Wary of the bear on the back, coach Alastair Clarkson says Hawthorn have an open mind on how to proceed with their AFL recruiting.
For more than a month Clarkson has said repeatedly that the Hawks are looking for the right players and method that will take them to their next premiership.
They only have five wins this season and are unlikely finalists.
That has prompted speculation about whether they should go through trades or the draft to regenerate their playing list.
Clarkson noted that early last year, the Hawks had no idea that they would need to recruit Chad Wingard to cover the sudden retirement of Cyril Rioli.
He added there had been no indication that Grant Birchall, who is coming back through the VFL, would miss two years of senior football through injury.
“We’ll do whatever we think is going to be the best thing for our footy club,” Clarkson said.
“There are things that come up, like a bear jumping on your back.”
Clarkson added it is far too early to judge the trade that brought Wingard to Hawthorn and sent Ryan Burton to Port Adelaide.
Wingard has struggled this season with repeated injuries.
But Clarkson noted that Hawks veteran Shaun Burgoyne had a delayed start to his first season at Hawthorn in 2010, before becoming a massive trade success.
“It’s five minutes old, come back to us in about 2027 and let us know how it’s all gone then,” Clarkson said.
“So many people want it to be that one club wins and the other loses, but so often when it’s a good trade, both clubs get benefit.”