GWS CEO Dave Matthews says it’s “highly likely” the club will match Geelong’s bid for forward Jeremy Cameron.
The two clubs will be forced into a trade if the Giants match the Cats’ offer for Cameron who intends to exercise his right as a restricted free agent.
Geelong currently have three first-round picks in this year’s draft and Matthews believes Cameron is worth at least two first-round selections.
"It is disappointing, he is a foundation player and an outstanding young person,” Matthews told Sportsday on Monday night.
"If Geelong was bottom four, I don’t think he'd be going there, would he?
“It’s highly likely that we will match the offer, so the ball is in Geelong’s court to see if they can satisfy us with a trade.
"(Adam) Treloar and (Dylan) Shiel were worth two first-round picks and are both very good players, but key forwards are hard to find.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott spoke to Cameron prior to his decision to leave the Giants.
“It was welcome news from our end, but we’re really aware there’s a process that needs to be worked through and I think counting your chickens before they hatch is rarely a good policy,” Scott told Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“All clubs do that (speak with free agents). Most of the time that’s due diligence on the part of the player, more so the prospective club, and that’s been the case in my time in footy.
“We’ve had an interest in Jeremy for a long time, probably from the day he was eligible to play AFL footy. But in our process, I’m quite late to the party when it comes to those discussions.
“It’s only when there’s a really tangible possibility the player might move and they actually request they want to speak to the coach, as I think they should, that I get involved.
"So any discussions that were had before that, I wasn’t privy to, at least not specifically.”
Cameron, 27, has kicked 427 goals in 171 games for the Giants.