New Hawthorn recruit Fergus Greene admits he thought he’d had the last crack at his AFL dream before a surprise twist in this year’s trade period.
Greene, a former Western Bulldogs forward who was delisted in 2020, officially signed with the Hawks on Thursday when the first delisted free agency window opened.
Now 24, Greene said he thought his chances of receiving an AFL lifeline were nearing zero. But after again missing out in the mid-season draft earlier this year, a carefree attitude in the back half of the season for Box Hill in the VFL saw him produce his best footy.
“There were a few conversations mostly over the mid-season draft over the last two years and nothing really eventuated there,” Greene told SEN’s The Run Home.
“I think (after) the last mid-season trade period just gone I thought that was my last real crack at it. I turned 24 at the end of last year, 25 at the end of this year, you start looking at the clock and think, ‘geez, it's ticking’.
“But there were a few conversations towards the end of the trade period this year when Jack Gunston – who’s a similar player, obviously much higher calibre – when he made the decision to move over to Brisbane, a position seemed to open up.”
The medium forward booted 49 goals in the VFL this year and 78 in 25 games for the VFL club across 2021 and 2022.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell, who coached Box Hill in 2021 and spent time mentoring Greene, got in contact with the new recruit in the trade period and got the ball rolling.
“Sam got in contact and said, ‘look, there’s a bit of discussion but a lot to play out’, and that was probably about a month ago,” Greene added.
“It started to heat up over the last couple of weeks and we finally got there which was great.”
Greene also paid tribute to the “accountable” culture at Box Hill that has seen him flourish and added he’s excited to work under Mitchell once again.
“He’s obviously got a tremendous IQ and he sees the game as well as anyone I've ever spoken to, but I think his relationships are a real strength of his, it’s probably something that’s underrated,” Greene explained.
“I know I had a lot of fun with him, even into this year, he wasn’t coaching me (but) we’d have conversations, he’d pass you in the rooms and try to come to as many Box Hill games and give you a little comment or little pot on the side and it just made you laugh.
“I felt like it just relaxed me this year.
“There were times I was playing under him where he’d just pull me aside if I’d made a few mistakes or wasn’t playing my best, he’d just say, ‘take a few deep breaths mate, you’re aright’.
“It’s an unfamiliar coaching style to what I’m used to so it’s really refreshing and exciting sort of knowing what I’m going to get going into it.”
Hawthorn's first to four-year players are due to report for pre-season later this month.