The Footy Boss: An in-depth look at all things Hawthorn
Hawthorn may have missed out on Zach Merrett in the trade period, but they are getting a huge boost elsewhere heading into next season. Get an in-depth insight into the Hawks here.
Hawthorn was all over the news this year when reports of meetings the club, including coach Sam Mitchell, held with rival captains like Zach Merrett and Oscar Allen.
Ultimately, the Hawks won Merrett’s commitment but couldn’t complete the trade, while Allen went to Brisbane as a free agent.
In-season meetings with players are being spoken about more and more in this era of increased player movement and this is how they come together, what is discussed and why I think Hawthorn deserves some respect for not buckling in trade talks over Merrett.
WOOING A STAR
During the season, list managers work really closely with player agents to understand who is available.
Bye weeks during the season are busy periods where maybe a player would return home for a long weekend and can often meet clubs through that time.
It is the list manager’s job to work with the agent and show their interest and get to a position where they are ready to meet, then they would co-ordinate the senior coach.
As influential as the list manager is, potential recruits want to sit in front of the senior coach and hear it all from them.
It would be a waste of time having a number of meetings without the senior coach present and leading the conversation.
As a list manager you want to see the coach and the player hit it off and have a good strong discussion on the role they can play for the team. It works both ways, the coach will want to get a good feel for the player as well.
If that all goes to plan, the agent and the list manager can start talking about what a contract may look like and any other due diligence they need to tick off.
As an agent, if you are going to be putting your player through that you want to be confident you can get the deal done and you need to have trust that they are going to execute because the agent is going out on a limb with their player.
You need to read the situation, some players will want the full list management presentation to answer key questions for the club like “Where have you been?”, “Where are you now?” and “Where are you heading?”.
Some other players are not wired that way and it is more relationship based.
You can have an impact in a meeting through understanding what makes the player tick and what they will respond to.
You often take guidance from the agent on the best way to approach the player and more often than not it will be in a relaxed but professional environment where they can get to know each other.
There will come a time where it needs to be a bit more formal, where you can get into the nitty gritty of where the team is at.
Clearly, the meetings Hawthorn held with Allen and Merrett became public reasonably quickly.
Ideally it doesn’t get out but you need to be prepared that it may so you take every single precaution and that is where meetings will rarely be at a club, they will be at a private residence or somewhere that is off the grid a bit where you can meet privately.
You are putting trust in all parties that it remains confidential. As they are testing the waters, if there is any risk of it getting out, they may decide against having the meeting.
At some stage though the player is going to have to meet if they truly want to explore their options.
Even though Hawthorn were discussed most, all clubs would be having meetings with players across the year.
Their fans would be happy with them being aggressive but I would think they are no different to most clubs trying to land players.
I think it is always a balance with these types of players. They put in a strong offer and said they ended up having good conversation and dialogue with Essendon, but unfortunately weren’t able to get it done.
I respect that the Hawks had their ‘walk away point’.
It would have been just as easy to give another pick over and make sure it happened, but I respect the fact they had their position and didn’t buckle when the whole football world thought it was their job to get Merrett in.
There is often talk in the industry that you ‘have’ to land the player when you get their commitment.
Everyone wants you to get that player – the board, the players are all excited. The player manager and the trade target themselves are all-in on the move.
It takes a lot of discipline to look at that decision with clear eyes and thought process and decide you have gone far enough.
The whole football world would have been egging Hawthorn on to finalise that trade and it would have been an easier way to go but they stuck with their strategy and discipline.
Time will tell whether it was the right call or not and we will see how they use the picks they held on to.
LIST OVERVIEW
IN:nil
OUT:James Worpel (Geelong), Changkuoth Jiath (Melbourne), Jai Serong (Sydney), Luke Breust (retired), Sam Frost, Jasper Scaife, Seamus Mitchell (delisted)
LIST GAPS
Hawthorn seem really in the market now to land a big player.
They have had a few goes with the reported 11-year offer for Harley Reid and nearly got Merrett.
Bailey Humphrey was someone that was mentioned they did their due diligence on but Gold Coast weren’t prepared to talk about a trade.
Hawthorn has been through the draft and are getting to the pointy end of the ladder and are now being quite aggressive.
It is a sliding doors moment.
Merrett doesn’t necessarily go to the top of Hawthorn’s list for next year – I think Zak Butters is the player that might be the new No. 1 target.
When you are trying to bring in those big-name players, you start with a wider net and bring that in and end up having a couple of targets.
