Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson is confident Shaun Burgoyne will be back to his best come the start of next season after the Hawks pulled off their second recruiting coup of AFL trade week by snaring the Port star.
The 2008 premiers, who became the first defending premier to miss the finals since Adelaide in 1999 this season, are set to again be a genuine contender next season after receiving the Power midfield ace to go with their earlier coup in recruiting highly-rated North Melbourne defender Josh Gibson.
But the Hawks had to give up plenty to secure both players with the club not only giving up its first three selections in the November 26 national draft to secure both Gibson and Burgoyne but classy small forward Mark Williams also went to Essendon as part of a complicated four-club deal to get Burgoyne, which also included Geelong.
Burgoyne, Port's 2006 best-and-fairest runner-up and All-Australian that same season, endured a disappointing 2009 when he managed just nine games due to knee problems which resulted in surgery at the end of the season.
The 157-game veteran, who turns 27 in less than a fortnight, was on crutches as he appeared alongside Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson on Friday but is at the peak of his career, provided of course he makes a full recovery from his knee problems.
"He has had to recover from knee surgery but we wouldn't have given up so much to get him to the club if we didn't think he could make a significant contribution to us over the next three- to five-year period," Clarkson said of Burgoyne on Friday.
The Port star, who identified Hawthorn as his club of choice as soon as he decided to leave Alberton, was thrilled to be joining the 2008 premiers and is now looking forward to putting his recent injury woes behind him next season.
"It was a stressful week but it was a big relief once the deal got done," Burgoyne said.
"And now I want to move on to bigger and better things like getting my body right and getting some fitness for the pre-season."
Burgoyne said the strong relationship he built with former Port assistant coach Clarkson during their time together at Alberton was the primary reason he wanted to move to Hawthorn combined with the fact that the 2004 Port premiership player believes he can recapture his best form with the Hawks.
"I have got a good relationship with Clarko and if you look at their team they have got great youth in the team and some great senior players and I think they will have some success in the next few years," he said of the Hawks.
"I wanted to move (to Victoria) for family reasons and I was pretty honest with them (Port) and I always said I wanted Port to be compensated for me leaving and they have been."
"It was a pretty good deal for all the clubs involved in the deal so I think I have left on pretty good terms."