Chad Warner has revealed how close he was to returning to Western Australia last year, admitting he was leaning towards a switch to West Coast or Fremantle before Dean Cox helped change his mind.
The superstar midfielder says all options will again be on the table when he next comes out of contract at the end of next season.
Warner was a key target for clubs in his home state heading into 2025, with the Sydney star coming off a campaign where he was an All-Australian, finished 11th in the Brownlow Medal, and led the Swans into a grand final.
But he ultimately recommitted to Sydney on a lucrative two-year deal last April, dashing the hopes of Eagles and Dockers fans.
Speaking on Seven’s Unfiltered, to be aired on Wednesday night, Warner said he had not made a decision between West Coast and Fremantle but was “probably leaning towards going back home” before ultimately staying with the club that drafted him.
“My time in Sydney, I absolutely loved it. But I always kind of saw myself probably going back around that time,” Warner said.
“I missed home a lot every year. Once again, I loved Sydney, but I’d always, on the weekends, every now and then be like ‘I wish I was at home’.”
Warner said it had been challenging living in an apartment in Coogee in Sydney’s eastern suburbs compared to the big blocks in Perth as he and partner Alice adjusted to life in Australia’s largest city.
But a growing “sense of belonging” and a feeling that change was happening under Cox, as well as the new Swans coach’s approach to his contract call, helped him make his decision to stay.
“Coxy, obviously he wanted me to stay more than ever. And we talked so openly about it,” Warner said.
“I’d sit with him at the club and be able to have the most open conversation about something that is seen as really hard or really awkward.
“A lot of it was sitting down and being like, ‘If you meet with Freo, if you meet with Eagles, if you meet with Essendon, whoever it is, if you meet with them, let us know. That’s more than fine. We want to be as transparent as we can with all that’.”
Warner said that honesty extended to his much-publicised house purchase in Applecross, which made headlines last January.
“I let him know straight away... like, ‘Mate, bought this house. Media could get a hold of it’,” Warner said.
“He had a look at it. He’s like ‘Nice house’. We had a few beers in there in the backyard.”
Warner, who turned 25 on Tuesday, said he was “more settled than ever” in Sydney. But he also conceded he would be open to a shift when he again comes out of contract at the end of next year.
“I always thought I’d eventually go back to Perth, whether that’s after my career or during my career. But it’s always going to be there, and something that once again in a year-and-a-half... I’m going to have to make a decision again,” he said.
“But the one thing that I have learnt, to be honest, more than anything is you can never have a preconceived idea because I probably went into the last contract year thinking I’m going to go home. That fully changed.
“I absolutely love Sydney and that next decision, I’m going to have absolutely no preconceived ideas at all. Tassie coming in, obviously that dynamic fully changes as well.
“I’m just going to have such an open mind about things and taking every day as it is. It’s something that I love doing. And Alice, my girlfriend, to be honest, I think she’s also turned a massive corner too because she obviously has family back there as well, she always wanted to get back, but we’re loving our life more than ever there (in Sydney). And I think it could be pretty interesting when that time comes.”
Unfiltered airs on Wednesday night from 9.30pm on Seven and 7plus.
