Hawthorn and Collingwood played out a draw in a unique six-term pre-season match at Morwell on Friday.

Each team brought more than 45 players – including a handful of VFL-listed players – to the practice game.

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The Pies made an early statement against the Hawks, generating a sizeable lead in the opening four terms with both teams playing their more senior players.

Hawthorn had several scoring opportunities, but strugggled connect with their forwards, as turnovers gave Collingwood the opportunity to capitalise.

The Hawks started to find their way into the contest in the second half of the first four terms, adapting to the game plan that they have been trying to implement in the pre-season.

And after changeover of teams following the first four terms, the brown and gold were able get a run-on.

The ensuing fifth and sixth terms saw the Hawks young talent and depth heavily outweigh the Pies, erasing a 48-point margin to level the scores with 20 seconds to go in the final term.

In a pleasing aspect for Hawthorn, a younger crop of players were able to come in, play significant minutes and influence the scoreboard more heavily in the latter half of the game.

The growth in the likes of Jai Newcombe, Lachlan Bramble and Harry Morrison – who have all had strong pre-seasons – was a highlight of the day.

After 18 months on the sidelines, seeing star defender James Sicily directing traffic down back was also something to savour.

In his first match back against AFL opposition since mid-2020, the 27-year-old found plenty of the ball down back and took some impressive intercept marks.

Josh Ward, pick No.7 in last year's AFL Draft, produced an encouraging start in Morewell, as did fellow draftee Connor MacDonald.

Sam Butler and Ned Long also took another step in their development, further leveraging their growth off the back of their first pre-seasons.

The final score line painted an impressive picture, with the Hawks having fought back from 84 points behind to draw the match.

But the scoreboard did not reflect the first four terms of play where both sides fielded their more senior players.

The Hawks will now look take on Richmond in their second practice match for the 2022 pre-season next Saturday, which will revert to a usual four-quarter game.

The AAMI Community Series game, which will be played at Devonport Oval, is a tribute match for the families and communities affected by the horrific accident at Hillcrest Primary School in north-west Tasmania which occurred in December last year.