In the end you need to be all-in and part of the skill of list management is making sure if you are all-in on a player, you are every chance to get the deal done.
They got very close but ended up declining Essendon’s final offer.
James Worpel is someone who went under the radar a bit but he has played some really good football for Hawthorn and is a best-and-fairest winner. He seems a quality clubman and the sort of player that the coach knows what they will get when they send him out. They will miss him now he is at Geelong and he has been a strong servant for the club.
Cam Mackenzie’s name kept coming up but Hawthorn values him and likes his size and his hands, so he remained at the club.
Jai Serong was a player that seems a level above the VFL, having won two-best-and-fairests. He is 22 years old and can play on a wing or down back and gets an opportunity at Sydney.
LIST STRENGTHS
Hawthorn’s list runs deep of not only stars but of high-end AFL players.
Players like Blake Hardwick are often not valued strongly outside of the club but would be held in very high regard internally.
DRAFT HAND – 10, 22, 62, 76
When you miss a player like Merrett, in those circumstances it can be disappointing but it can end up being the best thing that happened to you.
Potentially a player they draft using the picks not traded for Merrett could end up being a captain of their football club.
There are sliding doors moments and sometimes they can be a blessing.
These days there are so many more options in terms of future picks so there is more scope to do a deal.
List manager Mark McKenzie made some good points after the trade period that the market value should really stay the same for high quality players but because picks could be traded two years in advance, clubs are actually asking for more.
The value of these players has gone up by the availability of picks, so clubs are having to adjust their thought process with this movement in value.
Previously players may have been valued higher but clubs had to take less because those they were dealing with didn’t have the picks.
SALARY CAP
Hawthorn clearly has room for a big fish. When you miss out on these players it gives you a chance to bank that money and be flexible with your total player payments to start positioning yourself for a crack at a player the following year.
They appear set to be another dangerous proposition next trade period.
I think total player payment wise, it is a very good year to be a top end player, with the TPP uplift going on, clubs all seem to have a bit of money spare at this point.
HIGH PERFORMANCE CHECK-IN
The Hawks have now shifted to a new home at Dingley.
Moving in to a new facility with a purpose-built high performance centre and multiple ovals, in a location that is still close for people on that side of the city, is an enormous competitive advantage for Hawthorn.
There are other clubs that are currently working out what their set-up looks like. Dingley will give a really stable base for Hawthorn for decades to come and will give the players real boost.
The Hawks would have worked with experts on the design of the facility to tailor it culturally. Even just the flow of the way people work and interact with each other each day, it is going to be a huge change.
We have seen teams can compete with facilities that aren’t at this level but it is still a significant opportunity for them.
THE COACH’S BOX
Daniel Giansiracusa has come in from Essendon. He has been highly sought after, with Collingwood showing interest but he settled at Hawthorn.
He is a smart, modern day coach who would have made a decision based on where he can grow and he has taken on the role as head of development.
Giansiracusa replaced Andy Collins, who is a significant out, having gone to Port Adelaide.
Andy has done an enormous apprenticeship at state leagues and been in the AFL system for a number of years now.
Each club approaches the head of development role a little differently but generally it is a bit of a different role to an assistant coach, who works with senior players really closely.
They oversee game development and skill development of the playing list, it is a bit more of a management role than a line coach.
David Mirra takes over as the VFL coach – David had a significant VFL career being a Norm Goss medallist as best afield in Box Hill’s 2018 premiership.
He put in long hours as a player to make the grade as a mature AFL player and has put in a long coaching apprenticeship to now get an opportunity as the VFL coach, with Zane Littlejohn leaving Box Hill for North Melbourne.
FRONT OFFICE
Hawthorn left its spiritual home at Glenferrie Oval in 2006 for Waverley and have now moved on to Dingley.
Ideally we would all like to stay at a spiritual home but some of the clubs start off in great locations and they face obstacles when they build on that, especially when you are hoping to create a big facility with a couple of ovals.
In general, you either compromise and stay in the inner city at your spiritual home or you move out further and have it all.
Some of the clubs that face significant challenges in developing their home base have decided to move such as Essendon moving away from Windy Hill and Fremantle moving from Fremantle Oval to Cockburn.
It will be interesting to see how Hawthorn’s new home is received across the league and if more clubs follow suit.
I think CEO Ash Klein is doing a terrific job for Hawthorn and would have had his hands full in the shift to Dingley.
Originally published as The Footy Boss: An in-depth look at all things Hawthorn
Swans’ camp gets awkward — thanks to a kid’s innocent question
