James Sicily chimes in on Tom Barrass requesting trade to Hawthorn
Hawthorn have won the race for Tom Barrass, but James Sicily has warned there’s a long way to go before an official deal is done. Plus the Hawks captain chimes in on Josh Battle.
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Hawthorn captain James Sicily has warned there’s “a lot of water to go under the bridge” before West Coast star Tom Barrass can be made a Hawk.
Barrass formally requested a trade to Waverley Park at his exit meeting on Tuesday, with Hawthorn poised to involve its first-round pick in a deal for the contracted defender.
The 28-year-old Eagle is one of several players linked to the Hawks, with Sicily pleased by the level of interest from rival players.
“It’s exciting that players are seeing Hawthorn as somewhere where they want to be – that’s a good feeling,” Sicily said on Wednesday.
“If (the list management team) need me to chime in in the future, I’ll be open to it, but I just let them do the job.”
Sicily said he had been excited to learn Barrass had lodged his request but acknowledged plenty had to play out before he could be joined in defence by the 2018 premiership player.
“I’m pretty excited by that prospect, but there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge still,” Sicily said.
The Hawks skipper was cryptic when asked about St Kilda free agent Josh Battle, who appears set to depart and could also beef up the Hawks’ key defensive stocks.
“I have quite a few mutual friends with Josh Battle, I’m good friends with Bradley Hill and so is he, so we see a fair bit of each other,” he said.
The bumper trade and free agency period anticipated by the Hawks will come off the back off a finals campaign Sicily said had come sooner than he expected.
He said it was not until after a scrappy round 13 win over GWS in Launceston that he truly believed Hawthorn could contend this season.
“In terms of belief that we could get there, it was probably after either the Giants game or the Fremantle game, where we won, but we didn’t win playing our best footy,” he said.
“It was a bit ugly, and you need to win that way during the season. You get a lot of belief out of that, that you’re not firing on all cylinders but you can get the job done.
“It’s an interesting one, I hope we can find some comfort in the fact we’ve played in five or six (effective) elimination finals.”
Sicily gathered Hawthorn’s football staff and players at his house on Sunday to watch the other games and enjoy gathering together.
The Hawks resumed training on Wednesday after two days off, with Will Day remaining on a heavily modified program as he tries to overcome the pain of an SC joint injury in time to face the Western Bulldogs next Friday.
“I think he ran on the weekend – it’s just all about mobility and pain at the moment with (Day),” Sicily said.
“He’s obviously a really important player, and fortunately enough we get a bye before the finals, which should help him.”
BARRASS REQUESTS HAWKS MOVE — BUT HOW DOES THE DEAL HAPPEN?
- Mark Duffield
Hawthorn is going to have to get creative to pull off its trade for West Coast defender Tom Barrass with Eagles sources declaring the club was likely to want two first round picks for the intercept defender.
Barrass still has three years of a contract worth between $700,000 and $800,000 a year left to run at the Eagles.
He told the club at his exit interview he wanted to be traded to Hawthorn where it is believed he has a five year deal on the table and established relationships with coach Sam Mitchell and assistant Adrian Hickmott from the 2018 West Coast premiership era.
The problem for the Hawks is a good one to have. But it is one they weren’t necessarily betting on a month ago when speculation of Barrass’s want to join them started to ramp up.
The value of their first round pick has diminished with every barnstorming win they have pulled off in the back half of this season and will diminish further if they find their way past the Western Bulldogs in an elimination final next week.
While the Eagles are yet to declare their hand - or set a price for Barrass, sources yesterday indicated that with Hawthorn’s first pick in this year’s draft sitting currently at pick 12 - one first round pick alone would not be enough for the Eagles to jump at the deal.
The Eagles might require a second draft pick between 10 and 20 and it may have to be in this year’s draft rather than a future pick.
West Coast’s approach to the trade is likely to be guided by two things: The club at this point believes the 2024 draft crop is stronger and deeper than next year’s, and the Eagles are likely to opt for a mix of draft/trade strategy in this year’s list management period with a view that the club needs both an injection of top end young talent and some “middle aged” talent to shore up a vulnerable playing list and achieve more consistent performance in 2025.
The Eagles are almost certainly bidding for Richmond’s Liam Baker with the potential of either a late first round pick or an early second round pick being required to satisfy the Tigers.
They are also expected to tie up a deal with Richmond’s 26-year-old free agent Jack Graham.
The Eagles currently have picks three and 23 in the draft and the ability to grab Baker and Graham and still hold three picks inside the top 25 in the draft is likely to hold significant appeal.
West Coast issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon acknowledging Barrass’s request for a trade but also stressing that he was a contracted player - footy speak for the price has to be right for the deal to get done.
“Tom has today informed us of his desire to pursue an opportunity at another club,” general manager of football Gavin Bell said.
“While the club respects Tom’s request he is contracted for another three seasons and our vice captain.”
“We will endeavour to meet Tom’s request while protecting the best interests of the West Coast Eagles.”
Barrass (28) has played 150 games for the Eagles after being drafted with pick 43 in 2013.
He won the club’s best and fairest in 2022 when he also made the All-Australian squad and was a star in the club’s 2018 premiership win over Collingwood.
Barrass had previously scoffed at speculation that he had wanted out of the club last year with rumours linking him to Sydney in the post-season and that he may want out again this year.
“I am a West Coast player and unless the rug gets pulled out from under my feet I will stay that way,” he said at a press conference.
“I am really excited about what we are doing here and I am really excited about some of the talent. It (trade speculation) happens every year and it is hardly a story - AFL clubs chasing established key position player. It’s the currency of football so I wouldn’t be reading into it too much.”
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Originally published as James Sicily chimes in on Tom Barrass requesting trade to Hawthorn
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