The Western Bulldogs have been informed by the management of Josh Dunkley of his preference to pursue a trade to the Essendon Football Club.

Josh is a required player at the Bulldogs, who has two years remaining on a contract which was extended by three years in June 2019.

Josh is a premiership player at the Club, he is a member of the leadership group, and he has been a strong and active ambassador for the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation and the Club’s commercial partners.

The Club has been in frequent dialogue with Josh and his management over the past few weeks, and reiterated its intention for him to remain a Western Bulldogs player.

Accordingly, the Bulldogs remain committed to improving our playing list through the Trade Period and the National Draft, to build on back-to-back seasons of playing in the AFL Finals.