With Hawthorn’s AFL season coming to an end, Forwards Coach Adrian Hickmott has given his review of how each forward performed in 2024.

See what he had to say below. 

Mitch Lewis

“We know he's hurt his knee and had knee issues before that, so he got out four games for the year. But his off-field teaching and education for our younger players, such as Calsher Dear… and his contested marking with Mabior Chol and our talls was really impressive.”

Dylan Moore 

“As we know, Dylan Moore got selected in the All Australian team, which is fantastic. His work rate, including his leadership, it was more off-ball which was really impressive. His running, his defensive actions and his pressure were really impressive for the team. He also helped Connor Macdonald, Jack Ginnivan and Nick Watson, all of our smalls, through vision throughout the week and then performed on game day.”

Mabior Chol 

“He’s an exciting young man, and at the start, he was inconsistent in his effort, but towards the end, in the back half of the season, we thought he really improved in that goalkicking technique and improved head over the football. We know Mabior's defensive actions were a little bit off, but then the improvement was fantastic, like him chasing someone down actually looked quite scary.”

Jack Gunston 

“He was fantastic and a leader in his own way. He worked really closely with Calsher Dear but played a role on the ground too.We got him to go to a quality backman and most games he played, he was able to score off the back of those. But it was more about the off-field stuff he did, like on the training track. He wasn't in all training drills, but when he wasn't in drills, he'd be helping some young guys on the outskirts, which no one could really see, but impressive stuff, also watching vision with them inside.”

Luke Breust 

“He played a lot of sub football, but again, the leadership off-field was instrumental for players. Now that was on game day as well. I think he'd come on early twice from a sub, but the rest of the time, it wasn't until the last quarter. His impact during the game to help others and most definitely throughout the week in goalkicking and crumbing, which is his forte.”

Sam Butler

“Yeah, he's a worker. He's broken his leg, obviously, and took a while to get back into the club and move around. But once he did, I've seen him every day since he's hurt himself. He has a really strong mindset, he’s always smiling, he loves the club and loves the game. So even though he can't play the game, he still goes and watches other matches during the week to help him out.”

Connor Macdonald 

“As soon as I think of Connor Macdonald, I think of work rate and then I think of smart work rate. Where he ran on the field is really important, getting high up the ground and coming back. He improved in the contest too, crumbing-wise. He had a lot of shots on goal.”

Jack Ginnivan

“He's an exciting young man, isn't he? He definitely brings a spark and a light to the forward line group. His charisma and his character are really special. He's got a really mindful football brain on him, so he's not running to difficult spots. In the time of games, he's helping others within the game so that's good leadership there as a young kid.”

Nick Watson 

“He loves the game and he’s really energetic. You see him on game day be energetic but in training, he’s the same, in the gym and in line meetings, he listens. His goalkicking accuracy wasn't spot on at the start of the year but he worked at it really hard. Sam (Mitchell) and him got together in the mentality stage of the game through goalkicking and his confidence grew. At the end, he was very instrumental in our games.”

Calsher Dear 

“Yeah, he came into the squad really raw. I can remember on a camp in Geelong, we played an intraclub match, and there was a skinny young kid running around and he took this contested mark and we all looked at each other as coaches and thought, wow, this kid. Then sure enough, he plays a few VFL games and I think he missed one or two through injury throughout the year, but he's launching at the ball, he lands on his feet and he's really got a big heart. He worked closely with Jack Gunston and I felt his improvement throughout the year just kept growing.”

Max Ramsden 

“Max Ramsden’s had a really good learning year. He’s played a lot of football in the ruck and up forward. He’s making great gains each time he goes out and plays. He’s got some good mentors in (Lloyd) Meek and Ned Reeves in the ruck to help, along with David Hale. Then when he comes forward, he’s learning to jump at the ball and work on his contested marking and aerial skills.”  

Jasper Scaife 

“He's exciting. I mean, he loves it like we all love it, but he loves it. (He came in) halfway through the year, he adds a bit of spark to the side, a bit of a spark to our forward line and going down and watching VFL, he's a strong man, kicks both feet. He’s knowledgeable in these leading patterns and he's improving each day he plays.” 

Watch Adrian Hickmott’s full forwards review below.