Daisy Pearce says Collingwood captain Ruby Schleicher will almost certainly be an Eagle next season, with the West Coast coach revealing the star had nominated their club over cross-town rivals Fremantle.
And to further ignite the western derby rivalry, Pearce has declared they would also put their best foot forward to lure homesick Sydney star Zippy Fish to Mineral Resources Park despite being heavily linked to the Dockers.
Schleicher revealed earlier this week that she wanted to return to WA after 82 games in 10 years at Collingwood, with the Eagles reportedly offering a four-year deal to the Magpies captain.
Both Pearce and Fremantle coach Lisa Webb have made it well known they’re keen to secure the 28-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
However, Pearce said Schleicher wanted to be at West Coast next season, and they would work with the Magpies to make the dual All-Australian’s wish become a reality.
“Ruby’s nominated her desire to come to us. So as soon as we heard that there was a top-line player like Ruby keen to come back west. When’s someone that we’ve been interested in for a long time,” Pearce said.
“It’s great that she’s keen to get to us. So, we’ll work really closely with Collingwood to get a deal done there.”
And West Coast aren’t only satisfied with trading in Schleicher, with Pearce saying they would also target reigning Rising Star winner Fish, who is out of contract and heavily linked to a move back to Perth.
Fish is reportedly keen to land at the Dockers where she was a part of their next generation academy program before being drafted, but it hasn’t stopped the Eagles from wanting to put their hat in the ring for the talented 20-year-old.
“She’s a terrific player ... if she ends up back in WA and looking for a trade, we’ll definitely explore that,” Pearce said.
“Any way we can make our list better, we’ll explore and try to get involved in the conversations. Zippy is definitely another one of those.
“Those returning WA players who, when they do get drafted, are always of interest to us because it is hard to recruit A-Grade talent from the east over here with the AFLW salaries.
“Money’s not a huge drawcard, you have to be competitive, and you have to have a great environment to attract people to pick up their lives over here.”