Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) captain Liam Duggan says Eagles fighting hard for Yeo amid Crows interest

Waalitj Marawar (West Coast) captain Liam Duggan is holding out hope the Eagles can secure the future of premiership midfielder Elliot Yeo as rival clubs come knocking. Yeo is currently in a stand-off with the Eagles over his future at the club with multiple rivals circling to secure the midfield bull including a reported monster deal from Kuwarna (Adelaide) worth up to $2.7 million over three years. The 30-year-old, two-time All-Australian wants a longer-term deal than the reported two years on offer from the Eagles with Waalitj Marawar hesitant to commit given his recent injury history. Yeo has missed the past two games due to a groin injury and has played just 37 games in the previous four seasons but was in career-best form prior to his latest setback. He is also seen as a valuable mentor for rising star Harley Reid with Duggan saying Yeo is still central to the club’s plans. “It’s been a lot of chatter,” he said on 92.9 Triple M. “Yeo-y is a much-required player for us, I think he’s back to his best. We’ve missed him on the field over the last few years and we’re really keen for him to stay with us. “I’m hoping that works itself out over the next couple of months for us.” Duggan’s comments come as Kuwarna coach Matthew Nicks downplayed the clubs’ links to Yeo but warned they will be as active as ever in the transfer market. “It has been talked about a lot. We seem to be linked with a lot of players around, we seem to be in every deal at the moment - that’s OK,” he said. “But we don’t talk about that space, which makes it hard then when maybe we’re not actually involved to come out and say we’re not. “We just don’t talk about players ... that are playing at other footy clubs. “But what I can say to you is we are active like every other club in the competition ... we’ll be as active as we’ve ever been.” Yeo is likely to return to the field this weekend to face the Crows on Sunday and should he provide a starring performance could put more pressure on the Eagles to up their offer.