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<\/p>\nA Hawks young gun has spoken on the key to his breakout season after being linked to the Zach Merrett trade saga. <\/p>\n
Plus an emerging ruckman turned down a significantly better rival offer to stay loyal to their club, and a rising Giant\u2019s dad has lobbied for a Victorian homecoming after intrigue around his future.<\/p>\n
In and Under delves into footy\u2019s hottest topics, with insights from behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
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Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n MACKENZIE ON BREAKOUT SEASON, LINK TO MERRETT TRADE SAGA<\/p>\n Hawthorn young gun Cam Mackenzie has put his improved form down to more consistent midfield opportunities and reps at AFL level. <\/p>\n Hawks coach Sam Mitchell gave a special shout out to Mackenzie for his \u201cintensity\u201d after the club\u2019s midfield domination of GWS last Friday night.<\/p>\n The 22-year old registered 27 disposals with seven tackles and the fourth-most pressure acts (24) to continue a career-best season where he\u2019s established himself in Hawthorn\u2019s on-ball brigade.<\/p>\n After limited senior opportunities last season, when Mackenzie played 13 games, the former No. 7 pick is now thriving with greater continuity. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been nice this year to have a bit more time through the middle. I\u2019ve really enjoyed the extra responsibility of being a frontline midfielder,\u201d he told foxfooty.com.au after last Friday night\u2019s win over GWS.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just about consistency, I\u2019m now really confident in my body and I\u2019ve had a good stretch of games in terms of a conditioning standpoint. <\/p>\n \u201cFour years in, I feel a lot fitter and a lot stronger. I feel like I\u2019m able to cope with the pressure of AFL footy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe messaging from the club was that they were happy with how I was going in terms of progression.<\/p>\n \u201cWorked really hard through the off-season and wanted to get myself in a position to contribute on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n Cam Mackenzie was linked to Zach Merrett trade talk (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n It comes after the 59-gamer was linked to Zach Merrett trade talk as a player that could break the deadlock in negotiations between Hawthorn and Essendon. <\/p>\n But Mackenzie, a Hawks fan growing up, said he was assured at his exit interview the club was keen to keep him and that\u2019s as far as it went.<\/p>\n Fair to say he\u2019s repaying the faith. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really give it much thought,\u201d he said of the Merrett trade link.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember at my exit meeting with the club when that was brought up, they were so clear on the fact that they loved me here and I definitely wanted to stay.<\/p>\n \u201cI love this group and I grew up a Hawks man, so I don\u2019t want to be anywhere else.<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn\u2019t really affect me at all, I was getting pretty clear messaging.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t meet with Essendon at all and there was no talk from my manager. It was just a bit of talk in the media.\u201d<\/p>\n With Hawthorn set to again target Merrett among others in an aggressive recruiting bid, Mackenzie would welcome the Bombers star joining Hawks midfield.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s obviously a great footballer and someone that adds a lot, he\u2019s just a gun,\u201d Mackenzie said. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen, I don\u2019t have any say on that sort of stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll just have to wait and see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Scott talks Jezza form slump | 10:17<\/p>\n GIANTS RUCKMAN REJECTED BIGGER TIGERS DEAL, DAD OF YOUNG GUN LOBBIES FOR VICTORIAN MOVE<\/p>\n It\u2019s believed Giants ruckman Nick Madden turned down a more significant offer from Richmond after recommitting to GWS.<\/p>\n Madden this week signed a four-year extension that runs through 2030 in a coup for the club that casts doubt around the future of free agent Kieren Briggs at the Giants.<\/p>\n The Tigers are in the market for a ruck successor to veteran skipper Toby Nankervis, who turns 32 next month and has been limited to four games this season due to injury, with foxfooty.com\u2019au\u2019s<\/a> Will Faulkner first reporting Richmond\u2019s interest in Madden<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s understood Madden, a Giants academy product, took a substantially less deal to stay at the club as the 22-year old followed in the footsteps of the likes of Finn Callaghan, Sam Taylor and Brent Daniels.<\/p>\n Richmond had interest in Nick Madden (Photo by James Wiltshire\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n The Giants are now expected to turn their attention to locking away Max Gruzewski on a new deal, while veterans Toby Greene are Jesse Hogan also out of contract. <\/p>\n Intrigue around Gruzewski, considered a target for Victorian clubs trying to lure him home, comes after the 21-year old\u2019s dad lobbied for his son to join North Melbourne, who the family supports, with a social media post earlier this year. <\/p>\n \u201cWould make me happy if the young fella came to the club we follow,\u201d Jeremy Gruzewski wrote on a Facebook North Melbourne fan page post in late April that linked the Giants forward to trade talk. <\/p>\n Gruzewski suffered a patella dislocation against Hawthorn last week that won\u2019t require surgery. <\/p>\n But it\u2019s brutal timing for the former No. 22 pick, who set for a key opportunity to help anchor Adam Kingsley\u2019s forward line with Hogan facing a potential season-ending finger injury.<\/p>\n Intrigue around Gruzewski comes after the 21-year old\u2019s dad lobbied for his son to join North Melbourne with a social media post earlier this year.Source: FOX SPORTSCould Max Gruzewski be bound for Arden Street? (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/AFL Photos\/via Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n There\u2019s meanwhile yet to be any contract talks between the Giants and Briggs, who Richmond could turn its attention to. <\/p>\n West Coast\u2019s Bailey Williams and Gold Coast\u2019s Jarrod Witts are other rucks set to become free agents.<\/p>\n GWS prioritising Madden\u2019s signature is a strong showing of faith in the 204cm, six-gamer, who looked set to take over the number one ruck spot at the club before being sidelined by injury.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to have Nick commit to the club for the next four years,\u201d GWS footy boss Jason McCartney said. <\/p>\n \u201cRuckmen often take a bit longer to develop but we\u2019re really pleased with where he\u2019s already at and it\u2019s exciting to see how much more he can grow over the coming years. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got a great hunger to compete, which paired with his size and his skillset makes him a really promising player. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s also a terrific young fella who is highly valued by his teammates and our football program, so we\u2019re really happy thrilled that he sees his future here at the Giants.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Hawks young gun has spoken on the key to his breakout season after being linked to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":775965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-775964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=775964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/775964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/775965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=775964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=775964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=775964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}