Jack Ginnivan is intent on leaving Collingwood, with Hawthorn set to make a late play to trade for the Magpie premiership player.
The 20-year-old's management have told Collingwood they want to explore options elsewhere, just a day out from the end of the trade period on Wednesday.
After a turbulent 12 months for Ginnivan, the Magpies will consider moving on the small forward with a year to run on his contract.
As the news emerged, Ginnivan posted a picture of himself in Collingwood's headquarters captioned "locked in". The photo was deleted within minutes.
The rebuilding Hawks, who finished 16th this year, have lost young forward Tyler Brockman to West Coast and will be without veteran goalsneak Chad Wingard for most of 2024.
Collingwood have traded in small forward Lachie Schultz from Fremantle, meaning Ginnivan could again struggle to find a place in the Magpies' best 22.
After kicking 40 goals during a breakout 2022 campaign, he struggled to regain those heights following a controversy-affected start to the 2023 campaign.
Ginnivan was banned for the first two rounds of 2023 after admitting to illicit drug use in January.
He kicked 12 goals in 14 games this year, spending periods in the VFL, and failed to have an impact during Collingwood's three finals wins.
Ginnivan, who grew up supporting Hawthorn, also landed himself in trouble for attending a horse racing event on grand final eve.
“Read the room, Jack," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said in his post-grand final press conference when asked about Ginnivan's night at the races.
“You’ve got to grow up, but you’ve got to make mistakes to learn from them."
Despite McRae's public annoyance, Ginnivan went to Collingwood's Mad Monday celebrations dressed as a jockey.
If Ginnivan finds himself at Hawthorn, he could be free to attend Moonee Valley on grand final eve for years to come, with the Hawks not expected to contend for premierships any time soon.
Meanwhile, Melbourne have secured Adelaide forward Shane McAdam without having to give up valuable swingman Harrison Petty.
McAdam became a Demons player on Tuesday after Melbourne traded on a future second-round draft pick to the Crows.
The 28-year-old kicked 72 goals in 50 games for Adelaide after debuting in 2020, but was restricted to just seven appearances this year.
Adelaide had been desperate to lure the contracted Petty from the Demons after McAdam requested a trade to Melbourne.
But the Demons refused to include Petty, who is contracted until the end of 2025, in any deal.
The 23-year-old featured in Melbourne's drought-breaking 2021 premiership as a defender, but is now seen as a solution to the Demons' issues in attack, where he will play alongside emerging key forward Jacob van Rooyen.
Melbourne's issues in attack were badly exposed in this year's finals as they bowed out in straight sets for a second successive season.
The Demons were "thrilled" to trade in the dynamic McAdam, who will combine in a front half with pacy small forward Kysaiah Pickett.
