It was the middle of January when Nick Watson put Adrian Hickmott on notice. The Hawthorn livewire told his forward line coach that he was starting to get confident about going for high marks again, having put away that trick in his first year of AFL football. 

'The Wizard' turned clairvoyant: a week later, the 19-year-old took the mark of the pre-season with an outrageous one-handed grab in Hawthorn's match simulation over teammate Seamus Mitchell. Video capturing the grab from close range deep in the pocket at Waverley Park went viral as excitement levels lifted ahead of Watson's second season. 

"I used to always fly for those marks," Watson told AFL.com.au. "I did my ankle early last season and that took away my confidence in going for them but I said to Adrian the week before it that 'I'm going to start flying this year, I can feel my confidence coming back'. My leap is definitely back."

Whether it is the best mark Watson has taken remains up for debate, though.

"That was one of my best, I reckon," the small forward said. "Maybe a school footy one back in the day was better but it's definitely up there."

The January hanger only added more anticipation for what Watson, and the Hawks, can produce in 2025 after a scintillating finish to last year. After a slow start, the Hawks won 12 of their last 15 games and finished devastatingly close to a shock preliminary final berth after losing to Port Adelaide by three points in the semi-final. 

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Watson, too, took time to find his feet after his round one debut before enjoying a brilliant end to the year to finish with 25 goals from 18 games. 

His four-goal effort against the Western Bulldogs and subsequent dazzling three goals against Port Adelaide in the finals proved himself as a big-game player already and was a stark contrast to his early-season wobbles and inaccuracy. As he looks ahead to his second season searching for more consistency and finding his balance between playing deep in attack and getting up the ground, Watson said there was one thing he would do differently if he could start over. 

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"When it started to get a bit out of control, I thought every shot was just pressure, pressure, pressure and the one more I miss the more hate I get. I didn't really have a goalkicking routine so I went into it thinking I'd back myself. I backed my skill and that changed pretty quickly," he said. 

"At the start there was talk of getting a goalkicking routine but I was like 'Nah, I'll back my skill' but it got to the pressure of game day and I fumbled a bit. I [learned] it's about listening to others more and trusting all the players and staff who'd been in the game longer than I had."

His game-sealing goal from the boundary line against Fremantle in round 18 changed the course of his year (before which he had kicked 6.19), leading to 3.0 the following week against Collingwood. His final month of the Hawks' season spawned 13.5 and a bunch of electric moments that had crowds dazzled, particularly against the Bulldogs in the elimination final. 

"I had a good couple of games heading into the finals and as a junior, the bigger the game, the better I played. I thrived off the big crowds. I feel like when there's bigger crowds I don't get fatigued at all, because the momentum and adrenaline kicks in," he said.

"It took me a quarter and a bit to get into that Doggies game but once I was in the mode it all clicked from there. I play my best footy off instinct and that's what helped me play well in those finals."

That night saw the escalation of Watson fandom, too. Hawthorn had decked out 'Bay 9¾' in black wizard hats and paraphernalia in support of their lively youngster (this year, the Hawks have started selling ‘Watson No.34’ emblazoned hats). Far from overwhelmed by the attention, Watson rose to it.

"It was a whirlwind of a night. The hats in the pocket was something different and I didn't really notice it until after half-time. I thought I better turn it on for them after that," he said. "I'd had it mentioned to me early on but I thought it would probably be a couple of hats and whatnot but the next minute it was the whole bay and they were getting up and about.

"At the start of the year you're earning your trust off your fans and then seeing all that felt pretty cool because they all had my back and were getting around me. It didn't feel like pressure, it just felt like they had my back out there whatever I do out there and they believe in me now."

Post game, Watson donned one of the hats and jumped on the MCG fence in front of the group for photos as Hawthorn lapped up its first finals win since 2015. 

As HokBall gained traction, Wizard-mania, too, went into overdrive as the Hawks' No.34 quickly became one of the game's most distinctive, watchable and marketable players. His 170cm stature stands out, the mullet flows and the array of random tattoos – only one, the Japanese characters spelling Watson on his arm, has any real meaning – has made him a focus of fascination. Throw in extravagant goal celebrations, of which he is about to open up NFL highlights on YouTube to find his next dose of inspiration, and Watson has swiftly accrued football celebrity status. 

"It's definitely noticeable. Not many people call me 'Watto' anymore, it's just 'Wizard' or 'How are you, Wiz?' So it's definitely stuck and it's just getting bigger and hopefully it can stick this year," he said. "I embrace it. The attention takes a bit to get used to but it's part of the job."

Part of that experience was the backlash of not attending a planned junior footy clinic at the end of last year after Hawthorn's best and fairest, of which he has already made amends for.

"I did do another clinic. It was a bit of an organisational issue, but I definitely learned from that," he said. 

Hawthorn heads into 2025 having learned plenty from last year too. The off-season additions of Tom Barrass and Josh Battle have added valuable experience and further tightened up the race for spots ahead of Opening Round. 

"Last year was good but we want to be first in the comp, we don't want to finish sixth and be satisfied. We want that end prize and the hunger within the group is obviously next level. Sam (Mitchell) has been really good in that he doesn't want the coaches to sit back and drive it, he wants us to do that," the 2023 No.5 draft pick said. 

Like the Hawks, who started last year as an unknown quantity, Watson heads into his second year likely to get more opposition attention. Does he expect to have a target on his back? 

"I hope so, to be honest. I love the challenge," he said.

"Me and (Josh) Weddle go head-to-head a lot in training and he's very competitive. I like it when he plays on me because he drives me harder and as a team the whole backline is well drilled. I hope there is a target [on me]. That would be good for others as well because we can all work off each other."

That scenario is likely to heighten emotions around Watson – who has moved in with former Eastern Ranges teammate and now Richmond midfielder Tyler Sonsie – but he is prepared for that. 

"I'm definitely a lot different off-field to what I am on the field. If people hate me, they hate me. They probably haven't met me or don't know me," he said. "I'm a very laidback guy and people can taunt me off the field or on the field and I'm not going to bite back at all … well, on the field I will. Otherwise it doesn't bother me what they think."