HAWTHORN is set to lure another No.1 AFL draft pick away from GWS with key forward Jonathon Patton declaring he wants to be traded to the Hawks.
Patton, the first player selected at the 2011 draft, has played 89 games for the Giants but has undergone three knee reconstructions and didn’t feature at AFL level at all this year.
The contracted 26-year-old will join another former GWS star and top draft pick in Tom Scully if the clubs can do a deal for Patton at the trade period which starts on Monday.
“Hopefully I can make my way to Hawthorn … it’s exciting if I can get there and start something new, something fresh,” Patton told AFL Trade Radio on Tuesday.
“I’ve been through a fair bit in my time at the Giants.
“I love the club so much, I love everyone there, it’s more of a decision (based on) genuine football (reasons).
“It has nothing to do with wanting to leave the Giants, it’s more about what I think is the best for me going forward.”
Patton’s injury history, and the Giants’ desire to offload his 2020 salary, will likely mean he gets to the Hawks at a bargain-basement price in much the same way Scully did last year.
Eyebrows were raised when Hawthorn parted with just pick No.57 pick for Scully, who had become one of the league’s elite two-way runners across 152 games, but also came with the baggage of a serious ankle injury.
However, the Hawks’ vaunted medical team were able to get Scully up for 21 games this season, after their success in getting the best out of injury-prone former Gold Coast star Jaeger O’Meara.
“Their history of getting players right who have had some injury troubles in the past has been amazing,” Patton said.
“I’m very close with Sculls and the whole year we’ve been talking and texting and he’s been saying that their track record speaks for itself.
“I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of the reason.
“Hopefully they can get me right.”
Hawthorn currently holds picks 11, 30, 47, 84 and 89 at November’s National Draft.
© AAP 2019