After years of missing out at the AFL trade,everyone is now chasing WA star Tim Kelly,on and off the field.
Hurn and Hutchings are likely to be named in the Eagles 26-man finals squad,along with the returning Naitanui to lead the ruck for only the fourth time this season of premiership defence.
Harley Bennell has fielded interest from one prominent AFL club,Brad Hill has officially requested a trade to Melbourne,and Justin Longmuir has not yet been contacted by Fremantle,Colin Young said.
Reigning premiers West Coast have a league-high seven representatives in the initial 40-man All Australian squad and Shannon Hurn deserves to be named captain when the final 22 is revealed on Wednesday evening.
Before the season commenced I said the Brisbane Lions would be one of the big improvers this year and would play finals football. Some friends and acquaintances thought I had drunk too much vino.
One Hill down,one to go? Fremantle has had some positive news after skilful midfielder Stephen Hill agreed to terms for a two-year contract extension that ties him to the club until 2021.
Nic Naitanui could get a chance to prove his fitness for Thursday week's cut-throat clash with Essendon in Perth on Sunday when West Coast play West Perth in a WAFL elimination final.
West Coast is confident it has a team capable of overcoming a daunting schedule to win this year's AFL flag from fifth position.
Fremantle skipper Nat Fyfe is confident a brighter future lies ahead for the club but says it needs to find a way to stop falling"off the cliff"late in seasons.
Geelong has finished top,West Coast have fallen from the four and face a sudden end to their reign,but it's the battle of the big cats next weekend that is most intriguing after the AFL announced the week one schedule of the 2019 finals series.
The real reason Ross Lyon was sacked as Fremantle coach is not yet known. But it was definitely in part due to the culmination of several on-field,club-wide failures in the past four seasons.