MITCHELL WOODCOCK: West Coast Eagles need to use future picks in a Swans deal to land Chad Warner next year

West Coast fans have been left fuming by the club trading away pick No.3 in a trade period shock.

And the only way to calm them down might be luring Chad Warner west this time next year.

But bringing the Sydney star home could hinge on a massive gamble by the Eagles as they look to finalise a deal with Hawthorn for Tom Barrass.

West Coast’s trade of pick No.3 for uncontracted pair Liam Baker and Matt Owies, as well as pick 12, in a three-club deal with Carlton and Richmond has left supporters furious.

The Hawks put the Eagles in a precarious position when they called their bluff and traded away pick No.14 to Carlton despite it being the centrepiece for a potential Barrass trade.

It has left Hawthorn with two future first-rounders and two future second-rounders, with one of each linked to them and Carlton.

They have reportedly tabled one of each to the Eagles in exchange for Barrass, despite West Coast wanting two first-round picks for the defender who is contracted for a further three seasons.

They are unlikely to get that asking price given Barrass is 29 and has admitted he has a bad back that could prematurely end his career.

This means West Coast could be forced to settle for the Hawks’ offer of a future first and second-round pick for the defender.

And it leaves them mulling over who will finish lower on the ladder in 2025 — a Hawthorn side that made a semifinal and has added only more talent or a Carlton outfit led by a dual Brownlow medallist and with two Coleman medallists in attack.

It’s an unenviable decision, but one that could prove critical as it could be part of a deal that lands the Eagles an out-of-contract Warner this time next year.

If the Eagles can somehow turn their trade of Barrass into Warner, who would play alongside the likes of Harley Reid, Baker, Elijah Hewett, Elliot Yeo and Tim Kelly, then the situation isn’t as bad as it seems.

But if they have handed away a top pick in what experts consider to be the latest super draft, only to miss out on Warner in 12 months time and be stuck with a pick in the late teens, then frustration is only going to grow.

It’s a situation very much of the Eagles’ own doing and an incredible gamble by new list boss Matt Clarke and chief executive Don Pyke.

And it could be the defining point in what is already a tough rebuild.