walls said the Dockers, whose highest draft pick sits at No.22, were now eyeing a move up the draft board.

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“With Liam Henry, let’s hope it all goes through with St Kilda to get as high as we possibly can,” Walls said.

“We’d love to get into the early teens. That’s a real focus for us in the trade period.”

Walls said the Dockers remained “unsure” on the future of key defender Joel Hamling but would “love him to stay.”

Hamling qualifies as a free agent because he was previously delisted by Geelong.

He played in the Western Bulldogs’ famous 2016 premiership before moving to Fremantle. He was a regular in the Dockers’ best 22 between 2017-19 but has played just six AFL games in the past three seasons.