Hawthorn coach comments on rival interest in Sam Frost

Hawthorn defender Sam Frost has emerged on the radar of rival clubs of late.

AFL Media’s Josh Gabelich reported this week that the Sydney Swans and even St Kilda are showing interest in the 31-year-old.

Frost is contracted with the Hawks for 2025 after triggering a clause in his deal this season, but some doubt has been placed on his role at the club with the impending arrivals of Tom Barrass from West Coast and Josh Battle from St Kilda.

Hawks coach Sam Mitchell was asked by Kane Cornes on SEN Breakfast: “Will he be at a different club next year?”

Mitchell replied: “I wouldn’t have thought so.

“I love ‘Frosty’, he is one of my favourites.”

Mitchell alluded to a spot in defence for Frost next year even with Barrass and Battle coming in.

He is looking to add flexibility to the likes of captain James Sicily, Blake Hardwick and Josh Weddle who spent the majority of their time in defence in 2024 but have the respective capabilities to contribute strongly elsewhere on the ground.

“There are a lot of positions on the field,” he added.

“I would have loved to have played Sicily and Hardwick a little bit more in different positions this year but we were just really restricted. A lot of our injuries meant that we had a limited amount of flexibility with the side.

“Josh Weddle has got the chance to move around the ground at different stages, whether that’s next year or in years to come.

“We’ve got some flexibility in the side that we haven’t been able to play with just yet. You could look at Tom Stewart (at Geelong) and the way he’s been used this year.

“We haven’t had that flexibility. We’ve done it at different stages but we need to continue to evolve our list.”

Former Demon and Giant Frost, who as been at the Hawks for five seasons, played 24 games this year but missed the weekend’s Semi Final loss to Port Adelaide due to a stress fracture in his foot.