DAYLE Garlett's fledgling AFL career is at the crossroads after the Hawthorn recruit told the club he was struggling to cope with the demands of elite-level football.
He will not play AFL or VFL football for Hawthorn's teams in the near future but he will continue to train with the club.
Garlett has not been selected for either of Hawthorn's NAB Challenge matches to date and he will not take part in the Box Hill Hawks' scheduled VFL practice match on Saturday.
Rumours that Garlett had taken time away from the club circulated on social media on Friday evening, before the Hawks released a statement after 11pm to clarify the 20-year-old's position.
The club said Garlett had approached the club during the week to address his concerns about the coping with the demands of AFL-level training.
Football operations manager Chris Fagan said it was in Garlett's best interests not to add the pressures of match play, according to the Hawks' statement.
Contrary to rumours that Garlett would take time away from the Hawks, the statement said he would continue to train.
Garlett trained with the club on Friday morning, having been left out of both of Hawthorn's NAB Challenge matches to date, but there was no obvious indication of his unease.
A prodigious talent, he was overlooked in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft after clubs baulked at the West Australian's lack of off-field discipline.
Following a stellar season in the WAFL where the left-footer kicked 48 goals in 19 games for Swan Districts, the Hawks used pick No.38 in the 2013 draft to acquire Garlett.
Fagan told the Herald Sun on Friday evening that Garlett was battling to deal with of the intense public interest in his AFL career after his bumpy road to being drafted.
"Everyone always asks about Dayle Garlett and how he is going. There is a lot of interest in him and I know he is feeling the pressure of that," he said.
“We see it as a good thing that he has come to us with this. He gave us all the information and Clarko and I thanked him for it.
“We thought it was a really good thing that he was honest about how he was feeling.”
The new recruit has trained fully throughout the summer but the Hawks' leadership group has reportedly spoken to Garlett on several occasions about his approach to life as an AFL footballer.
Dual premiership Hawk Sam Mitchell said in early February that Garlett, despite his immense talent, was at the bottom of a steep learning curve.
"He's got a lot to learn," Mitchell said.
"With some of his footy stuff you just think, wow. And so much of how he plays comes naturally to him.
"He will be a good player, but he has a lot to learn about professionalism, lifestyle, game-plan and defensive actions."
