The 2021 NAB AFL Draft is shaping up to be one of significance for Hawthorn with the club holding its highest pick since 2005.
Hawthorn currently has one of the best draft hands of any club heading into this year's draft with three picks inside the top 25.
A look back at our 2020 draftees and their journey since
It will enter the draft on Wednesday with one first round selection at Pick 5 along with Picks 21, 24, 59, 64.
Here’s some other interesting points ahead of the draft.
History repeats
It was an historic draft for Hawthorn last year as it made its highest pick in a national draft in over a decade after selecting Denver Grainger-Barras with Pick 6.
But could this year feature in the history books once again? The Hawks are entering the draft with Pick 5 – the highest it has had since 2005.
It is also the first time in 15 years that the Hawks have had a back-to-back top 10 selection two years in a row.
The previous time was in 2005 and 2006, when it selected Xavier Ellis with Pick 3 and Beau Dowler at Pick 6 in ’05, followed by Mitch Thorp with Pick 6 in ’06.
Hawthorn has had eight picks during the last 10 years in the top 30, and now it has three in one year.
Mitchell’s first draft as coach
He was taken at Pick 36 in the 2001 national draft, but now incoming Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will see what the draft process is like on the other side of the table.
Mitchell is set to enter his first season as coach in 2022, but what impact will he look to have in terms of this year’s draft?
The 39-year-old has previously spoken of the importance in targeting the draft right in the short-term.
Featuring on the Not For The Average podcast in August, Mitchell said he has enjoyed his involvement in building the Hawks future list so far.
“The list management side of things is absolutely key,” Mitchell said.
“The recruiting is going to be very important; you can have cultural fits as much as you’d like, but if there's not the required level of talent, it’s going to be tough to go to the top end."
Top 10 magic
Hawthorn has had a total of 14 top 10 national draft picks since the draft system started in 1986.
Three of the club’s top 10 selections – Luke Hodge (Pick 1 - 2001) Jarryd Roughead (Pick 2 - 2004) and Jordan Lewis (Pick 7 - 2004) – went on to become four-time premiership players with the Hawks.
Other top 10 picks to the Hawks have included the likes of Daniel Harford (Pick 8 - 1994), Trent Croad (Pick 3 - 1997) and Xavier Ellis (Pick 3 - 2005).
The last time Hawthorn entered the draft with a No.5 draft pick was Lance Franklin in 2004.
A superstar of the game, Franklin went on to play 182 games for Hawthorn including in the 2008 and 2013 premiership teams, was a Peter Crimmins Medallist winner in 2008 and the clubs leading goal-kicker for six straight seasons between 2007 and 2012.
The NAB AFL Draft will be held across Wednesday and Thursday (November 24 and 25) next week.
You can keep up with all Hawthorn’s draft news via www.hawthorn.com.au and our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
