Hawthorn will hold its 2022 best and fairest, the Peter Crimmins Medal, this Saturday night. 

With less than 24 hours away from the event, we thought it would be fitting to take a look at who we think might be in contention to be crowned this year’s winner.

Jai Newcombe

After polling 12 votes in last year’s count, a bolt up the rankings in 2022 is just about a certainty for Newcombe. The youngster broke out of the blocks this season, rising from anonymity to one of the AFL’s biggest surprise stories in 2022. After joining the club mid-way through last year, Newcombe went on to play every game this year. While unlucky to miss out on the AFL Rising Star Award, Newcombe was named as the AFL Coaches Association’s Best Young Player and finished as the club’s highest vote-getter at the recent Brownlow count. Just 29 games into his career, Newcombe is likely to pick up a handful of votes particularly early on after displaying some brilliant form to start the season.

Mitch Lewis

While forwards aren’t usually hot contenders for awards like these, Lewis is definitely the one to challenge that concept. Recruited by Hawthorn as Pick 76 in the 2016 NAB AFL Draft, Lewis emerged as one of the club’s most promising players in 2022. Despite missing seven games this year due to injury, Lewis has forged a career-best season kicking 37 goals from 15 games. His hot form was rewarded with a new contract earlier this year, which will see him remain at the club until at least the end of 2026. We expect that the 23-year-old to burst out of the blocks in the opening five rounds of the season after averaging three goals a game in that period.  

Dylan Moore

After producing a break-out campaign last year that ignited his career, Moore took things to another level this season. Establishing himself as part of a new wave of small forwards taking the competition by storm, Moore added more versatility to his game this year by spending significant time in the midfield. Despite the move, Moore still managed to kick 26 goals for the year. An emerging leader within the club and a team-first player, Moore has all the characteristics of a best and fairest recipient. After finishing fourth in last year’s count, could this be the year that he breaks through to claim the top spot?

Blake Hardwick

In his seventh season in the brown and gold, Hardwick again put together another consistent year. In 14 of his 22 games, he gathered over 15 disposals and still managed to shut down the opposition’s best forwards. Renowned within Hawthorn’s four walls as one of the most courageous players, Hardwick lived up to that name by consistently putting his body on the line on several occasions. This year also saw him produce some career-best performances, including a 32-disposal display in the Hawks triumph over Adelaide in Round 17. A role player who is often referred to as the Hawks’ ‘Mr. Fix It’, Hardwick will certainly get votes for performances largely unnoticed by outsiders.

James Sicily

After missing 18 months due to an ACL injury, Sicily re-emerged in 2022 arguably better than ever, with the star Hawk reaffirming himself among the league’s best defenders. The club’s lone nominee in this year's All Australian squad of 40, Sicily averaged 23.8 disposals per game and was also ranked in the top five in the competition for rebound 50s and marks (first), metres gained and intercept possessions (third). Aside from his on-field performances, Sicily has demonstrated his leadership qualities in 2022, spending a significant stint as stand-in captain in absence of outgoing skipper Ben McEvoy.

Tom Mitchell

Mitchell continued to look at home around the contest and has been a model of consistency this year, only dipping below 20 touches on two occasions. Despite a slight change in role this year - which saw him play less midfield minutes - Mitchell continued to average 28 disposals, 4.6 tackles and 5 clearances a game. While his ability to find the ball was clearly number one, the 29-year-old continued to demonstrate his capabilities to hit the scoreboard too. With three Peter Crimmins Medals already to his name, could Mitchell be eyeing a fourth in 2022?

Finn Maginness

While a bit of a left field option, Maginness has built a brand as an ultra-reliable tagger in 2022. Across the previous two seasons the 21-year-old managed just three games, but this year he has started to come into his own as a key cog in a young and improving midfield. The youngster, who played 16 games this year, was tasked with restricting the opposition’s finest week in, week out and managed to walk away with multiple scalps as a tagger. His team-focussed role this year didn't go unnoticed either, with Maginness impact earning praise internally within the club and externally among the broader football world.