New Hawks co-captain Jai Newcombe has backed his club’s push to lock in talented defender Josh Weddle ahead of Hawthorn’s blockbuster round one clash with arch rivals Essendon next month.
The Hawks have started talks to re-sign 21-year-old Weddle after the Bombers offered him a seven-year deal worth up to $10 million to switch allegiances at the end of this season when he is out of contract.
Hawthorn is in talks to re-sign Josh Weddle.Credit: Getty Images
“Wedds is a great athlete. He’s a great player, he’s a great person. He’s someone we want to have around this place for a long time,” Newcombe said at the club’s family event on Saturday.
“So, [we’re] quite happy that talks have started, for sure.”
Zach Merrett has embarked on the next chapter of his Essendon career, post-captaincy.Credit: AFL Photos
Newcombe dismissed suggestions that the Hawks would be distracted by any off-season trade talks involving the Bombers.
“That’s complete outside noise, and, you know, for the media to talk about,” he said.
“Wedds is a pretty switched-on individual, and I think he knows where his heart is, and we all do as well, so it doesn’t have any influence.”
Newcombe reiterated the point when asked if the Hawks were growing tired of fielding questions about Essendon captain Zach Merrett’s failed bid to cross to Hawthorn during last year’s trade period.
“It’s not affecting us,” he said. “It’s for Zach and his party, and Essendon, to sort of deal with. He’s not here, so it has no influence on what we are doing.
“There’s been a rivalry between Hawthorn and Essendon for a long time, so that’s not going to change.”
Hawthorn suffered a minor setback when forward Jack Ginnivan suffered a broken finger in match simulation on Saturday morning and was taken for scans, but the injury is not expected to keep him out of the start of the season.
Jack Ginnivan broke his finger during pre-season match simulation.Credit: AFL Photos
“While he will miss the next few weeks of pre-season, we expect him to be fully fit for opening round [against GWS],” club doctor Liam West said.
Newcombe’s co-captain James Sicily is also on track to return for opening round after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction.
“He’s doing everything he needs to get back,” Newcombe said of Sicily. “He’s been on the sidelines for a little bit, but he’s ticking all the right boxes.”
The Hawks are looking to run Josh Ward, Connor Macdonald and even mercurial forward Nick Watson through the midfield this season to compensate for the loss of James Worpel (to Geelong) and the injured Will Day (shoulder).
“No doubt he’ll play through [the midfield] at times,” Newcombe said of Watson. “He’s lively wherever he is, so it’s exciting when he’s around the footy. And yeah, we’ll use that to our advantage as best we can.
A free-wheeling Weddle at Hawks training recently.Credit: AFL Photos
“Whatever the balance is that we need, and whatever we think’s right at the time will be, you know, how we best utilise him.
“He’s an excitement machine. He brings a lot of energy for us, for the fans, for everyone. So, yeah, we’ve got multiple levers looking forward.”
Newcombe, 24, who has played 102 games for the Hawks since being picked up in the 2021 mid-season rookie draft, said it was still “early days” for Day, who is expected to miss the first half of the season following shoulder surgery.
“He’s got a bit of a journey to go before he’s obviously back and fully fit and things like that,” Newcombe said.
“But we wrap our arms around him, [and] support him the best way we can.”
Newcombe said the Hawthorn faithful should not expect too many surprises when the season kicks off in earnest early next month.
“We did a lot right through last season to get to the prelim,” he said.
“I think the maturity and mentality side of things – to be able to perform in those big games – is something that we need to get better at, and sort of what held us back in not being part of the big dance last year.
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