Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade has labelled Callan Ward a future leader of the AFL club, as the Bulldogs try to persuade the talented youngster to reject a lucrative offer from Greater Western Sydney.

Ward has been offered a five-year deal from the Giants, believed to be worth close to $5 million, but Eade said the Dogs would do whatever they could to keep him.

"We're going as hard as we can with Callan," Eade said.

"He's an extremely valuable player, but we see him as a future leader of the club and we're doing everything in our power.

"We liken him to our Joel Selwood, where he's courageous, he's tough and he's young and we see him as a future leader of the club."

Eade said the Bulldogs were not angered that the Giants had approached Ward during the season.

"That's the system we live in, people know that, so there's no anger as such," he said.

The AFL has said that while players cannot be signed to contracts or heads of agreements with rival clubs during a season, they are free to be approached.

Despite the huge pay increase on offer for Ward if he leaves, Eade had high hopes that the midfielder, who grew up only a short distance from the club, would stay loyal.

"Being a local boy and how he's viewed at the club as a future leader, we're more than hopeful he'll stay," Eade said.

But the coach said the Dogs' coaching staff and players would not be pressuring Ward to sign on and would try to allow him to concentrate purely on his football.

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