AFL trade and free agency 2022: What’s next for Hawthorn after snaring Karl Amon
One part of Hawthorn’s job is done after snaring free agent Karl Amon. Next they will turn to who they might let go and warding off rival trade pursuits.
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Karl Amon’s decision to nominate Hawthorn is the result of the environment Sam Mitchell has created and the ample salary cap room at the rebuilding Hawks.
Why wouldn’t you want to play in a Hawthorn with an up-tempo attractive brand of football with an innovative coach whose players seem to be relishing the atmosphere?
As revealed by News Corp this year, Amon was always leaving Port Adelaide and was always nominating Hawthorn on a deal of around $650,000 despite St Kilda and Melbourne’s interest.
Amon is a free agent, and while he was actually dropped this year, he ended up with uncannily identical numbers to a 2021 year in which he was in the All Australian 40.
His kicking efficiency was down but he averaged 92 ranking points (92 last year), 23.6 possessions (23.6 last year), 488 metres gained (482 last year), 15.5 kicks (15.4 last year) and 5.3 score involvements (5.5 last year).
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In other words, he is a significant upgrade on Tom Phillips on a four-year deal and can ply his trade opposite either Harry Morrison (21 mostly excellent games) or even Will Day in coming years.
This year the Hawks discovered Mitch Lewis as a bona fide key forward (37 goals in 15 games, an average of 2.5 per game) while Jai Newcombe, Dylan Moore and Harry Morrison took big steps.
Full back James Blanck was a mid-season find, Emerson Jeka got a taste of action and Connor McDonald played 20 games of real promise.
Clearly getting more injury-free games out of Day and helping Denver Grainger-Barrass emerge as the intercept marking star he seemed as a junior are clear priorities.
For all that, a Hawthorn side that has now been bottom four for stoppages in the past four years was this year 18th for clearance differential.
Rivals will want to drag free agent Jack Gunston (32 goals) and Luke Breust (40 goals, contracted but open to offers) out of the club at trade period but moving on Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell would better serve the club’s needs.
So the challenge will be offering Gunston a big enough deal to resist rival deals and holding the line on Breust while rejuvenating the midfield using some left-field methods.
The Hawks will surely again draft a midfielder with their first pick (it will be No. 7 after the Lions match a Will Ashcroft bid), with Newcombe a star and last November’s No. 7 pick Josh Ward sure to get more chances next year.
Dylan Moore got legitimate centre bounce minutes in the back half of the year — he averaged four clearances in the last seven weeks.
Finn Maginness became a tagger, while Conor Nash played 21 games averaging 15 possessions.
James Worpel’s year ended in July with a shoulder reconstruction so can he be part of the future or part of a trade solution that sees the Hawks increase their trade hand?
It is hard to see O’Meara or Mitchell having any trade value, or having the tricks to reinvent their midfield ways.
If Gunston and Breust leave alongside the retiring Ben McEvoy, there is the real chance the Hawks could go backwards in terms of wins while still pumping valuable games into the next tier.
So the Hawks are in interesting spot, having moved on from last year’s aborted fire sale with an early free agency win.
Amon alone won’t fix their midfield issues so the Hawks need to get cracking with trades and the national draft, because Mitchell’s honeymoon period won’t last forever.
It’s official: Power star chooses Hawks as club of choice
Port Adelaide wingman Karl Amon has officially chosen Hawthorn as his free agency destination in a big win for Sam Mitchell’s Hawks.
As revealed by the Herald Sun last month Amon has decided the Hawks were his club of choice and a better fit than St Kilda, where his mother worked in indigenous programs.
The Power have long accepted that they would not attempted to match what is expected to be a four year deal on around $650,000, given they have players like Miles Bergman, Lachie Jones and Xavier Duursma who can play in that position.
As an unrestricted free agent the Power could not officially match any free agency deal but they were happy to secure any free agency compensation that came from his departure.
They will hope to secure an end-of-first round pick, with his deal unlikely to secure a selection after their initial first round selection.
After early struggles this year Amon, in the All Australian 40 last year, rebounded with an excellent vein of form with 520 possessions although he kicked 8.15 for the year.
Bergman has interest from Victorian clubs and would consider a trade but might have to wait until he comes out of contract next year to secure a return home.
The Power are extremely well placed to secure Bulldogs mid forward Josh Dunkley, who has been offered a respectable deal at the Dogs but seems more likely to join Ken Hinkey’s Power.
The Hawks hope to keep Luke Breust but might have to offer him an extension past 2023 while Liam Shiels has been linked to North Melbourne. A decision from Jack Gunston about his playing future as a free agent has been pushed back because of the passing of father with the Hawks hopeful of keeping him but clubs including Brisbane circling.
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