The announcement of the 2018 All Australian side on Wednesday night proved a special occasion for Hawthorn with three players being named in the same side for just the second time in the honour’s history.
An All Australian side has been selected each year since 1991, but the Hawks have had more than two representatives in just one other year, in 2013, when Jordan Lewis, Luke Breust and Jarryd Roughead were selected.
This is somewhat surprising given the level of team success the club has enjoyed especially over the last decade.
This invokes the famed sporting mantra of “a champion team over a team of champions”.
Using just the past 20 years, we thought we would take a look at what a side of Hawks who have never won an All Australian guernsey might look like.
B: Rayden Tallis Mark Graham Brent Guerra
HB: Ben Stratton Stephen Gilham Daniel Chick
C: Angelo Lekkas Brad Sewell Isaac Smith
HF: Michael Osborne Nathan Thompson Chance Bateman
F: Mark Williams Ben Dixon David Hale
R: Ben McEvoy Richie Vandenberg Liam Shiels
I: Daniel Harford Rick Ladson Clinton Young Paul Puopolo
Backs
Good luck scoring against this hard-nosed back six. With a multitude of experience stopping some of the best forwards in the game over the last 20 years, there are four premiership players among this defensive line who were treasured inside the four walls of the club without receiving the external individual accolades like some of their peers. With 223 career games, Mark Graham is the most experienced player in the side.
Midfield
This midfield combination boasts a superb mix of contested ball-winning talent and outside run and skill. Packed with leadership ability, this midfield unit has played over 1,000 games of AFL football and, again, has four premiership players within the line.
Forwards
Ben Dixon has kicked the most goals (282) for the Hawks in the AFL era without earning an All Australian call-up, while Mark Williams (242) and Nick Holland (239) follow closely behind. Putting a winning score on the board doesn’t project to be much of an issue for this forward line.
