Hawks’ trade period questioned, Jack Gunston, Jack Ginnivan, Mabior Chol

Hawthorn was the busiest club of the AFL trading period and ultimately completed all of its deals. But Fox Footy pundits have questioned whether the club’s decisions actually complement their mid-reconstruction status.

The Hawks were involved in six transactions during the AFL trade period, bringing in Jack Ginnivan from Collingwood, Jack Gunston from Brisbane, Mabior Chol from Gold Coast and Massimo D’Ambrosio from Essendon while helping also Tyler Brockman (West Coast), Jacob Koschitzke (Richmond) and Brandon Ryan (Brisbane) arrive at their favorite destinations.

For all their trading activity, the Hawks also managed to retain their top natural selection (pick 4), while scoring points for father-son prospect Will McCabe – an athletic key defender who should attract an offer in the late stages of the first round of next month’s draft.

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But the Hawks also missed out on several other trade targets, with Esava Ratugolea choosing Port Adelaide, Ben McKay moving to Essendon and Liam Henry opting for St Kilda.

Speaking on Fox Footy’s Trading daydouble All-Australian Leigh Montagna called it “a bit of a hit-and-miss period for the Hawks”.

“The advantage of some players, especially Chol and Ginnivan, we know the talent is there. It’s just about consistency and doing it week in, week out at AFL level in a team that’s probably still a few years away from being a finals team,” Montagna said. Trading day.

“They went after the big fish, Ben McKay and Esava Ratugolea, and didn’t land them. They went after Liam Henry and didn’t land him, so this period probably wasn’t as successful as they would have liked. They lost Tyler Brockman, who I think has great potential as a small forward.

The Hawks swooped on Ginnivan at the end of the trade period after reports emerged that the Magpies were willing to trade him – although the Pies claimed Ginnivan had requested a move.

As part of the Ginnivan deal, the Hawks and Pies swapped second-round picks in this year’s and next year’s draft, while the Pies upgraded their future fourth-round pick to a future pick of Hawthorn’s third round.

Montagna said small forward Ginnivan was the type of player the Hawks needed, but he wondered how he would fare in a team not yet in the premiership window.

“They lost Tyler Brockman, so they were desperate for someone who could score goals and make an impact at floor level, as Luke Breust was coming towards the end of his career. It’s a smart decision on his (Ginnivan) and his camp’s part to accept this offer,” Montagna said.

“I’m still not convinced about Jack Ginnivan and how elite he’s going to become as a player. I know he came out of the blocks last year and scored 19 goals in his first seven or eight games, but from then on he scored about a goal a game, he’s a player with very little pressure, he doesn’t win much of the ball. .

“If he scores more than 35 goals in a year, it’s a good year in a team that will probably be in the bottom third of the table. Remember he plays for a club that wins most weeks, which is easier as a small forward. I think he will struggle in this line ahead of Hawthorn.

Dual premiership Kangaroo David King said Ginnivan was shaping up to be a ‘steal’ trade period for the Hawks, but warned the Magpie premiership needed to ‘be more back page, less front page’ in his new club.

King then questioned the Hawks’ acquisition of Gunston, who was returned to the Hawks – the club where he won three premierships – just 12 months after leaving them to join Brisbane as a free agent. He suggested Gunston’s return went against the club’s strategy and direction.

“I don’t understand, to be honest,” King said. Trading day.

“Jack Gunston achieved everything in our game. It didn’t work in Brisbane and he wanted to come home. I just wonder sometimes if your mentors reach out to you and say, “Bro, maybe you’re done, maybe you’ve had enough.” I know he can play serious footy and can probably have another four-goal game somewhere along the trip next year, but how many games does he take away from the development hours around Hawthorn ? That’s what concerns me.

“They are following an accelerated model to rebuild in a two to three year window – otherwise the pressure will fall on Sam Mitchell. I think he’ll look back on that decision (Gunston) in two or three years and say, ‘Was that a good decision or not?’ And these are decisions for the whole club, not just Sam. But I just think the ruthless Hawthorn of old would have said ‘not for us’.

Montagna said Gunston’s leadership of the young Hawks team was “probably going to be his greatest legacy for this football club” but added Hawthorn’s willingness to take him back was curious.

“That’s an interesting question for me. We talked about where they are in their rebuild – and now they’re out to get someone 32 years old. “It’s an interesting move by the Hawks,” he said.

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“I guess the difference when they got rid of (Jaeger) O’Meara and (Tom) Mitchell was they had midfielders ready to play. Who is Gunston stopping from getting a game in this Hawthorn forward line? Koschitzke is now gone, they are not blessed with a lot of young high end talent in the forward line that he is taking games away from.

Ryan, who played three games for Hawthorn after being selected in this year’s mid-season draft, was part of the Hawks-Lions trade that also involved Gunston and signed a three-year contract with the Lions.

Herald Sun Reporter Jon Ralph said the Hawks were hoping Ryan “doesn’t prosper very quickly” in Brisbane given they traded the 25-year-old for 32-year-old Gunston.

“If Ryan is the fourth banana in Brisbane and doesn’t play much and Gunston comes out and scores the first goals, that’s good. But there’s just a possibility that people will say, ‘Sam, you said you’d move us forward and all of a sudden you went back to one of your good friends,'” Ralph said. Trading day.

The Hawks won the race for Chol, who chose Hawthorn over Adelaide and North Melbourne as his preferred destination after a 40-goal VFL season.

Chol was contracted to the Suns until the end of 2025, but only played eight AFL games in 2023, with the return of star forward Ben King creating a selection. He kicked a team-high 44 goals for the AFL Suns in 2022 when King was sidelined with injury.

Montagna said the Chol acquisition was “another big risk for me for Hawthorn”.

“There’s a reason he (Chol) only played 60 games in eight years. He’s inconsistent, a lot of people have seen his effort fluctuate, he’s a guy who can score goals when the team is doing well,” Montagna said.

“We’re talking about Gunston coming back at 32, we know Luke Breust is 33, Chad Wingard is 30 – now they’re bringing in a 27-year-old who doesn’t convince me at all.

“He showed he was too good for VFL level, now he just has to take it week in, week out at AFL level.”

King added: “When you see Mabior coming away with the blood rule or major bruises from bumps and pack crashes, that’s him at his best. Too often he tried to come out on defense and be at the end of the chain to be the scorer.

“It was difficult to reprogram him and Damien Hardwick knows exactly what he is and has developed him, which happens regularly when coaches tackle players.

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“That’s it. It’s a great position for Hawthorn. They can say, ‘Man, not many clubs are going to come after this, so make this position a winner.

King said the rebuilding Hawks were in a tough position but had the right pillars in place.

“They shocked everyone last season with their quality on blocks in 2023 and played serious football against very good teams,” he said.

“I’m not going to be too hard on them, because I think everything they said they were going to do, they were ticked off. It’s a slow burn. It’s so difficult to move up the AFL standings through the draft – and they’re going through it right now. It’s a shocking place.

“They have managed to make the absolute best players (Will) Day and (Jai) Newcombe the pillars of this midfield and that looks great for the future, (James) Sicily has been a great leader for them at the back . So it’s kind of the same thing. More hours of practice, more minutes on the field for some of these young players and let’s find out what kind of ceiling they have because they have a half dozen kids who are going to become really good.