Australian Football League footballer Paul Hasleby of the Fremantle is considering legal advice over a newspaper photograph showing part of his penis protruding from his shorts.

Early editions of the West Australian newspaper carried the photo, an action shot of the Docker, as part of a graphic ahead of the team’s match with the Western Bulldogs. The picture was airbrushed in later editions.

Twenty-one-year-old Hasleby, a gifted midfielder, is one of the club’s highest profile players.

His manager, Wayne Loxley, said he and the player met lawyers to consider Hasleby’s options, which included taking legal action against the newspaper. But after the meeting, Loxley would say only that Hasleby was “considering legal advice.”

Loxley said that Hasleby was annoyed at the publication of the photo.

It is unclear whether he saw the photo on the day of its publication or later.

A spokeswoman for the West Australian said the newspaper did not wish to comment until it was able to speak to Hasleby about the matter.

The Fremantle football club declined to comment, though an AFL spokesperson said the league considered the matter between the newspaper and the player.

In 1993, high-profile Sydney rugby league footballer Andrew Ettingshausen alleged locker-room photos in a magazine, which showed his penis, had defamed him.