WHEN Tom Lynch has a moment in his recovery from knee surgery, he may wish to call Tom Mitchell, Adam Treloar or Dion Prestia about a move to Victoria.

All three have crossed borders recently to the same Melbourne-based clubs – Hawthorn, Collingwood and Richmond – now chasing the signature of the Gold Coast co-captain, ruled out for the season on Thursday.

All three clubs would be able to pitch why their club is the No.1 destination for a return home that seems more likely by the day.

But if Lynch seeks out Mitchell for a chat about why he should join Hawthorn, he should also put a call in to two more names on that club's staff list.

Michael Makdissi and Andrew Russell are far from household names for the average football fan, but are part of the fabric at Waverley Park.

Makdissi has been the Hawks' doctor since 2005, the same year Clarkson started as coach, and Russell (circled in the image below) followed his path as fitness boss from Port Adelaide.

Both are aces in the pack for Hawthorn's pursuit of players and, combined with head of football Graham Wright, carry a telling record – especially for those with an injury history.

And if Mitchell's endorsement isn't enough, Brian Lake, Shaun Burgoyne, Ryan Burton and Lynch's former Gold Coast teammate Jaeger O'Meara are only a phone call away.

Hawthorn's medical screening process is said to be one of the most rigorous in the competition, and they don't muck around.

Just ask Lake.

Five days after watching Hawthorn lose the 2012 Grand Final to Sydney by 10 points, he was meeting with the Hawks before completing a medical on his injury-prone body.

Another five days later, a trade with the Western Bulldogs was complete, and the vision of turning a 30-year-old with a long list of knee, hip and shoulder problems into a premiership star was born.

Brian Lake re-wrote his career story after crossing to Hawthorn. Picture: AFL Photos



Russell was there every step of the journey, a man Lake recognises for his three flags and Norm Smith Medal as a Hawk.

"I started rehab two hours after my (first) press conference in Hawks colours," Lake told AFL.com.au.

"Yes, doctors have a big impact, but just behind, or even equal to the importance of 'Clarko', is Andrew Russell."

"With the physio Andrew Lambert (who remains at the club) I started from scratch, (reset) knee strength for weeks before even thinking of running.

"Patience and authority is something you don't get (elsewhere) with heads of fitness because of pressure from the senior coach, but not with Andrew Russell.

"'Clarko' respects him and has great confidence in him. It's the player first with him, and getting him to a point where he is ready to compete at AFL level, like Jaeger.

"Older players, players with previous injuries had training sessions tailored for their own needs. Logistically it's hard to monitor everyone in every session, so ownership for some players is crucial.

"He's a hard-arse, Andrew Russell, but he gets results and that's how he gains so much respect."

Russell wasn't scared three years prior to Lake's arrival when Burgoyne walked in on crutches to his first Hawthorn press conference following knee surgery.

The pair had spent four years together at Alberton, culminating in the 2004 premiership, and 194 games as a Hawk later, Burgoyne hasn't ruled out a 10th season – and 18 overall – with the Hawks.

OBSESSION FOR PERFECTION How Burgoyne made it to 350

As for Makdissi, the Hawk medico poked and prodded Burton at the 2015 Draft Combine before making a call very few others wanted to make – giving the South Australian the green light to be drafted at pick No.19.

After a junior career destined to be a top-five pick, Burton suffered a broken leg and dislocated kneecap, was nursed through four games in his debut AFL season and is now one of the game's most exciting young prospects.

Makdissi was also seen as the clincher in O'Meara's decision to choose Hawthorn at the end of 2016.

With clubs throwing themselves at a midfielder who hadn't played for more than two years after constant knee troubles, their relationship from the AIS-AFL Academy 2011 tour of Europe proved crucial.

"Jaeger has a relationship with Michael back from the AIS days; when Jaeger said they met they clicked, and obviously with Burgoyne back in the day it really got to him," O'Meara's agent Colin Young said at the time of the trade.

"So he was pretty happy that all the planets lined up and Hawthorn was the one.

"It's always a risk because of two years out of the game, but they (Hawthorn) think he can (get back to play) and they've got the proof in the pudding."

O'Meara was wrapped in cotton wool and restricted to six games in his first season before stepping up to play 12 of a possible 13 this year.

Jaeger O'Meara has been a constant presence for the Hawks this season. Picture: AFL Photos



He even admitted to Channel Seven this week, that much like Lake, he is on a tailored program and won't complete much more than 75 per cent of training throughout his career.

O'Meara has averaged 25 disposals and been in the top three players on the ground for kilometres covered in Hawthorn's last three wins.

He is starting to show why the Hawks parted with one first-round and two second-round picks to land him.

Lynch has been playing under duress this season, a big tick for a player weighing up his future and leading his battling club, but has finally succumbed to the soreness.

The restricted free agent first injured his PCL in a high-speed collision with Jake Melksham in round 12, 2013, and missed the rest of the year.

He played every game in 2014, and was the AFL's No.1 contested marking player in 2015-16 before the injury re-surfaced in 2017, sitting out the final three matches and rounds 7-10 this season.

Lynch will be operated on by leading Professor Julian Feller – the same man who Treloar visited for his hamstring this week and also repaired Prestia's knee that cut short his time as a Sun in 2016.

Luke Hodge, Jarryd Roughead and Ben Stratton have bounced back from the same injury, and while defender Grant Birchall has had a frustrating series of PCL setbacks, he himself remains only a handful of weeks away from a return.

While success, money and proximity to family and friends will come into Lynch's decision, his best chances of a return to 2016 All Australian form could sit in the hands of two men who call Waverley Park home.