WESTERN Bulldogs president David Smorgon last night admitted he was ''not confident'' of retaining star 21-year-old Callan Ward against the weight of a substantial long-term offer from Greater Western Sydney.

Smorgon confirmed that club chiefs had met Ward's manager, Paul Connors, last week when the Bulldogs put forward their final bid to keep the talented youngster in the hope they would receive an indication either way of Ward's plans.

However, no indication was given and the Bulldogs now face for the second successive year the loss of one of their highly rated players to one of the new AFL franchises.

While it appeared a foregone conclusion from the start of the 2010 season that Jarrod Harbrow would join the Gold Coast, the Bulldogs made a concerted bid to keep Ward.

''I'm confident we have done everything we could within reason to keep Callan,'' Smorgon told The Age.

''But you've got to be responsible to the needs of your entire list and we couldn't have done any more.

''You never know … he's a local boy.''

GWS has refused to comment on potential signings in recent days with Melbourne's No. 1 draft pick Tom Scully also highly favoured to move to the new club at the end of the season.