Jack Gunston to benefit from Jon Patton’s arrival in Hawks forward line, says Dermott Brereton
Dermott Brereton knows what new Hawk Jon Patton can do. And the club legend thinks, with the help of some recent draft bargains, the former Giant can help the Hawthorn forward line become something special.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Jon Patton’s arrival at Hawthorn should allow Jack Gunston to return to his All-Australian best, according to the Hawks legend who coached him at GWS.
Hawthorn five-time premiership star Dermott Brereton said Patton had been typecast as a stay-at-home forward but was more than capable of roaming further afield.
Patton has been training at the Hawks for several weeks ahead of his official arrival date, confident he can display the form that saw him kick 45 goals in 2017.
Stream over 50 sports Live & On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
Coming off three knee reconstructions, Patton was effectively warehoused by mutual decision this year to protect him ahead of signing a three-year deal with the Hawks.
Hawks football boss Graeme Wright said the club’s fitness and medical bosses were only holding him back from full training as they learn about his body given a full summer ahead.
Patton spent the off-season staying fit with boxing sessions and could be a masterful recruit for the Hawks if he can churn out a full season.
Brereton said the Hawks had struck paydirt with two late selections – Mitch Lewis at pick 76 and best-and-fairest winner James Worpel at No.45.
It means Clarkson now has an array of flexible talents at his disposal and can play Gunston as a third tall again after having to step up with Jarryd Roughead playing VFL for much of 2019.
“What people don’t understand about Jonny is they see this great big hulking fellow who has a huge body shape and you get a perception of what he can and can’t do,” he said.
“He has very good agility, he is very light on his feet so he’s a lot more mobile than people give him credit for.
“What they will do is use Gunston the way they did in their halcyon years where he could play on a wing and then drift forward, they have scope to do that a bit more.
“It will give the coach more scope to manipulate Gunston to advantage.
“I get the feeling Mitch Lewis has come out a little better than they thought he might have.
“They are now of the realisation ‘We have got something pretty special on our hands here’.
“So with two monster-sized key forward in Mitch Lewis and Jon Patton you can have your four mobile players and it means Gunston can literally play as a mobile, roaming, go-anywhere player you can exploit through the midfield as well.”
Hawthorn traded certain No.2 pick Noah Anderson’s father Dean 17 games short of the 100-game eligibility for father-son picks because with Brereton’s body breaking, they needed more tall cover.
But the Hawks will take their first selection at pick 11 and then almost certainly secure father-son midfielder Finn Maginness with a later selection.
MORE FOOTY:
AFL draft 2019: Recruiter Gary Buckenara reveals types of players every club should be targeting
How far away is your AFL club from tasting premiership glory?
Melbourne’s No.3 the best pick in this year’s AFL draft, history shows
Brereton said securing future stars with late picks was critical in an era with such exposed form from Under-18 players.
“Will they win the premiership? They won’t, I can’t see them winning the premiership but they will be a surprise packet. They will probably drop one or two games along the way to teams which they shouldn’t but Mitch Lewis is a lot better than they anticipated and picking up Worpel in the 40s who becomes their reigning best-and-fairest winner, his name sits next to some great players at that club Worpel is infinitely better than they had suspected he might be. So they have had two huge wins from later in the draft.”