COLLINGWOOD has turned its attention to contracted Western Bulldogs defender Marcus Adams as it ramps up its efforts to bolster its key defensive stocks.

The Magpies remain firmly in the race for Steven May but, with Melbourne and Hawthorn also chasing the Gold Coast captain, they are keen to explore alternative options after West Coast spearheads Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling exposed their backline in the second half of last Saturday's Grand Final.

AFL.com.au understands the Pies are looking at Adams as they contemplate starting 2019 without injured defender Lynden Dunn and while uncertainty continues around Darcy Moore's future at the club.

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Signed to the end of 2020, Adams is on the radar of several Victorian clubs, with the West Australian considering a fresh start away from the Dogs.

It is believed the Western Bulldogs are aware of Adams' desire to explore a move, although the defender is yet to formally request a trade.

Adams, 25, was restricted to six games in 2018, his year disrupted by ankle and shoulder injuries.

Taken as a mature-age player in the 2015 NAB AFL Draft, the 192cm backman has played 27 games in three seasons, with foot problems disrupting his first two years.

Adams requested a trade home to Western Australia at the end of 2016 before agreeing to fulfill the final season of his initial two-year contract with the Bulldogs.

In May 2017, Adams re-signed with the Dogs for a further three years.

Meanwhile, Collingwood and May's other suitors are waiting on him to decide whether the rest of his career lies in Victoria, where he spent time at boarding school, or the Gold Coast.

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The 26-year-old is due to become a free agent in 2019 and the Suns are looking for him to make a long-term commitment to the club.

If he does not, Gold Coast could be open to trading him but only if it is offered a deal commensurate to the compensation it would receive if he left as a free agent next year – almost certainly an early first-round pick.

May was spotted looking at houses in Melbourne last week, but is yet to make up his mind.

Collingwood has had an offer on the table for Moore since the start of the season, however the athletic defender has been reluctant to recommit amid interest from Sydney.

Moore's manager, Liam Pickering, suggested on Saturday it was up to the Magpies to break the deadlock, saying, "The ball is in Collingwood's court."

Defender Tom Langdon, who impressed during the 2018 finals series, also remains out-of-contract along with fellow Grand Final players Levi Greenwood and Brody Mihocek.