BOX HILL Hawks star Vincent Adduci is set to be given the next month to stake his claim for the final spot on Hawthorn's rookie list, ahead of the pre-season supplemental selection period deadline on March 9.
The 23-year-old started training at Waverley Park on January 19 and has been fully involved in the AFL program since then, spending five days a week auditioning to become the latest Box Hill product to progress to Hawthorn.
AFL.com.au understands that Hawthorn has given Adduci no guarantees they will use the spot – on him or anyone else – before the deadline, potentially leaving it open for the mid-season rookie draft in May.
Box Hill has a long history of nurturing AFL talent for Hawthorn's benefit dating back to the beginning of the alignment in 2000, with 15 players landing on the Hawks' list after calling Box Hill City Oval home, including new senior coach Sam Mitchell, who won a premiership in 2001 and the 2002 J.J Liston Trophy.
It is understood that Mitchell has long been an admirer of Adduci and loved coaching him at Box Hill last year, mentioning his name to recruiters, coaches and players around the club across the past 18 months. Some inside Waverley Park had heard of Adduci well before they had seen him.
This time last year, Hawthorn provided Box Hill defender Lachlan Bramble with an opportunity to train for a couple of months before signing him on the eve of the season. The 23-year-old broke in for a debut in round 14 and played the final ten games in the senior side.
Mitchell pushed Bramble's case this time last year and this year he is pushing for Adduci. The Brownlow Medal winner has never forgotten how Box Hill launched his AFL career after he was overlooked by every single AFL club in his draft year, despite winning back-to-back best and fairest awards for the Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup, forcing him to mount his case in the VFL before Hawthorn drafted him at pick No. 36 in 2001.
Adduci was invited to train with the Hawks for some main training sessions at the start of 2021 and impressed many with his dynamic performances in match simulation and in an intra-club, before going back to Box Hill and performing to a level that saw him named in the forward pocket of the VFL team of the year.
Mitchell used the livewire across half forward in 2021 and as an extra midfielder at times, allowing him to play his natural game and use his flair, speed and sidestep in the forward half of the ground to impact the scoreboard and provide pressure.
Adduci has trained with the forwards over the past few weeks, working closely with three-time premiership veteran Luke Breust, Dylan Moore and Jai Newcombe.
While there is a very real possibility Hawthorn list manager Mark McKenzie may opt to save the spot for the mid-season draft, that won't necessarily close the door for Adduci.
The Hawks trialled Jackson Callow during the pre-season supplemental selection period last year and chose not to go with him then, before recruiting him at the mid-season rookie draft. Hawthorn also selected Box Hill midfielder Newcombe with pick No.2 in that draft after a blistering start to the VFL season under Mitchell. Nine days later he laid a record 14 tackles on debut for Alastair Clarkson's side against Sydney, adding another six senior games to his name.
With the prospect of top-up players being floated at the moment to cover for players sidelined with COVID-19 this season, one potential outcome could provide clubs with access to their own VFL-listed players in 2022.
Former Cat James Parsons and ex-Dogs Cal Porter and Fergus Greene have also been training with the Hawks in recent weeks – along with a handful of other Box Hill players – helping provide sufficient numbers for full ground drills and match simulation.
It is believed the recent success of Bramble and Newcombe, plus the emergence of ruckman Ned Reeves – who was recruited via the pre-season supplemental selection period in 2019 and went to school with Adduci at St Kevin's College – encouraged Hawthorn to get Adduci down for an official pre-season where they could take a closer look at him, rather than just seeing him a few nights a week and on weekends at Box Hill.
Away from football, Adduci has a successful streetwear label, Push Pull Shop, that many of the younger Hawthorn players wear. If things go to plan, he might be wearing a Hawthorn guernsey with some of them in 2022.