Brisbane are said to be continuing their pursuit of Hawthorn forward Brandon Ryan outside of veteran Jack Gunston's interest to head back to the Hawks.
Gunston's desire to return to Waverley was confirmed last Friday, with both the Lions and Hawks blindsided by the triple-premiership player's request to leave Brisbane 12 months on from his departure from Hawthorn.
The 32-year-old is under contract and viewed as a required player in Queensland, while the Hawks are unlikely to have Gunston as a priority trade target given the list of names they're yet to bring into the club ahead of the final day of the trade period.
Hawthorn is still needing to finalise deals for Gold Coast's Mabior Chol, Essendon's Massimo D'Ambrosio and Collingwood's Jack Ginnivan, with the latter only requesting a trade to the Hawks on the penultimate day of the exchange window.
With Gunston wanting to head south, the Lions had hoped to include Hawthorn recruit Brandon Ryan in a deal that would see both players swap colours, however, the Hawks aren't seen to be willing to part with the 200cm forward who only joined the club through this year's Mid-Season Draft.
While the Gunston move remains up in the air, Brisbane is reportedly still pursuing a move for Ryan away from their talks with the Hawks for the former Hawthorn key forward.
According toย SEN'sย Tom Morris, the Lions have tabled a future second-round selection to Hawthorn for Ryan, who re-signed with the brown and gold just last month on a new one-year deal.
The @brisbanelions are keen on Brandon Ryan, but not as part of any possible Jack Gunston deal.
The Lions have offered a future second rounder to @HawthornFC who has not pushed for a trade at all.
Like D'Ambrosio at @essendonfc, in 12 months Ryan could be a free agent.โฆ
— Tom Morris (@tommorris32) October 17, 2023
Ryan's recommitment came after his three-game debut season in the AFL, which culminated with a three-goal outing against Collingwood in Round 21.
The 25-year-old is seen as a key piece in the Hawks' plans going forward, with Sam Mitchell wanting further support around first-string forward Mitch Lewis.
Chol is expected to play a part in that movement, while Ryan is also likely to be in the mix for a starting role given Jacob Koschitzke's expected move to Richmond.
Clubs have until 7:30pm (AEDT) to finalise trades before the player movement window closes.
