Sam Mitchell has responded to a call for Hawthorn to target Toby Greene.
Plus Zac Bailey has opened up on his future as rival clubs circle with monster offers.
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MITCHELL REPONDS TO CALL FOR HAWKS TO TARGET GREENE
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has admitted the prospect of Toby Greene playing for the Hawks would be enticing after the club was urged to target the star Giants skipper.
Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes floated the idea of Hawthorn trying to lure Greene, who’s eligible to for free agency this year and originally from Victoria.
It links the Hawks to another rival club captain after they sensationally pursued former Essendon skipper Zach Merrett and ex-Eagles captain Oscar Allen last year.
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Responding to the suggestion, Mitchell said the Hawks remain open minded to all ways they can improve their list in the rising club’s push for a flag.
“Well, I love Toby Greene. I read your (Cornes) article and I tried to imagine him in a Hawthorn jumper,” Mitchell said on SEN radio on Friday morning.
“In the same way that I’m sure Adam Kingsley imagines our players in their jumpers and thinks, ‘Aw, that’d be nice’,” Mitchell said.
“We are always trying to improve our list and we wouldn’t say no to too many types.
“A couple of years ago, we were really youth-based. Who’s going to play in the next flag? Who’s going to drive us to where we need to go?
“And then you get to a point when you feel like you’re not too far away and you’re looking for final pieces of the puzzle.
“We brought in Tom Barrass a couple of years ago who was nearing 30 at the time. We knew it’s unlikely he was going to play for 10 years for us, but gee, he’s been important for us these last couple of games in particular.
“So you’re always trying to improve your list, I think every coach is doing that and pretty open to most players at this point.”
Greene, 32, who’s played his entire career at the Giants, said over the pre-season he still plans to play for another few years.
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BAILEY OPENS UP ON FUTURE AS RIVALS CIRCLE WITH MONSTER OFFERS
Brisbane star Zac Bailey says he’s focused on his footy as rival clubs circle with monster offers.
But the highly sought after free agent admitted it’s hard to block out the external noise with the boom of social media.
Adelaide has reportedly offered Bailey a mega seven-year deal worth $10 million, while Essendon and other cubs are also in aggressive pursuit of the dual premiership jet.
Coming off a glittering 25-disposal, two-goal performance against Collingwood on Thursday night, Bailey said he’s purposely avoided reading too much into talk on his future to ensure he keeps playing at a high level.
“I’m trying to not worry about it as much,” Bailey said on 3AW Football post-match.
“I feel like if I start to worry about that, it’ll creep into my footy.
“I just want to come out and keep performing and putting my best foot forward and that stuff will sort of look after itself.
“I’ve got a manager who does a really good job of that, so I’ll just let him deal with it.”
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While playing in a non-traditional football state can help block out some of that speculation, Bailey thinks social media has shifted that narrative.
“You’d think so, but it seems like that sort of chat has gone up since the last couple of years,” he added.
“I feel like every time I’ve scrolling through my Instagram or Facebook, it’s got something to do with someone moving or contracts or anything like that.
“It’s nice being up in Brisbane to get away from that sort of stuff, but with social media these days, it’s pretty much everywhere.”
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