Schultz, 25, has enjoyed a career-best year for the Dockers, but on Monday informed the club of his request to be traded to reigning premier Collingwood, as reported by The Age.
Having kicked 33 goals this season from 23 games, Schultz was set to be out-of-contract at season’s end, before triggering a one-year extension that has him contracted to the Dockers until the end of 2024.
A two-time Glendinning-Allan medallist, awarded to the player best afield in the Western Derby, Schultz has played 90 games for Fremantle after being selected from Williamstown’s VFL outfit with the 57th pick in the 2018 draft.
Schultz kicked a career-high 5.2 in round 22 this season against West Coast, for which he earned his second Glendinning-Allan medal.
Whether or not the trade is executed remains to be seen, with the small forward regarded highly at Fremantle for his forward pressure, rated as elite this season for forward 50 tackles with just shy of two per game.
Collingwood is in need of a player such as Schultz, with Jack Ginnivan falling out of favour in Craig Macrae’s side in the second half of the year, playing just 14 games, although he did earn a recall for the grand final.
A junior star for Moama, Schultz remains the only player to be named best on ground in a losing side in a Murray League grand final, kicking three goals as a 17-year-old in the Magpies’ three-point loss to Nathalia in 2015.
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