Former Fremantle ruckman Lloyd Meek admits he was left “frustrated” while toiling away at Peel Thunder and unable to break into the Dockers’ best line-up before his off-season shift to Hawthorn.

Meek was one of five players who requested trades out of the Cockburn-based club last year, landing at the Hawks as part of the deal that brought Jaeger O’Meara home to WA.

The ruckman played just six AFL games last season despite dominating at WAFL level, where he averaged 32 hit-outs and 18 disposals to be crowned the Thunder’s best-and-fairest.

“I’d be lying if I said it (being starved of opportunity) wasn’t frustrating. I think anyone in the same position – there were guys in the same position with me playing at Peel – and we were all frustrated,” Meek told AFL.com.au.

“A lot of wanting to explore opportunities and a lot of wanting to come to Hawthorn initially was based around that until I heard more about the exciting group.

“I was stuck behind Sean Darcy and Rory Lobb, and with talk of Lobby leaving and (Luke) Jackson coming, it probably didn’t change a heap.

“At the end of the day, I was probably not going to be in the mix really in the best 22. I think everyone reaches a point in their career where you’ve got to try and build your own career not based off other people’s injuries; that’s what I was ready to do.”

Despite being a hot property during the trade period, with about 10 clubs looking to recruit the Victorian, Meek is no automatic selection at Hawthorn, with the club having Ned Reeves, Max Lynch and Max Ramsden at their disposal.

The 24-year-old will be keen to have cemented his spot in the team by round eight, when the Hawks travel to WA to take on Freo.

“The beauty of the sport is competition is everywhere. If you don’t love that then you go backward, especially in the ruck space. I can’t wait to go to work with the two Maxes and Ned. Hopefully, we can build a partnership where we can all complement each other,” Meek said.

“Working on the forward craft is a part of my game I’ve really committed to in the past couple of years. Hopefully, I can flourish in that area.

“We all want to be No.1 and I know the other guys are thinking exactly the same thing, but at the end of the day whatever team balance works best I will fully commit to that.”