With Hawthorn having officially applied for an AFLW license for the 2019 season, we thought we would take a look at what a Hawthorn AFLW side could look like a few years down the track, when some of today’s Hawks superstars could be watching their daughters pull on the brown and gold.

Imagine it is 2034, and the Hawthorn Women’s team is celebrating their 15^th year anniversary in the league.

This is what a team full of father/daughter selections could look like…

Defenders

Combined total AFL games played by fathers: 1,409

Games: Lake (251), Croad (222), Harford (162), Burgoyne (331) *, Croad (222), Smith (221)

All three key defensive posts are filled with strong premiership pedigree between the formidable Croad sisters and the up-and-coming Mylee Lake.

All three stoppers are entering the prime of their career as they forge the core of the Hawks young, exciting squad. 

The three other spots in defence are taken by Nixie Burgoyne, Abbey Harford and Taylah Smith. 

Their fathers played over 600 games for the Hawks, forging reputations that their daughters are now emulating with the perfect mix of silky skill and hard-edged performances. 

Taylah is one of the most experienced players, not only at the Hawks, but around the league, entering her 18^th year in the competition.

Between her and Harford, they will look to mentor the young Nixie Burgoyne, who arrives at the club this year as one of the most exciting prospects of the 2033 draft. The Burgoyne sisters come from elite pedigree, with both their father and aunty (Erin Phillips, AFLW inaugural best and fairest) elite in the art of premiership success.

Read: VFLW line up Round 5 

Midfielders

Combined total AFL games played by fathers: 1,629

Games: Dew (206), Burgoyne (331) *, Smith (221), Hale (237), Mitchell (317) *, Mitchell (317) *

What this midfield mix lacks in experience, it makes up for in talent.

The midfield is the Hawks’ youngest area of the ground with none of Dew, Burgoyne, Asha Hale or the Mitchell twins having yet celebrated their 24^th birthdays.

Entering their fifth season in the league, the Mitchell twins have taken the competition by storm, both possessing the incredible ball-getting ability that their Brownlow Medallist father once showed.

Frankie Dew has been a revelation for the Hawks since arriving at Dingley two years ago. The Hawks want the ball in her hands at crucial moments, because of her ability to couple powerful kicking with precision accuracy.

After opting to play for Hawthorn over North Melbourne, Asha Hale has joined her older sister in the Hawks line-up as they pursue an AFLW premiership together.

With Leni Burgoyne putting the cherry on top of this promising young midfield, the sky is the limit for where this side could go with this outstanding engine room.

Forwards

Combined total AFL games played by fathers: 1,206

Combined total AFL goals kicked by fathers: 1,730

Games: Williams (115), Thompson (179), Rawlings (148), Dixon (203), Salmon (324), Hale (237)

Goals: Williams (247), Thompson (327), Rawlings (96), Dixon (282), Salmon (561), Hale (217)

At 43 years of age, Sian Salmon is now well past her father Paul’s AFL retirement age of 37. Yet the longevity and durability has proven genetic throughout Salmon’s illustrious AFLW career, which includes five Sarah Perkins Goal Kicking Medals and two Erin Phillips MVP Medals.

Salmon headlines what has been the most dominant forward line of the last five years of competition, with Andie Rawlings, Mia Williams and Elka Thompson all having surpassed their fathers’ career goals tally.

Matilda Dixon is considered one of the bright lights of the competition, with the 2033 season emerging as a break-out season for the 24-year old which saw her kick a six-goal haul in Round 7.

Mia Hale is also an integral piece in this line-up as she rotates with sister, Asha, between the ruck and resting forward.

Coach

Hawks senior coach Stephanie Clarkson has followed a similar path to what her legendary father Alastair did.

Having been drafted under the father/daughter rule by Melbourne into the AFLW for the 2018 season, Clarkson led an impressive career, playing 114 games for the Demons.

She built a reputation around the league for having a strong football mind so it seemed a natural progression that Clarkson moved into coaching.

Having completed her coaching apprenticeship at numerous AFLW clubs, the fairy-tale was completed when she was employed as coach of the Hawks following the retirement of long-time Hawk coach Daisy Pearce.

Now in her fifth year at the Hawk helm, Clarkson believes she has built a squad that is ready to challenge for the 2034 premiership.