Discussions have begun for a new contract for Western Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman as the team looks ahead to its 2025 contract considerations. Currently, the Bulldogs are negotiating a long-term contract with restricted free agent Tim English, and earlier this year, they extended a two-year offer to midfielder Bailey Smith.
Smith is expected to move to a different club at the end of the season, with Hawthorn and Geelong among the interested teams. Meanwhile, Weightman, who has been out since round seven due to elbow surgery, is contracted through the end of next season.
Early talks for Weightman’s contract extension have commenced, according to his agent Scott Lucas from Phoenix Management Group. “We’ve had a brief chat with the Bulldogs and sometimes clubs are keen to lock away that talent in advance. We’ve had an early chat and there’s no rush in a sense, because he is not out of contract until the end of next year,” Lucas told AFL.com.au’s trade and draft show Gettable. “But I think it’s fair to say there’s a willingness from both sides to explore sooner rather than later.”
Weightman, a first-round pick for the Bulldogs in 2019, has scored 113 goals in 66 games and is two years away from free agency at the end of next season. Additionally, captain Marcus Bontempelli will become a free agent at the end of 2025, and emerging key forward Sam Darcy will be out of contract at the end of next season.
The Bulldogs are proactively managing their roster to ensure they retain key talents like Weightman while planning for future contract negotiations with other pivotal players.
