West Australian Tyler Brockman has readily admitted his intention before the season was even close to over to cut ties with Hawthorn to head back home.

So much so that the 20-year-old had been having discussions with Fremantle multiple times during the week before adding his final Hawks games on the weekends.

Brockman eventually was traded to the Dockers' crosstown rivals for picks 44 and 63, after West Coast threatened ahead of the final day of this year's trade period to walk the uncontracted goalsneak to the AFL preseason draft for no compensation.

"I was thinking about the future the whole time just as I was coming to the end of my Hawthorn contract," Brockman told SEN WA Breakfast Radio.

"I did have a couple of meetings with Freo towards the end of the year.

"I did feel a little bit guilty…I did like them, but I always knew I wanted to go to West Coast the whole time.

"No matter what their deal was, West Coast was the one."

The Fremantle offer on the table was over four seasons – on significantly more money per year – after his first contract was set to expire following three years at Waverley.

The twist of irony was that the Yamatji man was leaving the club his idol, Cyril Rioli, starred across 189 games and 11 seasons, while also snubbing another that his uncle, Greg Broughton, started with his first 64 appearances towards a 110-game AFL career.

But there was a third, current player, Liam Ryan, who, the Wajarri man, always had Brockman's ear to convince his mate that West Coast was where their future lied together.

"I supported West Coast when I was younger," Brockman added.

"I always had an interest in them, even through the draft.

"I always knew where I sort of wanted to go and the Eagles were the right option."

The departure also had Brockman walking away from a number of high expectations from Sam Mitchell.

The first-year coach had no qualms in seeking out the second-year player to inherit Rioli's former 33 guernsey.

But a hamstring injury that struggled to heal did not see the iconic number appear in the 2022 season once.

"I felt honoured at the start, but I felt funny when I first got to wear it when Sam gave me the number," Brockman said.

"I didn't know how I'd go wearing it or what feedback I'd get.

"When I put it on, I'd just played my own game, but there was a bit of expectation."

The new Eagles recruit also has his own optimistic expectations since joining the club only last week.

Mitchell had axed the No.46 pick from the 2020 draft for the last four rounds this season after kicking just three goals across his final run of six Hawthorn games.

Brockman, who moved back to Perth with his partner and their near one-year-old twins, has already started a few offseason sessions with Noongar man Tim Kelly and Barkindji man Jamaine Jones at the club's training headquarters before official preseason begins for good reason.

"I do believe I belong at AFL level, but it's more about just getting a chance really," he said.

"So I just need to prove that."

Brockman made 11 appearances and kicked 10 goals in his rookie year, and appeared 15 times and added a further 13 goals this year.

The livewire forward once kicked three goals in back-to-back outings, but he only did so either side of the injury-plagued year in round 23 of 2021 and round 3 of 2023.

The mentality after winning just nine of his 26 matches for the Hawks is to come back to a dysfunctional West Coast with "a want to win games" attitude.

That has Brockman not sitting on his heels, but pushing his case hard to spend more time into the midfield after identifying a weakness in his game.

"I haven't been asked too much from West Coast, but personally I want to put a tank in me, so I can have longer minutes in the games," he said.