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Jack Gunston could be making a return to Hawthorn just 12 months after being traded to Brisbane, according to shock reports.
According to AFL journalist Damian Barrett, the veteran forward, who struggled with injury and form in his first season as a Lion and failed to play in any of the club’s three finals, is keen for a return to Victoria, with the Lions ‘aware and respectful’ of his wishes.
The 31-year old triple-premiership Hawk rejected a two-year contract offer and requested a move to the Lions in the 2022 Trade Period as an unrestricted free agent, with the clubs choosing to engage in a trade to allow Brisbane to retain their compensation pick for losing Daniel McStay to Collingwood.
The Lions released a club statement on Friday confirming they are prepared to deal, despite Gunston still being under contract.
“While understanding Jack’s situation, as a contracted player the club is assessing its position and will work through its options,” the statement reads.
However, having been touted as a potential game-changer for the Lions’ premiership ambitions, Gunston struggled to find his best form, kicking just 11 goals in his first 11 matches before making the brutal call, alongside fellow veteran Daniel Rich, to omit himself from the team following a shock loss to old club Hawthorn in Round 13.
(Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Gunston made a triumphant return a month later with a six-goal haul against West Coast that earned him three Brownlow Medal votes, but suffered a knee injury in Round 22 that sidelined him for the start of the Lions’ grand final campaign, and left him unable to force his way into the line-up once recovered.
The veteran was a key figure in the Hawks’ golden era that featured three consecutive premierships between 2013-15, while as that champion team slowly disbanded was one of the few to remain as the team slid down the ladder in subsequent seasons.
After arriving at the Hawks from Adelaide in 2012, Gunston quickly established himself as a key foil to first Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead, and then Roughead alone following the former’s trade to Sydney.
He booted 50 goals or more in four of five season between 2014 and 2018, while managing 46 majors in 2013, including a bag of four in the grand final that saw him finish second in Norm Smith Medal voting behind eventual winner Brian Lake.
Named All-Australian for the first and only time in 2018 to steer the Hawks to a surprise top-four berth, Gunston also won the Peter Crimmins Medal as the club’s best and fairest in 2020, while he led the Hawks’ goalkicking in 2015, 2016 and 2020.
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