In anticipation for Saturday night's Peter Crimmins Medal, we've given our take on who we think are the frontrunners to take out the club’s coveted 2022 awards.

Here’s a look at who could be in the mix for the Hawks’ Most Promising, Most Improved, Most Courageous, Best Clubman and Lethal Award.

 

Best Clubman

After taking out the 2021 title in his debut year as skipper, will Ben McEvoy be able to go back-to-back as Best Clubman in his final season?

Despite the 33-year-old spending a significant amount of time on the sidelines due to a neck injury this year, it never stopped him from being the strong leader that he has always been. 

While absent on the field, his presence continued to be felt far and wide, with his mentorship crucial in developing the club’s younger players throughout this year.

One of them being young ruckman Ned Reeves, with McEvoy playing an influential role in his rise.

The two-time premiership Hawk has helped to teach him all the tricks of the trade, both on the track and in front of a laptop ahead of each game.

Dylan Moore is another name we expect to be in contention for the award.

A favourite among the brown and gold faithful, Moore has become one of the Hawks most important and reliable players in 2022.

At just 23-years-old, Moore is one of the club’s emerging leaders often providing a vocal presence in training and on game day, while also taking last year’s draft crop under his wing.

Away from the field, Moore has gone above and beyond to ensure that the football community is a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

In recognition for his community work, he was recently named as one of four finalists nominated for this year’s Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award.

Since arriving at the brown and gold in 2017, Moore has become a key part of Beyond Blue and has put his efforts behind supporting several different communities, including becoming an ambassador for the Hawks Pride Group.

After making a return this year following 18 months on the sidelines due to injury, James Sicily entered 2022 with some new leadership aspirations.

With McEvoy out from Round 2, Sicily stepped up to the plate as stand-in captain after expressing his desire to be a leader during 2022 pre-season.

Regarded as one of the most damaging defenders in the game, Sicily demonstrates a passion for not just his own performance but also his team's collective output. 

 

Lethal Award

One of the most highly regarded accolades within the four walls of Hawthorn is the player-voted Lethal Award.

After producing an outstanding year, it’s hard to go beyond Jai Newcombe as the frontrunner for this year’s accolade. 

Highly regarded among his teammates, Newcombe has become the ultimate team player and a key figure in a young and developing Hawthorn side in 2022.

Best afield in numerous games for his side, the youngster has enjoyed a career-best season in which he averaged 22.5 touches through his 22 outings.

The 21-year-old was named as the AFL Coaches Association’s Best Young Player and earned more Brownlow votes than any other Hawk.

Another player to demonstrate an eagerness to get the best out of himself and his teammates throughout the 2022 season was Finn Maginness.

Tasked with restricting the oppositions finest week in, week out, Maginness constantly put his teams’ interests above his own personal performance.

Across the previous two seasons the 21-year-old managed just three games, but in 2022 he has started to come into his own as a key cog in a young and improving midfield.

His team-focussed role saw him become most impactful taggers currently in the competition, with his contribution not only gaining the attention within the club's four walls but also the broader football world.  

 

Most Promising Player

One player to show enormous upside in 2022 was Ned Reeves, with the youngster taking big steps forward in his personal development as he wrestled for Hawthorn’s number-one ruck mantle.

The 23-year-old overcame an early-season shoulder injury to go on and play 12 games, where he averaged 26.9 hit-outs per game, including eight to advantage.

Reeves also demonstrated an ability to push forward and provide a target inside 50, hitting the scoreboard in half of his outings this year, booting seven goals.

Praised by his coaches as a great listener who is driven to get the best out of himself, Reeves has evidently worked hard on his craft throughout 2022.

Despite just being in his first season, Connor Macdonald is another who has shown plenty of promising signs in his fledging career.

While the demands of playing almost an entire full season of AFL would place a toll on most first-year players, Macdonald thrived off the challenge.

The young Hawk played 20 games out of a possible 22 in his first season, producing a promising rookie campaign as coach Sam Mitchell led one of the youngest sides in the competition.

Macdonald, who was a second-round selection from last year's national draft at pick 26, has pressed his case as a mainstay in Hawthorn's best 22.

The 19-year-old showed his capabilities both within the midfield and up forward, booting nine goals for the season while averaging 13.2 disposals and 2.1 inside 50s. 

