Hawthorn's list build process flicked the switch last year, with the club turning its attention from top draft talent to ready-made assets.
In 2025, the Hawks are tipped to attack the open market once more, with a strong draft hand likely to help.
The most pressing list needs aren't obvious at Hawthorn, with the club possessing a deep-batting defensive cohort, a strong midfield that has seen young guns forced to play VFL, and a forward line that is humming with clinical talls and smalls.
They also have a ruckman yet to reach his peak while competing with his best counterparts across the competition.
Considering their squad and position as premiership contenders, we take a look at how the Hawks could improve their squad, and hopes for a flag in the future.
2Sam Flanders
The type of player the Hawks could get in someone like Sam Flanders would have to be the club's greatest desire for the off-season.
A hard-running, versatile and formidable ball winner who can roll through the middle, complement the inside hustle of Jai Newcombe and Will Day would go a long way to boosting Sam Mitchell's premiership prospects as coach.
Flanders, unlike most others on this list, isn't off-contract, and re-signed with the Suns as recently as 2023 on a deal that sees him tied to the Carrara club for a further two seasons beyond this one.
But given reports suggesting the Gippsland product could be on the market as he deals with a role that has shifted him away from a position he thrived in last year, a call from the Hawks might be worthwhile.
It's not like Hawthorn doesn't have the trade capital required either, holding Carlton's opening pick for this year's draft and their own future first for the next two years.
