Andrew Gaff to stay at West Coast and activate four-year contract extension
West Coast midfielder Andrew Gaff will soon need to make a decision on his contract, which gives him the power to either leave the Eagles as a free agent or trigger a contract extension.
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Andrew Gaff could walk away from West Coast as a free agent simply by notifying the club mid-season he wanted to enact the get-out clause in his radical contract.
But Gaff’s determination to be part of the club’s premiership window and his father’s improving health will soon see him trigger a four-year extension to stay at West Coast.
West Coast wingman Gaff’s contract is one a number of left-field deals that are long-term but include triggers which hand players significant power to set their own destiny.
Greater Western Sydney wingman Josh Kelly’s long-term deal of up to 10 years also contains an escape clause next year which would see him become a restricted free agent.
The exact date of Gaff’s contract trigger is not known but it is believed to be mid-season in around June or July.
It would give both club and player time to work through the list management drama if he was to decide to move back to Melbourne
That will almost certainly not happen and in effect he could ignore that deadline and continue on with the next four seasons of his deal.
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But he will likely meet with his management at some stage in the near future to confirm the last four years of his deal.
Ironically, former West Coast list manager Brady Rawlings is now the football boss of North Melbourne, which pursued Gaff so hard with a mega-deal in 2018.
The Roos have massive cap space to chase a rival player but Gaff would seem untouchable and North Melbourne is keen to continue drafting and developing its own talent.
West Coast captain Luke Shuey told the Herald Sun this week he couldn’t be more impressed with Gaff’s buy-in or club engagement.
“He is a really good guy, I think even throughout that year when he was out of contract he was so invested into the club and he has had a really good summer, performed really well for us on the weekend against Fremantle even though we lost and he looks set for a really big year.”
