HAWTHORN is hopeful a transparent approach to Bradley Hill's playing future can take a weight off the wingman's shoulders and bring out his best football after a timely return to form.
Hill was among the Hawks' best in their 70-point win over Richmond at the MCG, winning a season-high 31 possessions and equal career-high seven inside 50s just days after it emerged he had met with Fremantle coach Ross Lyon.
The 23-year-old notified the Hawks weeks ago that he wanted to explore a trade to his home state of Western Australia, and coach Alastair Clarkson said those discussions becoming public might be a good thing for his football.
"A lot of these players feel uptight on 'what's the coach going to think, what's the footy manager going to think, what's our captain going to think, my teammates, our supporters'," Clarkson said on Sunday night.
"So sometimes transparency is the best thing and bringing it out in the open.
"Has it been on Hilly's mind? He had a patch for two or three weeks where it wasn't out in the open and he probably didn't perform so well.
"It was the same with 'Suckers' (Matt Suckling) last year, so sometimes it can be a weight off their shoulders."
When asked if the Hawks would seek a first-round pick for Hill, who is contracted for 2017, Clarkson said: "We'll let that unfold in discussions with Fremantle later on".
The midfielder, who has played in the Hawks' past three premierships, was yet to indicate that he was certain to seek a trade to the Dockers.
"Part of this whole process is him actually making a decision on what he wants to do and I don't reckon he's going to do that until the end of the year," Clarkson said.
"It's like,' 'It's a fair indication that he's going if he's meeting with Ross Lyon', but that's all part of the information gathering for him.
"He's got a really strong group of mates here at this footy club [and] he started his career here.
"Who's to say he's going to go back there and play better footy or be in a side that's got the opportunities that Hawthorn have got at the present time."
Clarkson was pleased with the Hawks' 70-point win on Sunday, despite inaccurate kicking resulting in a 7.10 conversion from set shots.
Surface issues resulting from an International Champions Cup soccer match played at the MCG on Saturday night, and swirly winds, were partly to blame.
"It happens in games of footy – I think we were 4.13 at some point in time and Richmond weren't too much better," Clarkson said.
"It was just kicking, in terms of being able to hit targets. We had some of our best kicks missing targets today.
"In that environment we were really pleased we were able to run away with such a convincing victory in the end."
Champion midfielder Sam Mitchell was superb for the victors in his milestone game, finishing with 38 possessions and nine clearances as best afield.
He was chaired off the ground by teammates Jordan Lewis and Luke Hodge and Clarkson was keen to highlight his resilience to play 300 games.
"He puts his body on the line, and he gives out plenty and cops plenty," the coach said.
"We've been really fortunate he's been a one-club player. He's a little like 'Boomer' (Brent Harvey), he seems to get better with age, so goodness knows how long he'll play for."
