When Western Bulldogs recruit Finn Maginness witnessed the club's thrilling Wildcard Round win over Collingwood, he was "sold" on moving away from Hawthorn.
Maginness was a father-son product at the Hawks, drafted with Pick 29 in 2019, and played 64 games in the brown and gold.
Conversations with Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge had sparked a potential switch between the two clubs, with the lure of more AFL opportunities as well as the value Beveridge saw in the hard-running utility furthering the possibility of a trade.
Maginness was in Morocco when the trade period was on, and wasn't entirely sure if his move was completed.
But on the Friday - the last day of free agency, which lined up with Zak Butters' move to the Bulldogs - the Whitten Oval club, along with Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Carlton and Hawthorn, executed a mega trade.
"First of all, it's a great club with a long-standing history in the west of Melbourne," Maginness said.
"And then during the year, Bevo got in contact with me and had a few conversations with me, and he saw value in me as a player, and wanted me to come over.
"So from then, I really thought about it seriously, and I think as the year unfolded, it looked like a great group of boys, not just the way they played, but also off the field; they have strong leaders and great personalities.
"I was really excited from then after meeting Bevo that really sparked the interest and then kept a close eye on them. That Wildcard final win, I watched that. It was great.
"From there, I was pretty sold. I was stoked it went through."
Maginness played a career-high 16 games in 2022, and was unable to eclipse that number since. He played six senior games this year, and when the Hawks welcomed Zach Merrett via the trade period, coupled with Will Day's return from injury, opportunities became scarce.
It was at the Bulldogs that the 25-year-old saw an opening, and given his versatility, he's more prepared for AFL football at his new club.
"I think I've got flexibility to play in many positions," Maginness said.
"My strength is my endurance and my running, contest to contest. I'm also very competitive. I think I've got the ability to play on all sorts of players. Different shapes and sizes.
"I think going forward, I'm happy to play whatever role the team needs of me, whether that's around the midfield, high half-forward, wing. I see myself as pretty versatile. It's a great strength of mine."
Maginness will be looking to the club's Round 1 fixture in Perth against grand finalist Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
But he won't have to wait long until he faces his former side, with Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs set for a battle in Round 5 at Marvel Stadium.
