Cashed-up Hawthorn will have a big crack at free agency targets

ST KILDA and North Melbourne won’t be the only clubs making big-money plays in this year’s trade and free agency period. Hawthorn also has a wallet full of cash ready to open.

HAWTHORN made clear its list management plans last year.

When coach Alastair Clarkson and talent expert Graham Wright mapped out a path to its next premiership, they considered two options.

First was the traditional five-year route of bottoming-out, going back to the draft and loading up on top young talent, as they did beautifully in 2004-05 with two extra priority draft picks.

Second was to use free agency and aggressively trade in an attempt to springboard back up the ladder from next year onwards.

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That’s the track Hawthorn took, meaning the club’s bold trade moves didn’t end with Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell last year.

For the second season in a row, Hawthorn is expected to be a big player in trades to help re-set the foundations for another attempted push back towards the top-four — if they’re good enough.

There’s a lot of focus on St Kilda and North Melbourne’s big-money plays for Greater Western Sydney jet midfielder Josh Kelly and Richmond’s Dustin Martin.

But Hawthorn will also have significant room in its salary cap. And the brown and gold wallet will be open.

Paul Puopolo could leave the Hawks. Picture: Getty Images

It is looking like champion Luke Hodge and two-time best and fairest winner Josh Gibson will put their feet up next year, while livewire Paul Puopolo could join Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis at a new club.

Puopolo, 29, is contracted for another year, but has attracted rival interest.

Those potential departures would clear up $1 million for Hawthorn, before adding the 20 per cent salary cap increase as part of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Topping Hawthorn’s list of targets at the end of the year is Gold Coast key defender Steve May and Fremantle wrecking ball Nat Fyfe.

Western Bulldogs’ president Peter Gordon hit the nail on the head at the weekend when he said “we are going to see a real revolution in the way lists are managed”.

“Every club in the competition is thinking, ‘Hang on, we’ve got two to three million dollars that I can play with here’.

“When people talk about North Melbourne trying to acquire Josh Kelly and Dustin Martin, it’s with the view that they can do that and catapult themselves into premiership consideration.

“Maybe we’re in for a period where we are going to see more uncertainty and major disruptions to lists both ways than we’ve ever seen before.”

Gold Coast defender Steven May is likely to be on top of Hawthorn’s wish list. Picture: Getty Images

Clubs are gearing up towards becoming more aggressive and Hawthorn set the trend last year when it paved the way for Mitchell and Lewis’s departures.

Would it surprise if there were more bombshells in store? Surely not.

Of course, Hodge would be given the respect he deserves as one greatest and most successful players of the modern era, if not longer.

There will be a Hodge statue at the new Dingley training base.

Clearly, May would be the perfect replacement for Gibson.

May has not yet re-signed at Gold Coast because he wants to see the side show it can be a successful side before he recommits.

Same goes with unsigned Fyfe. He is a free agent, but the Dockers would have the capacity to match any restricted free agency offer up to about $1.3, potentially forcing a trade like Adelaide did with Geelong for Patrick Dangerfield.

There is a lot to play out, but it’s unlikely the Hawks are going to base their rebuild on going back to the draft, when their first selection next year will be in the second round.

As Gordon said, welcome to the new age of premiership planning.