Tom Barrass trade request: Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell reacts to West Coast Eagle confirming trade desire

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has described Tom Barrass as a “quality player” but kept his emotions in check in the wake of the star West Coast defender’s trade demand. Barrass on Tuesday confirmed his intention to join the Hawks, capping weeks of speculation around his future that revved up following a meeting with Mitchell last month. Hawthorn will look to satisfy the Eagles with a deal in October’s trade period to secure the 28-year-old who is contracted for another three years, with Mitchell hesitant to laud the potential coup ahead of a swap being finalised. “It’s certainly a positive... he’s obviously a quality player,” Mitchell said on 3AW. “At this time of year, my focus is obviously on other things, so I’ll leave that with the list management team. “We respect that he’s a contracted player, so there’s a few things to work through with trying to get that done.” Barrass and Mitchell reportedly met in the days after the completion of round 20, when the Hawks coach made the trip west following his team’s win over Adelaide in South Australia. It came in the immediate aftermath of what would be Barrass’ final game of the season in the Eagles’ western derby loss to Fremantle. The 2022 club champion missed the final four games of West Coast’s campaign. While not speaking specifically about meeting Barrass, Mitchell defended his process of sitting down with players from rival clubs ahead of potential moves as standard practice. “Realistically, I think any player (who’s) thinking of changing clubs - any player who has a desire to change clubs - one of the key people you would like to meet in these situations for any player is the head coach of the club that you’re thinking about going to,” Mitchell said. “If there’s any players thinking about joining Hawthorn, obviously meeting me would be part of it.” Barrass and Mitchell were teammates at the Eagles in 2017, with the latter becoming an assistant coach the following year for the club’s flag triumph before making the move back to the Hawks. West Coast on Tuesday vowed to ensure they would get a big return for the 2022 Worsfold medallist when the trade period opens on October 7, a day before his 29th birthday. “Tom has today informed us of his desire to pursue an opportunity at another club,” Eagles football manager Gavin Bell said. “While the club respects Tom’s request, he is contracted for another three seasons and our vice-captain. “We will endeavour to meet Tom’s request while protecting the best interests of the West Coast Eagles.” Hawthorn captain James Sicily said he was excited about the possibility of Barrass joining the club. “Pretty excited by that prospect but a lot of water to go under the bridge still,” he said. “That’s exciting that players are seeing Hawthorn as somewhere they want to be. It’s a good feeling.”