Hawthorn was the busiest club of the AFL trade period and, ultimately, got all its deals done. But Fox Footy pundits have questioned whether the club’s moves truly complement their mid-rebuild status.
The Hawks were involved in six deals during the AFL exchange period, bringing in Jack Ginnivan from Collingwood, Jack Gunston from Brisbane, Mabior Chol from Gold Coast and Massimo D’Ambrosio from Essendon while also helping Tyler Brockman (West Coast), Jacob Koschitzke (Richmond) and Brandon Ryan (Brisbane) get to their preferred destinations.
Despite their array of trade activity, the Hawks were also able to retain their top natural selection (Pick 4), while banking points for father-son prospect Will McCabe – an athletic key defender who’s expected to attract a bid in the latter stages of the first round of next month’s draft.
But the Hawks also missed out on several other trade targets, with Esava Ratugolea choosing Port Adelaide, Ben McKay moving to Essendon and Liam Henry opting for St Kilda.
Speaking on Fox Footy’s Trading Day, dual All-Australian Leigh Montagna dubbed it “a bit of a hit and miss period for the Hawks”.
“The upside on some players, particularly Chol and Ginnivan, we know the talent is there. It’s just a question of consistency and doing it week-in, week-out at AFL level at a team that’s probably still a few years away from being a finals team,” Montagna told Trading Day.
“They went after the big fish, Ben McKay and Esava Ratugolea, and didn’t land them. They went after Liam Henry and didn’t land him, so it probably hasn’t been as successful a period as they’d like. They’ve lost Tyler Brockman, who I think has high upside as a small forward.”
The Hawks swooped on Ginnivan late in the trade period after reports emerged the Magpies were open to trading him – although the Pies claimed Ginnivan requested a move.
As part of the Ginnivan deal, the Hawks and Pies swapped second-round picks in both this year’s and next year’s draft, while the Pies upgraded their future fourth-round pick to Hawthorn’s future third-round pick.
Montagna said small forward Ginnivan was the type of player the Hawks needed, but questioned how he’d fare at a team not yet in the premiership window.
“They lost Tyler Brockman, so they were desperate for someone who can kick some goals and impact at ground level with Luke Breust getting towards the end of his career. It’s a smart decision by him (Ginnivan) and his camp to take up that offer,” Montagna said.
“I’m still not sold on Jack Ginnivan and how elite he’s going to be as a player. I know he came out of the blocks last year and kicked 19 goals in his first seven or eight games, but from that point he’s been about one goal a game, he’s a very low-pressure player, doesn’t win a lot of ball.
“If he kicks 35 goals-plus in a year, that’s a good year in a team that’s probably going to be in the bottom third of the ladder. Remember he’s been playing at a club that’s been winning most weeks, which is easier as a small forward. I think he’ll find it tough in this Hawthorn forward line.”
Dual premiership Kangaroo David King said Ginnivan loomed as a trade period “steal” for the Hawks, but warned the premiership Magpie had to “be more back page, less front page” at his new club.
King then questioned the Hawks’ acquisition of Gunston, who was traded back to the Hawks – the club he won three premierships at – just 12 months after he left them to join Brisbane as a free agent. He suggested Gunston’s
return went against the club’s list strategy and direction.
“I don’t understand it, to be blunt about it,” King told Trading Day.
“Jack Gunston has achieved everything in our game. It didn’t work out at Brisbane and he wanted to come home. I just wonder sometimes if your mentors get to you and say: ‘Mate, maybe you’re done, maybe you’ve had enough.’ I know he can play serious footy and he can probably have another four-goal game somewhere across the journey next year, but how many games does he take off the development hours around the edges at Hawthorn? That’s what concerns me.
“They’re on the fast-track model to rebuild in a two to three-year window – otherwise the heat is going to come on Sam Mitchell. I think he’ll look back at this decision (Gunston) in two to three years’ time and say: ‘Was it a good one or not?’ And they’re full-club decisions, not just Sam. But I just think the ruthless Hawthorn of old would’ve said ‘not for us’.”
Montagna said Gunston’s leadership for the young Hawks team was “probably going to be his biggest legacy going back to that football club”, but added Hawthorn’s willingness to trade him back in was curious.
“It’s an interesting one for me. We’ve spoken about where they’re at with their rebuild – and now they’ve gone and got someone who’s 32 years of age. It’s been an interesting decision by the Hawks,” he said.
The Hawks won the race for Chol, who chose Hawthorn over Adelaide and North Melbourne as his preferred destination after a 40-goal VFL season.
Chol was contracted to the Suns until the end of 2025 but played just eight AFL games in 2023, with star forward Ben King’s return creating a selection squeeze. He kicked a team-high 44 goals for the Suns’ AFL side in 2022 when King was sidelined through injury.
Montagna said the acquisition of Chol was “another big risk for me for Hawthorn”.
“There’s a reason he (Chol) has only played 60 games in eight years. He’s inconsistent, a lot of people have seen his effort fluctuate, he’s a guy that can kick goals when the team is going well,” Montagna said.
“We talk about Gunston coming back at 32, we know Luke Breust is 33, Chad Wingard is 30 – now they’re bringing in a 27-year-old who I’m quite not sold on.
“He’s shown he’s too good for VFL level, now he’s just got to do it week-in, week-out at AFL level.”
King added: “When you see Mabior come off with the blood rule or some significant bruising from bumps and crashing packs, that’s him at his best. Too often he’s tried to go out the back and be on the end of the chain to be the goalscorer.
“He’s been hard to re-program and Damien Hardwick knows exactly what he is and moved him on, which happens regularly when coaches get set on players.
“This is it. It’s a great position for Hawthorn to be in. They can say: ‘Mate not many clubs are going to come after this, so make this post a winner.”
King said the rebuilding Hawks were in a tough position but had the right pillars in place.
“They shocked everyone last season with how good they were during blocks in 2023 and played some serious footy against some really good teams,” he said.
“I’m not going to be too hard on them, because I think everything they said they were going to do they’ve ticked. It’s a slow burn. It’s so difficult to work your way back up the AFL table via the draft – and they’re living it right now. It’s a shocking place to be.
“They’ve managed to make absolute top-liners in (Will) Day and (Jai) Newcombe the pillars for this midfield and that looks terrific going forward, (James) Sicily has been a great leader for them down back. So it’s just more of the same. More training hours, more on-field minutes for some of these young players and let’s find out what sort of ceiling that they’ve got because they’ve got half a dozen kids that are going to become seriously good.”
