One problem Hayden Ballantyne has is that he might be booed in next year's first Western Derby...by both sets of supporters!

Another - and one that should worry him far more - is how he goes back to Fremantle and acts as if his trade request to West Coast never happened.

The strong mail is that Ballantyne wanted out of Freo because he'd had enough of Nat Fyfe. Whether or not the pair can put that behind them and co-exist productively in 2017 remains to be seen.

Ballantyne is at a precarious point. He's headed into the last year of a well-paid deal that he negotiated during what became an All-Australian season in 2014. After a couple of years in which he's hardly set the world on fire, he needs a big season if he's going to get a contract for 2018, at any club.