Five Hawks have been nominated for multiple honours in the 2021 AFL Players’ Association’s MVP Awards.
Club-by-club nominations are spread cross four player-voted areas including Most Valuable Player, Best First Year, Best Captain and Most Courageous.
Blake Hardwick, Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara are among the Hawks vying for the MVP, with Lachlan Bramble nominated for Best First Year.
Ben McEvoy is up for captain, an opportunity he relished in his first year, while Hardwick is also in contention for Most Courageous player.
Hardwick produced a strong season, finishing with a career-best 20.9 disposals a game while operating at a very impressive 83.7 per cent disposal efficiency.
The 23-year-old’s hard-edged defensive approach has seen him become a vital piece of Hawthorn’s back six.
Meanwhile, Mitchell impressed once again collecting 754 touches for the year, making him the leading disposal-getter in the league for 2021. In addition, he landed a spot in this year’s 40-man All Australian squad on the back of his stellar 2021 campaign which saw him also average 4.8 tackles and 4.1 inside 50s per game.
O’Meara has arguably had his best season in Hawks colours, averaging a career-best 26.3 disposals per game, finishing behind a team-high 34.3 from Mitchell.
Bramble thrived in his first year at the club after arriving during the pre-season supplementary selection period in March. The 23-year-old earned a spot in the senior side on 10 occasions this season, averaging 18.3 disposals per game.
The nomination for the MVP awards is a two-stage process, with players nominating their teammates in stage one before three nominees from every club are presented to the wider playing group for a vote to decide the winner.
Players cannot vote for their own teammates in the second stage.
The MVP Awards will be held on 2 September 2021.
Hawthorn nominations:
MVP – Blake Hardwick, Tom Mitchell, and Jaeger O’Meara
Best First Year – Lachlan Bramble
Captain – Ben McEvoy
Most Courageous – Blake Hardwick
