Hawthorn plotting to pinch prized top draft pick

Hawthorn could be set to land the biggest star of the upcoming draft with a shrewd draft heist being plotted, according to reports.

Sam Mitchell, senior coach of Hawthorn. At 3 quarter time during the round 21 match between the Hawthorn and Collingwood at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Photo by Michael Klein.

Hawthorn could be set to swoop on the prized top pick in this year’s AFL Draft, according to reports.

AFL Media’s Cal Twomey reports the Hawks are looking for ways to improve their draft hand, with the club’s rebuild in the latter stages, having not won a final since their 2015 Premiership.

It was previously reported that holders of pick two, North Melbourne, were also looking at their options.

It emerged on Wednesday the Demons are also interested in chasing the prized top pick as rumours continue to swirl about the club’s position on Clayton Oliver.

Oliver is reported to be open to a departure from Melbourne, potentially giving the Demons a war chest of picks that could give them the draft points needed to tempt the Eagles to the negotiating table.

The scramble for the top pick in this year’s draft is the result of boom teenager and expected No. 1 pick Harley Reid emerging as a rare talent.

“North Melbourne, as we wrote on Monday, is absolutely exploring and making a target for Pick 1 because of their hand that is so strong,” Twomey said on Gettable on AFL Trade Radio.

“I can also say that Hawthorn will also put forward some options as well. They’re going to explore moving up from Pick 3 to Pick 1.”

“If they do that, you’d have to think it would be involving their Pick 3 at the moment, their future first-round pick and you’d suggest an addition of Tyler Brockman within that would be part of the discussion.

“Is that enough to shift West Coast? Because West Coast is shifting and moving back, but how far back can they go to get Daniel Curtin?”

The Eagles are reportedly open to leveraging the number one pick in favour of chasing young Claremont utility Daniel Curtin, who is able to play in midfield despite his size at 6’5.

Harley Reid (right) is the star every club wants. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Hawks loom as the most attractive club of the top three picks, with the most cap space on offer for an early contract renewal and the most advanced rebuild.

Reid has already impressed with appearances at VFL level, racking up 23 touches playing for Essendon’s reserves in August.

The Hawks currently hold the third pick in the draft, but retain the leverage of wantaway forward Tyler Brockman, who has requested a trade back to his native Western Australia.

Hawthorn’s head of football, Rob McCartney, told Trade Radio the club was open to dealing its draft hand.

“If we can get a little higher in the draft, we are very open minded about that,” McCartney said.

“If you could turn pick three into pick one and the resources you put around it aren’t detrimental to the group, you would have to consider it. We are keen to explore that with West Coast.”

Triple M’s Jay Clark also raised the possibility of struggling key defender Denver Grainger-Barras, also from Western Australia, who has largely been stuck in the VFL through 2023 after being taken by the Hawks with the sixth pick in the 2020 draft.

“They have got pick three, and what they can do is that Tyler Brockman or Denver Granger-Barrass, they can package up as a bit of a bundle,” Clark said on Triple M.

“Maybe a future pick as well, just to dangle the carrot a bit to West Coast in a swap to try and get that number one pick.”

Despite the various reports linking the struggling Eagles with alternatives to simply using the top draft pick on a consensus generational talent in Reid, the club’s list manager Rohan O’Brien said it would take “something pretty special” for the club to trade away the pick.

“Obviously having Pick 1 is a good opportunity, so we’ll see what unfolds through the trade period,” O’Brien said on SEN WA Breakfast.

“To be honest, it feels like we’re likely to keep it unless something pretty special comes along.”

Hawthorn could explore a trade up to the No. 1 pick, with the club currently holding the third selection.

— AFL (@AFL) October 4, 2023

It comes amid renewed reports of Hawthorn’s interest in star Bulldogs midfielder Bailey Smith, whose contract expires next season.

Nine’s Sam McClure reported on his podcast that Hawthorn “had not given up the chase” for Smith, and were willing to use pick three in pursuit of him.

“My understanding is that Hawthorn has not given up the chase … and they’re still willing to part with Pick 3 for him,” he said on the Tradies podcast.

“I’m always a big one for picking the guy who’s a known quantity at AFL level and you’re going to get 10 years out of him, versus Pick 3, which could be hit or miss,” he added.

“Bailey Smith was one of the best players in the competition not so long ago, I know he’s had his issues since then.

“If Harley Reid ends up being as good as Bailey Smith, then they’ll be happy with Pick 1.”

Smith was a Hawthorn fan as a child before being drafted by the Bulldogs, and recently posted a photo to his Instagram of himself as a nine-year-old in a Hawthorn jumper with Lance Franklin.

Smith would slot in seamlessly to a young midfield that is looking for another major cog to partner All-Australian squad nominee Jai Newcombe, and his youth would allow him to grow with a team that is set to rise after showing glimmers of promise in 2023.