Chad Wingard says the prospect of playing with Shaun Burgoyne was a huge selling point when he was surveying his options during the 2018 trade period.
Speaking to SEN on Wednesday, Wingard explained he was instantly attracted to the idea of playing in the brown and gold so that he could join forces with his childhood idol.
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"When I was told to look elsewhere and go look for a trade, Hawthorn was obviously a club that was front of mind and a big part of that was the opportunity to play with a person like Shaun Burgoyne," Wingard said
"It's not just playing with him either, but he is someone who has done it all and seen it all, that was a huge pulling point for me.
"You rarely get the chance to play with those sort of guys who are the superstars of the competition.
"I've played with the superstar likes of Robbie Gray and Tom Mitchell, but to play with someone who is a leader in the indigenous space who you really looked up to as a kid and has played some 20 years in the AFL.
"You want to be like a sponge and learn as much as you can off them and just see how they go about their day-to-day business."