Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell and captain James Sicily are "excited" by the recent trade request Tom Barrass has made to join the club.
Barrass has been linked to a move to the Hawks for some time, but in his exit meeting at West Coast, he officially told the club of his desire to play football in Victoria.
The 2018 premiership defender would immediately help sure up Mitchell's defensive system while also relieving some of the pressure on Sicily, who's been playing above his height and weight alongside Sam Frost.
"I'm pretty excited by that prospect," Sicily said on Wednesday.
"There's a lot of water to go under the bridge still, but that's exciting that players are seeing Hawthorn as somewhere they want to be.
"That's a good feeling."
It has been well documented that Mitchell has had a hands-on approach in luring talent to Hawthorn.
Speaking onย 3AW, the four-time premiership player contained his excitement about the prospect of Barrass in brown and gold, remaining focussed on the finals task ahead.
"It's certainly a positive, and he's a quality player," Mitchell said.
"But this time of year, my focus is on other things, so I'll leave that with the list management team.
"We respect that he's a contracted player, and there's things to work through to get that done."
In what will likely be a successful mission for the Hawks, Sicily said that he'd play a part in helping lure St Kilda free agent Josh Battle to Waverley.
"'Mitch' and 'Macca' (list boss Mark McKenzie) and 'Roughie' (player acquisition manager Jarryd Roughead) do an excellent job in that department," Sicily said.
"If they need me to chime in in the future, then I'll be open to it, but I'll just let them do their job.
"I have quite a few mutual friends with Josh Battle, so (we talk) about other things.
"I'm good friends with Bradley Hill, and so is he, so we see a bit of each other."
Hawthorn's quick rise to become one of the AFL's leading destination clubs coincides with its finish inside the top eight in 2024.
The club will take on the Western Bulldogs in a Friday night elimination final, returning to September action for the first time since 2018.