Only once this year has he failed to record double-digit disposals, thriving with more midfield clock in the back half of the season.

Another first-year player joining in the mix is Josh Ward.

After making his debut in the season opener, Ward showed glimpses throughout the year as to why he was the pick 7 in last year’s national draft.

Ward was part of Mitchell’s season plans from the outset, playing seven of the first eight matches – he was managed in Round 7 – before being concussed in his first VFL game.

After missing five weeks mid-season, the promising midfielder roared to life with a career-high 34 disposals, eight score involvements and six clearances in Hawthorn’s win over West Coast in Round 18.

A Rising Star nomination deservedly followed, as well as six votes in the AFL Coaches’ Association Champion Player of the Year award. 

After returning in Round 17, Ward put together a strong back half of the season, with the last five out of seven games resulting in 20-plus disposal performances.

 

Most Courageous Player

Although having missed several games this year due to injury, Sam Frost again demonstrated his courageousness this year.

As a lockdown defender, Frost is solid one-on-one while able to be a damaging rebounding defender with his great run and carry ability.

The 28-year-old has been among the Hawks most reliable performers since joining the club from Melbourne in the 2019 trade period.

Despite only being in his third year at the club, Frost shows a level of maturity, composure, communication, and leadership that has proved invaluable to the club.

Along with being among Hawthorn’s most fierce competitors on the field, he continues to help foster the club’s strong culture, as well as drive standards to future success.

Although a quiet achiever, Blake Hardwick is a Hawk who constantly puts his body on the line.

Arguably one of the game’s most underrated players, Hardwick’s importance to Hawthorn isn’t lost on the fans and certainly his coaches and teammates.

He’s an unfashionable defender in the sense that he doesn’t go kick chasing, but every week he is sent to some of the best forwards in the competition.

This year the small defender has kept the likes of Toby Greene, Cody Weightman and Bayley Fritsch goalless while Izak Rankine to one goal.

At just 25 years of age, the defender is maturing into one of his side’s most reliable and consistent players who compete with courage and the determination week in, week out.

Another courageous brown and gold figure hard to go past is Ben McEvoy.

McEvoy showed enormous persistence and determination to come back from his neck injury that he sustained earlier this year.

While spending a significant time on the sidelines, with the prospect of potentially never playing again, McEvoy tackled his rehabilitation with perseverance.

 

Most Improved Player

Harry Morrison took another exciting step forward in season 2022, cementing his spot in Hawthorn’s developing midfield.

Playing mostly on the wing, Morrison’s consistency was arguably his greatest asset as he enjoyed a career-best average of 19.2 disposals and 5.8 marks per game.

Using his pace and strong decision-making skills, Morrison averaged an elite 13.3 kicks per game, which was also a career-high.

After being rewarded a fresh two-year contract to stay in the brown and gold, Morrison could yet take his game to another level next year.

Arguably one of the Hawks’ best success stories this year was Mitch Lewis’ sixth campaign in the brown and gold.

Lewis exploded out of the blocks in season 2022, booting 22 goals from his first seven games – including a career-high five-goal haul against Port Adelaide in Round 2.

Following on from his fast start, Lewis consistently showed an elite ability to impact forward-50 contests and hit the scoreboard, staking his claim as Hawthorn’s number one key forward.

Remarkably, Lewis was held to less than three goals in just six out of his 15 games this year, as he averaged 2.5 majors per outing.

Widely applauded as among the AFL’s most impressive straight-shooters, Lewis boasted a deadly 66.1 per cent goal-kicking accuracy – which led the league for the year.

At just 23 years old, Lewis committed his future in the brown and gold by signing a four-year deal to stay at the club.

Another one to arguably be in contention for the award is Conor Nash.

After arriving at Hawthorn in 2017, Nash has since played in a range of positions and roles.

But after a move to the midfield late last season showed glimpses of capabilities in the centre, the Irishman continued to reach new heights in his fresh role this year.

Nash improved particularly in the back half of the year, laying in that taller-midfield role.

He played all but one game for a total of 21 matches in 2022, a far improvement from his previous 29 games across five seasons.

In recognition of his improvement, Nash put pen to paper on a new contract extension earlier this year tying him to Hawthorn until at least the end of the 2024.

 

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The PCM will take place on Saturday 1 October from 6.30pm.