Ex-Richmond and West Coast midfielder Patrick Naish and delisted Collingwood onballer Callum Brown will train with Hawthorn's AFL squad across the course of the pre-season.
The former AFL-listed father-son pair have signed with the Hawks' VFL affiliate Box Hill for next year but will train under Sam Mitchell in the coming weeks.
The Hawks have held strong ties with their reserves in recent seasons, recruiting Jai Newcombe, James Blanck and Fergus Greene out of Box Hill through the Mid-Season Draft and delisted free agency.
Hawthorn currently have one list spot available for 2023 and could look toward one of Naish or Brown to fill the vacancy should they impress Mitchell, who took on the senior coaching role at Waverley following a short stint with Box Hill.
Zero Hanger also understands the Hawks will include promising Box Hill pair Liam Coghlan and Callum Porter as part of their summer training program, with Porter, a former Western Bulldogs midfielder, already a familiar face after training with Hawthorn this year.
The Hawks offered small Box Hill forward Vincent Adducci a spot in their training program last pre-season, however decided against filling their open list spot, eventually adding Blanck and Sandringham Dragons ruckman Max Ramsden through the June intake.
For Naish and Brown, the duo may find a career lifeline in the brown and gold after being delisted this year by the Eagles and Magpies respectively.
Naish was cut from West Coast at the end of the 2022 campaign after one season and 11 games for the Perth powerhouse, who he joined as an SSP signing in March.
The move added to a whirlwind few months for the midfielder, who was cut from Richmond in 2021 before signing with SANFL club Norwood last December. Naish would return to Victoria as a train and trial prospect at St Kilda before venturing to Western Australia, signing with the Eagles after one week of training.
The 23-year-old could again be in line for a Rookie list spot through the SSP, with the Hawks sure to weigh up further list changes before the window's deadline or hold their one vacancy for next year's Mid-Season Draft.
Brown, who also joined Box Hill last week, was cut from Collingwood after 70 games in six seasons, having been drafted to Olympic Park as a father-son selection in 2016.
The son of Magpies great Gavin Brown, Callum and his younger brother Tyler were not offered new deals at Collingwood beyond 2022.
The 24-year-old, who played just six AFL games this season, is in line to begin training with the Hawks as early as this week.
Porter played just the one game for the Bulldogs during his three years at Whitten Oval, featuring against the Gold Coast Suns in 2020, where he recorded nine disposals and four tackles.
With Mitchell looking to place a focus on youth and development, Coghlan could also be in consideration for the Hawks' final list spot, with the 21-year-old emerging as a promising half-back and wing option.
The SSP signing window opened on Monday and will run until Wednesday, February 15.
