A Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period Primer
It's the most, wonderful time, of the year.
That time of the year is almost upon us. ‘Silly season’, the time of year where fringe players have the value of Brownlow Medallists and Brownlow Medallists have almost no value at all.
This period is an important one for all football clubs, but there is even more significance placed on it for those in the position that Hawthorn finds themselves in, at the foot off the ladder and looking at ways to climb it.
What should the Hawks try to do?
The Hawks have already secured the commitment of Port Adelaide wingman Karl Amon, and he should get to the club on Friday as he exercises his rights as an Unrestricted Free Agent.
Hawthorn has an opportunity, should they play their cards right and certain things fall their way, to set themselves up for a fantastic National Draft, which in turn can help inject some punch into the rebuild that they find themselves on.
They can do that through the following:
Convince Brisbane that trading for Jack Gunston is in their best interests from a draft pick ‘points accumulation’ perspective
Brisbane has access to two high end F/S selections in Will Ashcroft and Jaspa Fletcher. The Lions will need to accumulate points in order to match any bids that will inevitably come for both players.
Ashcroft is expected to attract a bid in the top two while Fletcher could attract a bid in the top 15. Related to this, they are currently owed a compensation pick for the departure of forward Dan McStay, who is on the way to the Pies through free agency.
Hawthorn needs to be on the phone to the Lions offering Gunston and their Pick 24 for the Lions Pick 15. This protects the Lions incoming draft compensation, while allowing Hawthorn to move their second round pick into the back end of the first round.
Be ‘all in’ on the Jack Bowes trade
All of the talk around this trade has been rightly centred around the club who completes the deal obtaining another top 10 pick, with Gold Coast’s Pick 7 to be included in the salary dump style deal.
This is a must for Hawthorn, who are a rebuilding team in desperate need of more top end talent. The other thing that makes this deal attractive is that Jack Bowes can seriously play. Bowes was highly touted coming into the AFL, and although he has struggled to nail down a spot in the Suns line-up, he has shown enough promise to suggest that in the right environment he could flourish, and Hawthorn knows full well through Jack Scrimshaw that the change of scenery can do players the world of good.
The Hawks, through McKenzie and his team, need to throw a large contract at Bowes with the promise of plenty of opportunity for game time in his preferred position and hope that it is enough to convince him that Hawthorn is the team to nominate.
Trade Tom Mitchell to Collingwood for a reasonable return
The biggest question here is what does a reasonable return look like for a former Brownlow Medallist who has been played out of position for the past 12 months?
The gap between what Hawthorn fans want for Mitchell and what AFL media suggest Mitchell is worth is larger than the gap between the two sides of the Grand Canyon.
The truth, like always, will be somewhere in the middle. If Hawthorn can strike a deal that see’s Collingwood part with Caleb Poulter and a third-round draft pick (the Pies have 3 picks in the 3rd round at the moment) for Mitchell, that would be a win-win.
The deal would involve Hawthorn paying a portion of Mitchell’s salary for next year, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the Hawks, who will no doubt have plenty of room in the salary cap.
Find a way to make the Meek deal happen without giving up too much
If Hawthorn can make the above trades happen, they won’t have much to offer the Dockers for ruckman Lloyd Meek, but a future pick in the third round might just be enough for a ruckman who has shown promise in his limited opportunities at AFL but will struggle to get games in a team that could possibly have to fit in all of Sean Darcy, Luke Jackson and Rory Lobb heading into 2023.
What would that look like for the Hawks post Trade Period?
INS: Pick 7, Pick 15, Pick 47, Caleb Poulter, Lloyd Meek, Karl Amon
OUTS: Pick 24, Future 3rd Round Pick, Jack Gunston, Tom Mitchell
Everything would need to go right for the Hawks to end up with this kind of haul at the trade table, but it is exactly the sort of thing the Hawks need to do, and do creatively, in order to give the rebuild they are currently undertaking best chance of success.
The worst thing that could happen during this trade period is that the Hawks strike out on all their deals and don’t add draft picks to their current draft hand.
If this happens, it will indicate to me that the Hawks are not serious about rebuilding properly.
Alastair Clarkson and his recruiting team was ruthless with his list cuts in his first few seasons at the helm and these decisions helped the club build the foundations of what would be four premierships in eight years.
The reality is, the Hawks will need to take a step backwards before they can contemplate taking any steps forwards in the race to their next premiership.
