BFNL: Neaves, Frost give Hawks' ruck stocks a double boost

Frost has joined the Hawks fresh from winning back-to-back premierships with Harcourt in the Maryborough-Castlemaine District league, while Neaves has already etched his name into Eaglehawk folklore.

Neaves was a member of the Hawks' 2018 premiership team, winning the Nalder Medal playing in the ruck in the grand final win over Strathfieldsaye only a fortnight after dislocating his elbow.

A former Bendigo Pioneer, Neaves, 25, departed the Hawks after the 2018 season and joined VFL club Coburg, while he has also played at Glenroy since leaving Canterbury Park.

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Neaves this year had a season off footy after undergoing an elbow reconstruction stemming back to the injury he suffered during the 2018 finals.

"He had a bit of an issue with some loss of feeling in his hand, which is why he didn't play this year, but he's had that all sorted now," Eaglehawk coach Travis Matheson said this week.

"We're excited to have Jonty back and the benefit he brings is his flexibility. He is athletic and can play multiple spots on the ground.

"He has obviously shown what he can do in the ruck, but I think looking at a needs basis he will probably spend a bit of time up forward and assist us with finding another avenue to goal."

Meanwhile, as well as playing in Harcourt's back-to-back premierships, ruckman Frost was also the winner of the MCDFNL's 2022 Berry Powell Medal as best and fairest and was runner-up this year to Trentham's Joel Cowan.

As well as his success with Harcourt, Frost also has senior Goulburn Valley league experience with Euroa.

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"He's quite athletic and has got enough height where he is going to be able to compete with the bigger boys in the league," Matheson said.

"He's probably more of a traditional ruckman who will sit behind the footy.

"Normally this time of the year it can be pretty hard to get hold of big fellas, so it's good to have got two on board in Jonty and Brayden."

The additions of Neaves and Frost offset the departure of Connor Dalgleish, who carried the ruck duties for the Hawks this year.

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The Hawks have also lost midfielder Dillon Williams back to Rochester, this year's Michelsen medallist Noah Wheeler won't play next year after injuring his ACL in Eaglehawk's first semi-final loss to Strathfieldsaye, while Jarryn Geary has retired.

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