Fremantle are closing in on a deal to re-sign defender Garrick Ibbotson, with the 26-year-old set to put pen to paper on a new three-year deal with the AFL club.
Ibbotson was due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, but the AFL website’s reported the 115-game veteran has decided to stay at the Dockers until at least the end of 2017.
Fremantle still have plenty of work to do to secure the services of free agent David Mundy, with the Victorian set to attract considerable interest from a host of Melbourne clubs.
Fellow midfielder Nat Fyfe is also out of contract at the end of the season, but his West Australian roots puts Fremantle in the box seat to re-sign him.
Goalsneak Hayden Ballantyne is another player Fremantle are keen to re-sign.
Dockers veterans Matthew Pavlich and Luke McPharlin will wait until later in the year before deciding whether to play on.
Ibbotson was in career-best form last season, but missed out on a grand final berth after injuring his Achilles tendon in round 18.
The defender is set to make his return via the WAFL on Saturday, and he faces a fight to break into a strong Fremantle outfit that began their year with a 70-point flogging of Collingwood.