HAWTHORN Recruiting and List Manager Graham Wright believes the selections of key position players Tim O’Brien and Kaiden Brand has secured the Club’s big man stocks for the future.

Taken at selections 28 and 66 respectively, O’Brien and Brand are South Australian youngsters whose athleticism allows them to play at both ends of the ground.

Wright believes the Club can never have too many key position players, despite gun forwards Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead unmoveable up forward and key defenders Brian Lake and Josh Gibson its key defenders.

“We brought Brian Lake in from a trade perspective this year, but we know we need long term help in those positions,” Wright told hawthornfc.com.au

“The key defenders were something we’d look at but Buddy (Lance Franklin) and Roughie are both 26 in January and we know we’re going to need players to play those spots in the future.

“You can never have too many key position players from our point of view, and we want to make sure we’ve got coverage in those spots.”

The Hawks’ recruiting guru payed homage to the athleticism and versatility of both players, characteristics that drew the Hawks to selecting the pair with its opening two picks in the draft.

Their physical attributes combined with work ethic and the personalities of both players had them ticking all the boxes for Wright and his team.

“They’re both very versatile and very athletic, they both have good hands, they both kick the ball really well, they’re probably their greatest attributes,” he said.

“They’re both ripping young men as well, they’re good lads who’ll come in and work hard.

“They’ve got good character and they both compete well. In essence, they ticked all the boxes from that point of view and we were happy they were both there.”

Wright described O’Brien as a player in the top 15 or 16, but admitted Brand was a smokey choice for the Club.

“I think every club says the same thing, that they’re surprised every player gets to them, but we rated Tim in the top 15 or 16 players,” he said.
“To get him at 28, we’re really happy.

“Kaiden (Brand) was a little bit more of a dark horse, I think two or three or four clubs had spoken to him, but not many - whereas Tim had basically each club speak to him.”

Wright admitted, there’s no rush for the pair to have an immediate impact in the senior side, with both to learn their craft at VFL level with the Club's affiliate, Box Hill.

“They’re both project players because they’ve both got to put weight on, put on size,” he said.

“From that perspective, we’ve got to take our time with them, we won’t rush them.

“We feel as though we’ve got a good group of key position players as it is right now, but we know these guys will be there for us in the future, hopefully.”

The Hawks also welcomed back veteran and 2008 premiership player Michael Osborne to the Club with its final selection, number 70.

Osborne was cut by the Hawks in October, but the Club remained committed to re-drafting the forward in either the National or Pre-Season drafts.

Wright commended Osborne for his understanding and patience during the process.

“Michael was very good about it. He was an uncontracted player and we spoke to him about delisting him but then looking to either pick him up in the Pre-Season draft depending on what was there from a Free Agency point of view,” he said.

“Graciously, he enabled us to do that and enabled us to get Jonathan Simpkin through the door as a Free Agent, someone we were really keen on.

“We always planned on taking Michael back, he’s recovering from his knee reconstruction and we think he plays an important role in the forward half of the ground for us.”