THE best bargain of all?

As the trade period rolls around for another year it is again a debate amongst many in the football world.

Nabbing a bargain in the offseason is an art the Hawks have become synonymous with.

Turning discarded players into premiership stars has been a regular occurrence for the three-peat Hawks but the question is still to be answered; who is the best bargain of all?

If you ask Brian Lake he will no doubt tell you his 54 games at the Hawks win him the title.

Drafted at pick 71 in the 2001 AFL Draft, the 34-year-old’s decorated career included 197 games with the Western Bulldogs and 54 with Hawthorn.

Those 54 games included three premierships and a Norm Smith Medal. Not a bad return on investment?

There’s no doubting Lake will be remembered as one of the best key defenders of his generation, and one of its great characters, but is he the Hawks best bargain?

Enter Shaun Burgoyne. Burgoyne was traded to the Hawks in exchange for picks nine and 16 at the end of 2009.

He has gone on to play in three premierships for the Hawks – 2013, 2014 and 2015 – from 162 club games.

His list of achievements is lengthy.

He has played 31 finals – equal second for any AFL player, ever – and has played the past 82 games in succession.

Stats aside, he has continued to prove time and time again that when the going gets tough, Shaun Burgoyne gets going.

Another throwing their hat in the ring as the Hawks’ best bargain is key defender, Josh Gibson.

Gibson was traded by North Melbourne for picks 25 and 41 in the eventful post-season of 2009.

There’s no denying that Gibson has had a massive influence across seven years at Hawthorn, the club he supported growing up.

He was limited to just 12 games in his first season, 2010, before finishing runner-up in the Peter Crimmins Medal the following year. He’s gone from strength to strength since then, playing in four consecutive grand finals and winning the Peter Crimmins Medal in two premiership years – 2013 and 2015.

Throw in Jack Gunston, David Hale and Jon Ceglar as other recycling success stories at the Hawks and the best bargain conundrum becomes even more difficult to solve. Regardless of the outcome it seems the Hawks would definitely be one to keep an eye on at the Boxing Day sales.

Have your say on the Hawks’ best bargain by voting below: