We're going through the alphabet one letter at a time categorising our Hawks by not just their talent, but their surname too.
We have considered premierships, accolades, and the number of games played, to come up with a select and prestigious crop of Hawks from throughout history.
Your vote counts.
A.
Graham Arthur
Named on the half-forward flank, Graham Arthur joins two fellow Hawthorn Team of the Century members in the standings of the greatest Hawthorn player with the surname initial "A". A clever team player and brilliant half forward flanker, Arthur won the best and fairest award in his debut year. Arthur captained the first ever Hawthorn premiership in 1961. Hailing from the Sandhurst Football Club in the Bendigo Football League, he set a club record by captaining the Hawks for nine years. This included a two-year stint as captain-coach in 1964-65, giving Arthur the record of captaining the club for the most games- 153. He was later inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in the initial intake of 1996.
Clarkson chats with Graham Arthur, part 1
Clarkson chats with Graham Arthur, part 2
Gary Ayres
Gary Ayres' playing career holds him in rare air. Only five other players in the history of the game have won more premierships than Ayres' five. Furthermore, he is one of only three players to have won the Norm Smith Medal twice, joining Andrew McLeod and Luke Hodge in this feat. Needless to say, Ayres built an incredibly successful career throughout his 269 games, the ninth greatest total in Hawthorn history. Ayres was named in the back pocket of Hawthorn's Team of the Century.
Col Austen
Col Austen was Hawthorn's first ever Brownlow Medallist, winning the award in 1949 despite the team only winning three games that year. Austen also won the team best and fairest that year, which was his last of seven years at the club. Interestingly, in Austen's 85 games for the Hawks, he failed to boot a goal for the club. He managed to finally kick one, but only one, in his subsequent three-year Richmond career. Austen was named on the half-back flank of the Hawks Team of the Century.
Alec Albiston
Hailing from Warrnambool in Victoria, Alec Albiston was a goal kicking rover, kicking 383 goals throughout his 170 games for the club. Playing for Hawthorn in an era filled with unrelenting gloom, his team finished either last or second last on the ladder in eight of his twelve years at the club. Yet his individual dominance regularly shone through. Albiston won the best and fairest award in both 1941 and 1946 and topped the Hawks goal kicking charts four times during his career, in 1939, 1941, 1942 and 1945.He was the first player in the history of the club to kick 10 goals in a match, doing so against North Melbourne in the opening round of the 1940 season. He now sits ninth on Hawthorn's all-time leading goal kickers list. Captain and coach of Hawthorn between 1947 and 1949, Albiston was inducted into the Hawthorn Hall of Fame in 2011.
