Hawks circling Bennell

HARLEY Bennell may have played his last game for Gold Coast as rivals, including Hawthorn, consider making a play for the highly-talented but troubled midfielder.

It comes as his former teammate Campbell Brown, also a former Hawk, urged Hawthorn to do everything in its power to chase Bennell, saying he had the potential to win a Brownlow Medal in the right environment. “If I was Hawthorn, I would absolutely be trying to get Harley Bennell into the club,” Brown said. “He is a good kid who has made a mistake and learnt from it.”

Bennell, 23 next month, will miss the Suns’ last match of 2015 against Sydney today after hurting his calf last week.

And while he has two more years to run on his contract, it’s understood an end-of-season trade still looms if the right deal is available, despite public statements from Bennell and the Suns that he will remain at the club.

The Suns would want to keep him from a pure football sense, but after a difficult year on and off the field, they can ill-afford any more slip-ups.

Bennell faced intense scrutiny in July after photos of him using an illicit substance at a Tasmanian hotel in 2013 were published. He was fined $5000, stood down for a period of time and received a suspended three-match ban.

But his form was strong after his return in Round 17, which enhanced his currency in the eyes of some clubs, despite the drugs controversy.

Brown said Hawthorn would be the perfect fit for Bennell if he and the Suns decided that a fresh start in 2016 would be mutually beneficial, even if a trade could prove difficult to organise.

“I reckon it would be fantastic; one, for the footy club because I still think Harley is going to be a superstar, and two, because I think it would be great for him to come to a club like Hawthorn in terms of their values and support,” Brown said.

Hawthorn striking a suitable deal with Gold Coast would be difficult because the reigning premiers would have access to only a late first-round pick and the prospect of adding a player or players into the mix.

It is also believed the Hawks may not have sizeable room in the salary cap for next year, which would make it hard to attract a player of Bennell’s worth.

Brown, who played in the Hawks’ 2008 flag season and spent three years playing with Bennell at Gold Coast, said the Suns midfielder fit the Alastair Clarkson profile of being an elite ball user as well as having an abundance of pace.