Isaac Smith waiting on call on his future as Hawthorn set to make crucial decisions on some of its most decorated stars
Hawthorn has to make some big decisions on some of the club’s favourite sons at the end of the season, and one says he is waiting to find out if he will be up for trade.
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Three-time Hawthorn premiership player Isaac Smith remains in the dark about his future, saying he is unsure whether he has played his last game with the club after being ruled out for the rest of the 2020 season.
Smith hasn’t played since injuring his shoulder in Round 11, and has now aborted any comeback hopes for the club’s two final games.
The 31-year-old unrestricted free agent said the future of a number of Hawks veterans remained unclear, given the club’s ageing list, its worst season under coach Alastair Clarkson’s rule and the lack of certainty around AFL list sizes and the salary cap in 2021.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure what’s going on, we’ll just wait and see,” Smith on RSN Breakfast on Wednesday.
“There hasn’t been much talk about that stuff at the moment.
“I think especially as an older player that’s over 30 at Hawthorn and what’s happened this year, we’re all just waiting to see what’s going to happen.
“There’s certainly been a change in direction and we’re seeing a lot of the younger guys get opportunities.
“I am sure we will have list changes, but no one is sure where it sits at the moment.”
Smith resisted the temptation to leave the Hawks during last year’s trade period when a number of clubs made informal enquiries to his management group.
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Asked if he expected the interest of a rival club to come again this year, Smith said: “I guess so, I don’t know, we’ll just wait and see.
“We’re not 100 per cent sure what’s going on, the AFL hasn’t announced what size the list sizes will be”
The Hawks have won only four games this season and only one from their past 10 games in interstate hubs.
Smith had been hoping to return from his injury in the back end of the season with games to come against the Bulldogs and Gold Coast to come. But the injury has proven more troublesome than first thought.
“Initially we thought it was a 2-4 week injury and it’s stretched out to a 6-7 week injury,” he said.
“It’s disappointing, you’d love to be running out there and helping the boys, especially with the way we’re going.”
Smith has been one of Hawthorn’s most consistent players since his 2011 debut, playing 210 games for the club.
He was a key member of the club’s 2013-15 flag threepeat, but injury has cruelled his 2021 season.
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Uncertainty surrounding list sizes for next year could put players’ potential farewell games on hold in a fortnight.
Hawthorn is one club weighing up big decisions on a number of veterans including Shaun Burgoyne, 37, Paul Puopolo, 32, Ricky Henderson, James Frawley, and Ben Stratton (31).
Premiership great Jordan Lewis, who finished his career at Melbourne, said Luke Breust, 29, and Jack Gunston, 28, should be given the chance to extend their careers at another club next year if the Hawks are going down the rebuild path.
Rivals are also expected to circle Isaac Smith, 31, while Ben McEvoy, 31, has showcased his durability and versatility playing 14 games in defence and in the ruck this season.
The Hawks sent Jarryd Roughead off in fine style last year when the former captain slotted six goals against a hapless Gold Coast in his final game in Round 22.
But with clubs still in the dark about their list sizes for next year and a potential salary cap reduction, list managers are in a difficult position of having to delay many big calls until after the final regular season game in two weeks.
Club chiefs have heard industry speculation list sizes will be reduced to 40, but that number has not been confirmed by the league and may not be finalised until after non-finalists leave their hubs.
It means some players could play their final games against the Suns in Round 18 without any clarity on their contract status for 2021.
While Puopolo is tipped to retire, Burgoyne will be a more difficult decision considering his fabulous leadership and silken ball use.
Respected football manager Graham Wright said the uncertainty over list numbers and total player payments “makes it difficult to make all of your decisions” about the list and this year’s draft.
“It is hard to know how many draft picks you want to have when you don’t even know how many players you can have on your list,” Wright said.
“So there is so much of the unknown.”
Premiership heroes Puopolo and Burgoyne are most likely to be offered farewell games if they want to say goodbye in one of the last two regular season games against Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast in his home town of Adelaide.
Burgoyne is one of the most decorated and respected figures in Hawthorn’s history and an off-field role looks likely when he retires to continue his magnificent legacy at Waverley.
Puopolo has played four games for one goal this season and has been out of the side since Round 6, but played a pivotal role in their premiership era in 2013-15.
But the Hawks are moving in a new direction.
The club is out of finals contention and played one of its youngest sides in recent memory against the Saints with an average age of 24, which was about an average three years younger per player than the club’s Round 3 team that toppled Richmond by 32 points.
The Hawks are light-on for key defenders and lost James Sicily to a knee reconstruction, which could enhance James Frawley’s hopes of being offered another contract for next season.
The brilliant Burgoyne is out of contract at season’s end and will have an off-field role at the club when he hangs up the boots.
He was left out of the team which pushed St Kilda on Sunday.
Wingman Ricky Henderson played all possible seven games – off the back of a career-best 2019 – before surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee ended his season early.
Lewis said there “would be conversations going on” at the football club about the veterans’ futures.
“The players who are at the end of their career, I think that is an easy decision just because of the position Hawthorn are in,” Lewis said on SEN.
“I think the hard decision is where, say, the players from the 28-32 (age bracket), if Hawthorn say they are thinking they’re not going to challenge over the next three to four years, or do they give those players – like we have seen in the past – the option to move on?
“You’ve got to think about Gunston and Bruest, players who have three to four years of their career left – giving them the ability to go elsewhere and have more success if they need to.”
MORE HAWTHORN NEWS:
St Kilda v Hawthorn: Brett Ratten defends Saints’ tactics following Alastair Clarkson criticism
AFL 2020: Hawthorn’s stunning defeat to previous winless Adelaide should fast-track rebuild
AFL 2020: Hawthorn will ‘trial things’ with finals chances gone but won’t make 2021 decisions yet
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