Hawthorn’s newest recruit Max Lynch says he is ready to give a "red-hot crack" and push his case to become part of the Hawks best 22.
The club bolstered its ruck stocks last week after landing the 200cm tall utility from Collingwood on the final day of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
“They wanted to stay and they want to play under Sam"
Speaking to RSN Breakfast Club on Monday, Lynch said he was excited about joining the brown and gold, in which he looks to form a long-term partnership with rising talent Ned Reeves.
“It’s pretty weird going from just a bloke growing up in Albury with my family and friends, and then seeing your name in the newspaper,” he said.
“When I found out that it was done and dusted and I got traded, my grandparents actually found out before me – it almost got spoiled because everyone else found out before I did.”
After four years on Collingwood’s list, Lynch struggled find a spot in the senior side, having played just three games – two this year – as the Pies generally opted to use key forwards Darcy Cameron or Mason Cox to support Brodie Grundy.
Lynch said he was hopeful that greater opportunities would come his way at Hawthorn.
“That’s the sole reason I thought that I would potentially like to move clubs because of that opportunity that can be put in front of me,” Lynch said.
“I think the more that I can expose myself against those better players in an actual AFL scenario, I think the more I can really grow.
“I want to see how I can go at AFL level, and I think I can give it a red-hot crack.”
After feeling frustrated about his limited game time at the Pies, Lynch said the prospect of making a potential move to a new club began circling last year.
“It was actually about a year ago while in the hub – I had played well for a majority of the year, but that opportunity didn’t really come,” he said.
“It has been a long time in the making, and after another consistent year of footy it started to become a real possibility for me.”
The 23-year-old said he was looking forward to getting stuck into pre-season training alongside new Hawks coach Sam Mitchell, who he briefly played under throughout an adjusted format of practice matches earlier this year.
“I think the biggest thing for me is trying to put on as much physical size as I can. Obviously not being the tallest ruckman around, I’ve got to try and match it with those bigger guys,” he said.
“We (Mitchell and I) had one Zoom meeting… I think it went pretty well and then I caught up with him the other day and had a good chat.
“But I actually had a little bit to do with him outside of the last 10 days (in the trade period) during the year when we had a few practice matches, so I’ve actually played under him a couple times before.”
