“We understand there’s going to be a significant pick that has to be involved.”
Hawthorn list manager Mark McKenzie believes a deal for West Coast’s Tom Barrass is progressing as the Hawks seek to add another defender to their roster this offseason.
“We’ve had some good chats with West Coast over the last couple of weeks, we’ll keep that going over the next couple of days,” McKenzie told me.
“We’ve both been quite upfront about where we see it, and the conversations are going well, so hopefully we’ll continue from there. [We’re] optimistic at this stage.”
McKenzie would not reveal the specifics of Barrass’ contract, but he did say that a high-draft pick or two would open up a trade for the Eagles’ important backman.
“We understand there’s going to be a significant pick that has to be involved with that, but we’ll also see what else is going on in regards to their picks and our picks, with the environment with where certain other trades are at this point in time,” says McKenzie.
“But we know that there’s a significant pick that has to be tied to bringing a quality player potentially into your footy club, so that’s where it sits at this point.”
West Coast list manager Matt Clarke also hinted that Hawthorn may have to forego a top draft pick to acquire Barrass this trade period.
“Everyone would love two first-rounders, but he’s a contracted player for three years, a key position back, so he’s really important to us,” Clarke told reporters.
“Andrew [McQualter] made it very clear when he came on only a week or two ago what he believes, so it’s up to [Hawthorn] to come to us now. We’re not going to be stupid about it; we want proper money for a player of his caliber.”
McKenzie maintained the deal’s secret when questioned if West Coast paying some of Barrass’ contract would encourage Hawthorn to sell away another top draft pick.
“There’s a lot of different other scenarios that can come up, whether it be future picks or these current picks… we’ll look at everything and see what it comes to,” the coach stated.
On July 17, 2022, Tom Barrass of the Eagles played in the round 18 AFL match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the West Coast Eagles at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos, via Getty Images)
Hawthorn has already made off-season changes, including free agent Josh Battle from St Kilda and contract extensions for utility Harry Morrison and head coach Sam Mitchell.
The Hawks have resisted interest in famed tagger Finn Magginess, who has a contract expiring in 2025, and have turned rejected offers for Sam Frost.
West Coast signed free agent Jack Graham on Tuesday and plans to finalize Liam Baker’s trade request with Western Australia by Wednesday, October 16.
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