BRENDAN Whitecross says despite exploring the interest of rival clubs during the trade period, his heart always ultimately lay with the Hawks.
After recovering from two knee reconstructions to return to senior action in 2015, Whitecross managed just four games at AFL level – between Round 3 and Round 6 – despite some strong form at VFL level.
And while he did listen to what other clubs had to offer at the end of the season, the idea of breaking back into the Hawks’ senior side in 2016 was worth more than anything anyone could have offered him.
“Certainly this year was a lot tougher than most because I was able to play pretty much the full season,” Whitecross told SportsDay Radio on Thursday night from the Hawks' pre-season camp in Queensland.
“We didn’t have a lot of injuries in the senior side so it was really hard to crack into the AFL side at Hawthorn and I probably thought… I’d be able to make the transition back into AFL footy a little bit easier than what I did.
“Thoughts go through your head, ‘Do I belong here?’, all that sort of stuff. But there was some interest that came from other clubs and I spoke with my manager and we thought, ‘Well, let’s just sort of pursue these interest and see what they’re all about’.”
After exploring his options, the 25-year-old is confident he and his manager decided on the right option.
“Talking with him and other footy clubs, my heart and my head were still at Hawthorn, so I knew that although it might be tough… if I could stick with it and keep performing that once I do break into the AFL side then it’d all be worth it,” Whitecross said.
“So it was a no-brainer at the end of the day. Although it was a pretty stressful time, I think I made the right decision.”
Having had yet another operation this off season – this time on his shoulder – Whitecross will finally be able to attack day one of pre-season after Christmas at full capacity.
He will be looking to do all he can to try to break back into the senior side for Round 1 and stay there.
“I’ve recovered really well (from surgery)… But I guess the difference with this operation is the fact that I was able to start day one of the pre-season with all of the conditioning work,” he said.
“I think that that’s going to really benefit me leading in to the NAB Challenge and the rest of the season, so I think I’ll be able to start some contact work once I come back from the Christmas break.
While he may have missed out on the Hawks’ three consecutive premiership wins, it is that hunger to taste team success which not only drives Whitecross, but plenty of Hawthorn teammates who have missed out on finals football.
“I think that’s another really big driver is that those boys haven’t achieved it and they really want to get themselves there and taste that success at the end of the year,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of people here that are still hungry and that’s certainly showing now at training over the last few weeks.”
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