Hawthorn are reportedly very keen to lure Melbourne Storm skipper Cameron Smith to Waverley, should he retire from the NRL.
The Herald Sun are reporting that the Hawks have contacted the Storm legend about whether he would be interested in an off-field role mentoring the club's young leaders.
The Hawks have lost a lot of experience over the last few years and are in need of some development for their next era of leaders.
It is widely believed that the 37-year-old will retire after a year full of speculation.
The Hawks are currently going through the process to appoint a new captain for 2021 and Smith would be a priceless asset to help guide and teach the new captain and leadership group.
Former skipper Ben Stratton retired at the end of 2020, as Jaeger O’Meara, Jack Gunston, Tom Mitchell, Liam Shiels and James Sicily are seen as the key candidates for the top job.
Sicily began to show his leadership potential in 2020 before suffering a serious knee injury that may see him miss the entire 2021 season.
Smith has a tight friendship with Hawk veteran Shaun Burgoyne, which may play a part in securing the 430-game Storm champion.
Smith wouldn't be the first Storm legend to make the move to the AFL post-retirement, with St Kilda securing Melbourne fullback Billy Slater to a similar role in late 2018, while GWS Giants also signed Cooper Cronk.
