Besides there not being much room in the Hawthorn forward line at the moment, the Hawks are said to be showing interest in Swan Ryan O'Keefe. Many would have thought he Hawks attention would turn to the back line during the opening of the trade period, but preliminary discussions at Hawthorn would suggest otherwise. The article below is a snippet from Real Footy.

"Hawthorn has joined Carlton and Collingwood in the bidding for Sydney's out-of-contract forward Ryan O'Keefe.

Fresh from its stunning premiership victory, the Hawks have been in contact with O'Keefe's management to confirm their interest in the forward, who is considering a move back to Victoria.

But while the Hawks have room in their salary cap to accommodate a good player, it is unclear whether they would have sufficient room for a player that carries the highly regarded O'Keefe's price tag.

The 2005 premiership player, who was runner-up in the club's best and fairest in 2006 and had another strong season this year, is seeking a four-year deal, and was understood to be paid about $450,000 this year.

Hawthorn might be interested, but the Hawks are unlikely to have sufficient scope in the salary cap for a player in that pay bracket. So O'Keefe would, in effect, have to take a pay cut if he wanted to play with a premiership team that is still relatively young and expected to be a contender for the next few years.

The Hawks have gone to considerable lengths to secure their best players, such as Luke Hodge and Lance Franklin, on below market rates." Read the full article on Real Footy

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Don't get sucked in
written by Phillip Molly Malone, October 02, 2008

It was a slow news day and there was absolutely no reason for the hawks to get him. Especially for the cost both in what we would have to give up and what the cost of his salary would do to our Salary Cap.

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written by admin, October 03, 2008

Totally agree. I think Boyle is our best chance at getting a quality defender, but the question is whether you keep him on the books in the event of an injury to Franklin or Roughy...

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