Hawthorn captain James Sicily is excited by the prospect of being joined in a beefed-up defensive unit by West Coast intercept specialist Tom Barrass next season.

And the exodus at Richmond has continued, with Liam Baker officially informing the club of his desire to return to Western Australia.

Baker is yet to nominate whether he wants to join West Coast or Fremantle, but the Eagles are believed to be the frontrunners for the out-of-contract 26-year-old, who is not a free agent.

Eagles vice-captain Barrass made his desire to be traded official on Tuesday, nominating the Hawks as his preferred destination.

It came despite the 28-year-old having three years to run on his contract.

Hawthorn have also been strongly linked to St Kilda defender Josh Battle after missing out last year on free agent Ben McKay, who left North Melbourne for Essendon.

Barrass has played 150 games for the Eagles and starred in their 2018 premiership.

Sicily insisted there is plenty to play out during the trade period, but he has been buoyed by the Hawks’ re-emergence as a destination club.

“I’m pretty excited by that prospect,” Sicily said on Wednesday.

“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge still, but that’s exciting that players are seeing Hawthorn as somewhere they want to be.

“That’s a good feeling.”

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell ramped up his pursuit of Barrass in July when he met with his former Eagles teammate in Perth.

Sicily has an existing relationship with Battle and could be used by the Hawks to sell the dream to the prospective recruit.

The Tigers are in danger of losing Baker, Daniel Rioli, Shai Bolton and Jack Graham during this year’s trade period.

Richmond triple-premiership player Rioli and Collingwood defender John Noble are both keen to move to Gold Coast.

Bolton, who is contracted until the end of 2028, wants to return to Western Australia and link up with Fremantle.

Baker’s request to also return home to WA could open up a bidding war between West Coast and Fremantle.

Although the Dockers are armed with three first-round picks, it’s expected they will be putting their focus into snaring an X-factor talent like Bolton or Sydney’s Chad Warner.

West Coast have plenty of salary cap space following the departures of Andrew Gaff, Shannon Hurn, Nic Naitanui and Luke Shuey over the past two years, and they could use the draft capital they receive as part of the Barrass trade to secure a deal for Baker.

Baker, with 128 games and two flags under his belt, looms as a perfect fit for the rebuilding Eagles, who are also keen to lure tackling machine Jack Graham.

Graham and Baker are close friends, which could play in West Coast’s favour in their attempt to lure both of them.

It’s not just players who are leaving wooden spooners Richmond, with assistant coach Kane Lambert informing the club of his desire to pursue a career away from football in 2025.

Meanwhile, speculation continues to swirl around Melbourne star Christian Petracca, who reportedly wants out of the club despite being contracted until the end of 2029.

The ongoing Petracca saga will be one of the biggest stories in the lead-up to this year’s trade period, which will be held in October.