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The Hawks have made their first player acquisition of the off-season, bringing in versatile Melbourne tall Jack Fitzpatrick for the low cost of pick 93 in this year’s draft.
The 24-year-old was told by Melbourne at the end of the season that he would be delisted, but appears to have won the AFL equivalent of the lotto jackpot, being picked up by Hawthorn.
Fitzpatrick played 22 games for Melbourne with his most impressive stretch being eleven games in 2013, which included a patch of form where he kicked nine goals from four games.
While his most impressive form to date comes from that brief patch as a forward, Fitzpatrick has also been sighted in the ruck and in defense at senior level.
He may seem like an odd recruiting choice for the three-time reigning premiers, but Fitzpatrick’s versatility will make him a valuable depth option, especially after the retirement of some of the Hawks’ premiership stars.
“With the retirement of David Hale, we have been on the lookout for a tall forward-ruckman and we’re happy to have secured Jack’s services,” said Hawthorn list manager Graham Wright.
Pick 93 is unlikely to come into play for the Demons come draft day, and the trade appears to be little more than a formality to get Fitzpatrick across to Hawthorn.
The Hawks currently hold picks 15, 18, 55 and 58 inside the first three rounds of the upcoming AFL draft.
Despite reports that they were making a play for out of contract Bomber Jake Carlisle, they now appear likely to take those picks to the draft, after Carlisle was traded to St Kilda earlier today.
The Hawks also indicated an interest in Chris Yarran earlier in the trade period but do not appear to have swayed him from his desire to move to Richmond.
Instead it now seems that they will look to draft some fresh talent to their list. It will be the first time they have taken a first-round draft selection since they picked Isaac Smith in the 2010 draft.
Welcome to Hawthorn, Jack Fitzpatrick!
We've traded in the former Dee: https://t.co/fP1qidvNhb
#brownandgold pic.twitter.com/WTzO7DciUD
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) October 21, 2015