WEST Coast is confident Drew Petrie can play a role for the club next season but will continue to explore other options before making a final decision.
Petrie, who turns 34 this week, visited West Coast last week to have a medical check.
Petrie's manager Shane Casley confirmed that the 316-game veteran was keen to continue his career at the Eagles under former teammate Adam Simpson.
But Eagles football manager Craig Vozzo told TAB Radio on Tuesday that the Eagles would continue to explore all avenues before making a final decision on Petrie.
"We're still working our way through it," Vozzo said.
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"Drew knows our situation with all that. It won't be something that happens in the next few days. Time is on our side with that. We're just going to keep our options open as we keep exploring. Drew is comfortable with that as his management and we are as well."
Eyebrows have been raised about the prospect of the Eagles listing Petrie after North Melbourne opted not to offer him another year. But Vozzo said the Eagles had a very specific area to fill.
"It's a short-term employment situation," Vozzo said.
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"For a young guy looking at it, he's looking at a Nic Naitanui coming back into the side and Scott Lycett probably being pretty well established. So you're competing for a spot. The second part of that as well is our preference to get a forward/ruck onto our list, rather than a genuine tall standalone ruck. So that flexibility for our match committee to have that forward/ruck is something that we value.
"He's a high-quality person Drew. He's played a hell of a lot of footy. His durability has been outstanding. He's got the confidence of our coach and Brady (Rawlings) as well. We sort of see him as being able to play that role potentially that Jackson Trengove played for Port Adelaide last year as the undersized but mobile ruck that's very competitive. So that's why we're having a look at him."
Vozzo confirmed that young key forward Jack Darling was not going to be traded, stating he was a vital part of the Eagles' future.
"Jack's a critical part of our list," Vozzo said.
"His best footy is ahead of him. Obviously (people are) focusing on a couple of events over the last couple of years. But on the whole Jack's been a very important part of our team. It's very difficult to get 50-goal forwards at his age. I think he's growing. We rate Jack very highly and he'll be part of our club for a long time we hope."
The Eagles also haven’t spoken to Fremantle small forward Hayden Ballantyne. The 29-year-old is contracted next season and Fremantle's list manager Brad Lloyd said on Monday that the Dockers were confident he would be playing for them in 2017.
Ballantyne is open to being traded to West Coast but the Eagles have other priorities at the moment.
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"He's someone that we're considering as we go along," Vozzo said.
"But at this stage our priority has to be with the talls. Whether he finds his way to our club who knows. But at this stage our priority is with the talls."
Vozzo confirmed that key defender Eric Mackenzie was a required player next season. The 2014 best and fairest has attracted interest from elsewhere but is contracted to the Eagles and they are keen to keep him.
Mitch Brown is exploring his options as an unrestricted free agent. His wife, Shae Brown, is a professional netballer and has signed to play with Collingwood in the new national competition, but Brown is yet to make a decision on his future.
