No wonder Jack Gunston is poular. The ex-Crow booted four goals in the 2013 grand final. Credit:Getty Images Shaun Burgoyne, Brent Guerra, Brian Lake and Josh Gibson, all crucial members of Hawthorn's foreign legion. But he is extremely strong and hard to move, has elite marking ability and is durable. He fixes Hawthorn's problem, immediately, in the ruck, offering the prospect of a minimum of six years' service. The Hawks don't need a gazelle – their game plan demands a physical competitor. He could end up a rich man's version of the admirable but injury-blighted Bailey.

The wisdom of the deal is less obvious from St Kilda's point of view. It will have some explaining to do – the benefits are immediately obvious on the Hawks' side of the ledger. Josh Kennedy, ex-Hawk crucial to Swans flag success. Credit:Paul Rovere But everything is harder for a club at the outset of the team-building cycle. Hawthorn can recruit on a needs basis; St Kilda's needs are too plentiful for cherry picking. The Saints are entrusting their ruck division to Tom Hickey, a kid they already gave up a first-round pick for last year. If he becomes a better ruckman than McEvoy, and the Saints land a star with pick 17, this could be the deal that begins their renaissance. In the long run, the significant but hardly stratospheric talents of Shane Savage could be seen as an ancillary benefit of this fascinating deal.

As St Kilda list manger Ameet Bains notes, at their stage of development the Saints need to stockpile the youthful talent that will provide the bedrock for later additions of senior talent. They need to undertake the hard yards Hawthorn did in the early to mid-noughties, when fans got on board, despite four-win seasons, happy that Messrs Hodge, Lewis, Roughead and Franklin provided the basis for eventual success. Richmond followed this model, building around a core of Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin, and long-suffering fans bought in, massively. Now it is adding to its list with clever needs-basis chosen cast-offs such as Bachar Houli and Ivan Maric. In the free agency era, it is not just money prising established players from their clubs. It is the opportunity for sustained success. Players, like fans, need to believe they will be part of something exciting. Cynics say money is the only motivating factor behind the high-profile changes of clubs, but it is a miserable existence, playing without the prospect of team success. Lance Franklin chose Sydney over Greater Western Sydney because he wanted more premierships, now. Reports indicate that seasoned star Heath Shaw favours moving to clubs "in contention", possibly spurning huge paydays interstate and down the ladder.

Port Adelaide, a basket case a year ago, has the feel of a team on the rise, and is suddenly again an attractive destination. Clubs such as St Kilda, at the wrong end of the ladder, need to build hope not just for their members, by convincing them of a vision for the future – the phalanx of unified kids becoming a great unit together – but also for potential recruits from other teams. Players, despite the money they get paid, are mostly footy fans as well. They know you have to play with passion to be effective. They know that if there is no prospect of winning a flag on the horizon, the slog of training is unabated, the dissension and dissatisfaction make playing professional football a chore. It is a job like no other, where satisfaction rates nearly as highly as payment. One's body is on the line, after all. And for those bemoaning the "death of loyalty", well, every group, each year, is different. Every season is its own odyssey. A pre-season and home-and-away season is more than enough time to build ties that last a lifetime. Ask Brian Lake.

It is the clubs' job to build squads capable of contending, with a mixture of talent identification and sly horse trading, so that players can join that odyssey in its final(s) stages. Loading Hawthorn and Sydney provide the model for others to follow, not just with their game plans, but with their recruiting deeds. Hawthorn 2013

Brian Lake, 31. 197 games at Western Bulldogs, recruited to Hawthorn 2013.

Shaun Burgoyne, 30. 159 games at Port Adelaide, recruited to Hawthorn 2010.

Josh Gibson, 29. 65 games at North Melbourne, recruited to Hawthorn 2010.

Brent Guerra, 31. 65 games at Port Adelaide, 31 games at St Kilda, recruited to Hawthorn 2006.

Jack Gunston, 21. 14 games at Adelaide, recruited to Hawthorn 2012.

David Hale, 29. 129 games at North Melbourne, recruited to Hawthorn 2011.

Jonathan Simpkin, 25. Four games at Geelong, recruited by Hawthorn in 2013.



Sydney 2012

Josh Kennedy, 24 (at time of premiership). 13 games at Hawthorn, recruited to Sydney for 2010.

Martin Mattner, 29. 98 games at Adelaide, recruited to Sydney for 2008.

Mitch Morton, 25. 12 games at West Coast, 59 games at Richmond, recruited to Sydney for 2012.

Shane Mumford, 26. 21 games at Geelong, recruited to Sydney for 2010.

Ted Richards, 29. 33 games at Essendon, recruited to Sydney for 2006.

Rhyce Shaw, 30. 94 games at Collingwood, recruited to Sydney for 2009.



