BEING bundled out of finals in straight sets hasn't been easy to stomach for Hawthorn, but the silver lining is that the Hawks will get access to their highest draft pick since they swooped on Cyril Rioli.
After falling to the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, Hawthorn holds the 14th pick in this year's NAB AFL Draft.
Not since the Hawks snared Rioli at pick 12 in 2007 have they used a higher selection.
However, it seems highly unlikely the Hawks will take their current selection to draft night in Sydney on November 25.
Instead, Hawthorn is expected to use that pick to top-up an ageing midfield brigade by trading in Jaeger O'Meara or Tom Mitchell to Waverley.
O'Meara, 22, has already nominated the Hawks as his preferred destination after requesting a move from Gold Coast to Melbourne.
Swans ball magnet Mitchell has been heavily linked to Hawthorn but remains in the middle of a finals campaign.
The Hawks are also reportedly targeting Richmond tall forward Ty Vickery and could be forced to broker a trade if the Tigers matched their offer for the restricted free agent.
Hawthorn has made an art form of giving up early picks in deals to secure established players from rival clubs, including premiership stars Shaun Burgoyne (pick nine and 16, 2009), Brian Lake (picks 21 and 43, 2012) and Ben McEvoy (pick 18, 2013).
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Not since they recruited Mitch Thorp with pick No.6 in 2006 – one spot ahead of Joel Selwood – have the Hawks taken a pick inside the top 10.
Thorp only played two matches, but the Hawks have landed premiership players Ryan Schoenmakers (pick 16, 2008) and Isaac Smith (pick 19, 2010) with other first-round picks.
Adelaide will enter the draft with the 13th selection after going down to the Swans in their semi-final.
The Crows have taken three first-round draft picks in the past two seasons, Jake Lever at pick 14 in 2014 and Wayne Milera (11) and Tom Doedee (17) last year.
INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER (as at current ladder positions after the second week of finals)
Round one
1 Essendon
2 Brisbane Lions
3 Fremantle
4 Gold Coast
5 Carlton
6 Richmond
7 Greater Western Sydney (received from Collingwood)
8 Gold Coast (received from Melbourne)
9 Port Adelaide
10 St Kilda
11 North Melbourne
12 West Coast
13 Adelaide
14 Hawthorn
15 Fourth-placed team
16 Third-placed team
17 Runners-up
18 Premiers
*GWS will also hold Geelong's first-round pick via Carlton's on trade
Round two
19 Essendon
20 Brisbane Lions
21 Gold Coast (received from Fremantle)
22 Gold Coast
23 Carlton
24 Gold Coast (received from Richmond)
25 Collingwood
26 Melbourne
27 Gold Coast (received from Port Adelaide)
28 Brisbane Lions (received from St Kilda, via Collingwood on trade)
29 North Melbourne
30 West Coast
31 Greater Western Sydney (received from Adelaide)
32 Hawthorn
33 Fourth-placed team
34 Third-placed team
35 Runners-up
36 Premiers
Round three
37 Essendon
38 Geelong (received from Brisbane Lions)
39 Fremantle
40 Gold Coast
41 Carlton
42 Richmond
43 Collingwood
44 Melbourne
45 Port Adelaide
46 St Kilda
47 Brisbane Lions (received from North Melbourne)
48 West Coast
49 Adelaide
50 Hawthorn
51 Fourth-placed team
52 Third-placed team
53 Runners-up
54 Premiers
*Carlton will hold the Western Bulldogs' third-round pick via a trade
Round four
55 Essendon
56 Brisbane Lions
57 Fremantle
58 Gold Coast
59 Western Bulldogs (received from Carlton)
60 Richmond
61 Collingwood
62 Melbourne
63 Port Adelaide
64 St Kilda
65 North Melbourne
66 West Coast
67 Adelaide
68 Hawthorn
69 Fourth-placed team
70 Third-placed team
71 Runners-up
72 Premiers
*Western Bulldogs will also hold the Sydney Swans' fourth-round pick via a trade
Round five
73 Essendon
74 Brisbane Lions
75 Fremantle
76 Gold Coast
77 Carlton
78 Richmond
79 Collingwood
80 Melbourne
81 Port Adelaide
82 St Kilda
83 North Melbourne
84 West Coast
85 Adelaide
86 Hawthorn
87 Fourth-placed team
88 Third-placed team
89 Runners-up
90 Premiers
*Geelong will also hold Greater Western Sydney's fifth-round pick via a trade
Round six
91 Essendon
92 Brisbane Lions
93 Fremantle
94 Gold Coast
95 Carlton
96 Richmond
97 Collingwood
98 Melbourne
99 Port Adelaide
100 St Kilda
101 North Melbourne
102 West Coast
103 Adelaide
104 Hawthorn
105 Fourth-placed team
106 Third-placed team
107 Runners-up
108 Premiers
