Hawthorn will strive to be “specific and targeted” in its list management decisions ahead of the upcoming Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period, according to General Manager of Football Rob McCartney.
McCartney said while the club remains committed to investing in the development of its younger players, the Hawks are now heading into its next phase of talent acquisition.
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Speaking on AFL Trade Radio on Thursday, McCartney added that the Hawks were eager to bring in players of high calibre and talent who can address specific needs.
“We’re now transitioning into that space of being really targeted around the acquisitions that might need to be added,” he said.
“Does that mean we will win some and lose some over the next couple of years as we look to fill the missing pieces? We definitely will.
“But you’ve got to be in the conversations to give yourself an opportunity.”
McCartney said he expects to hear from Gold Coast key forward Mabior Chol, who has attracted interest from multiple clubs, on whether he'll seek a trade to Hawthorn in the coming days.
"I think he's edging closer (to a decision). The end of the week is probably a real timeline," McCartney said.
"We like what we see in him. He's played 60 games of AFL footy. He spent season 2022 at Gold Coast playing regular AFL footy and topped their goal-kicking list.”
McCartney said the Hawks could envisage Chol combining with key forward Mitch Lewis long-term.
“We’ve explored a few different options over the last couple of years and haven’t really landed on something that has worked well regularly,” he said.
“But we think Mabior might be able to be a player that could definitely play alongside Lewis.
“He’s proven he can play at the level – he didn’t get a lot of opportunity this year, but we see there is that opportunity for him to play regular AFL footy with us.”
McCartney also confirmed the club’s interest in Essendon’s Massimo D'Ambrosio, who has played 16 AFL games over his first two seasons.
“The interest in Massimo goes right back to that mid-season draft - we liked what we saw then, and our interest hasn’t dampened since,” he said.
“We had Pick 4 and if he was available at that pick, we were picking him.
“He has a really penetrating, but also deadly left foot, he has the ability to break a few lines.
“We’ve still got some work to do to make it come about, but after seeing the growth in our group, he sees it (Hawthorn) as a good place for him to make his next home.”
McCartney said despite having shown genuine interest in North Melbourne’s Ben McKay, who has since nominated Essendon as his preferred destination, that the club remains confident in its approach.
“I think Ben saw some advantages around what we were doing here, but he decided in the end that Essendon was a better choice for him, and he has that right,” he said.
“But we don’t look at that and think we are putting ourselves behind the eight ball in terms of what we plan to do.
“We’ve got a couple of off-seasons to deliver on a couple of positions that we’d like to add talent into.
“We’ll continue to explore and be involved in conversations with the right players.”
The Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period begins this Monday 9 October and runs through until Wednesday 18 October.
