Mansfield coach Cameron Hotton will welcome Corowa-Rutherglen big man James Lawton with open arms if he is released by the Ovens and Murray club.
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Roos’ best and fairest winner Brent Rose hopes to join Lawton at the Goulburn Valley league outfit, but both are contracted at John Foord Oval for 2018.
Hotton said a connection between Lawton and former Wangaratta Rovers star Jamie Sheahan, who has been at Mansfield for five seasons, has made the move a possibility.
Lawton stated work commitments near Mansfield as the reason he seeks to move, believing it would be impossible for him to fully commit to the Roos next season.
“James went to school with Jamie and James has done a bit of work over here, so they’ve caught up a couple of times of late,” Hotton said.
“We’ve chatted to him and he's discussing with Corowa about coming to us.
“We’re certainly keen and we’d love him to come and play and reignite that friendship with Jamie.
“If all things turn out at his end and he’s able to get a clearance from Corowa, we’re more than happy to have them both.
We’re certainly keen and we’d love him to come and play and reignite that friendship with Jamie (Sheahan).
- Cameron Hotton
“I think he’s very excited for the job prospect and we said if you’re keen and it all comes to fruition we’ll definitely have you playing.”
If successful in signing Lawton and Rose, Mansfield will have more than enough room with points to accommodate the pair.
“We’ve really only got the one person over two points, so I don’t think they will have any bearing on our points system at all,” Hotton said.
“We had two last year, one was a two-pointer and one was a three-pointer, so one will drop back to one point an the other will be two points.
“We’d be definitely be happy to see someone of his (Lawton’s) height, so if he was able to end up with us it would be great.
“A bit of extra experience will top our team up.”
The Roos remain adamant they won’t be allowing the contracted pair to move on.