St Kilda coach Alan Richardson has rubbished claims that Fremantle superstar Nat Fyfe is set to join his club at the end of the season.
Brad Fitzgerald, co-host of the Carmen & Fitzi program on WA-based radio station 96FM, caused a stir on Monday when he claimed a multimillion dollar deal between the Saints and Fyfe had already been informally agreed to.
He cited an unnamed St Kilda board member as his source.
"I knew it was wrong. In all reality, I don't want to give it much oxygen because it was so far off the mark," Richardson told Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night.
"It's pretty disappointing really that there was an accusation that a board member had spoken to someone and so that's the disappointing part.
"The rest of it is just laughable really given that we know where it all sits."
"There is potential for a little bit of mud to stick and for fans to go 'Gee, what are they doing down there when board members are potentially speaking?'
"And that's so far from the truth. We've got an outstanding board, they would be disappointed with that."
Fyfe's management company also insisted the rumour was completely baseless.
"Stride Sports Management can 100 per cent deny the rumour circulating today that Nat Fyfe has formally or informally agreed to a contract to play with the St Kilda Football Club next year and beyond," a statement read.
"Furthermore, we can confirm that Nat Fyfe remains focused on the start of the season with the Fremantle Football Club and remains committed to the Fremantle Football Club in 2017.
"We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage the football public to check the credibility of their news and the person behind it."
Speculation has been rife that Fyfe is keen on continuing his career in Victoria.
The 25-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and eligible for restricted free agency, meaning the Dockers have the right to match any potential offers made to their star midfielder.
Fyfe has made it clear that he won't address his contract status until the second half of the season and will deal with Fremantle first before potentially testing the market.
Under AFL rules, clubs can't make offers to free agents until the official free agency period starts in October.
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