Australia is the planet's sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, the USA, and Brazil and has a population of over 24 million. With so much ground to cover we’ve taken a look at where we’ve plucked our playing list from and if our recruiters seem to have penchant for any state in particular. 53% of our playing list is Victorian but where do the other 21 players on our list hail from?

South Australia:
15 percent of our players hail from just across the border in the City of Churches. Shaun Burgoyne, Kaiden Brand, Ryan Burton, Tim O’Brien, Paul Puopolo, Ryan Schoenmakers and Luke Surman all played their junior footy in South Australia. Looking at those names, it would seem South Australia is a breeding ground for key position players; with Brand, Burton, O’Brien and Schoenmakers all holding down a key position for the Hawks at some point in season 2016. Among the seven players are three premiership players (Burgoyne, Puopolo and Schoenmakers) and between those three is eight premiership medallions. Surely that’s enough of a reason to like South Australia?

Tasmania:
Everyone knows the Hawks love Tassie. Our 19-straight winning record in Launceston is definite proof that we thrive in the Apple Isle. That being said, our list holds just two Tasmanian-born players, in Grant Birchall and Kieran Lovell. Whilst they may be few in numbers, the Tasmanians have certainly had a big impact. Birchall was a member of the 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015 premierships, has played 240 games in the brown and gold and is a consistent performer in the Hawks’ line-up. Lovell, although entering just his second year at the club, impressed in his two senior appearances for the Hawks in 2017.

NSW:

There is only four of them but boy have the New South Welshman played their role for the Hawks. Our NSW contingent, made up of Isaac Smith, Luke Breust, Taylor Duryea and Will Langford, have 367 games between them and nine premierships. Smith and Breust have three each, Duryea two and Langford has the one after a dominant performance in the 2014 finals series. Given the return on investment it could be argued that perhaps our recruiters should be scouring NSW. There is some debate over whether Daniel Howe should too fall in the NSW category. The emerging defender played his junior football at NSW club, Rennie, but played for the Murray Bushrangers and Xavier College both in Victoria.

WA:
Ben Stratton, Kade Stewart and Jaeger O’Meara are our boys from the West. Stratton is a three-time premiership player and critical member of the Hawks back six. Throw in Stewart, who was rewarded for an impressive first year with elevation to the senior list, and highly anticipated, new recruit O’Meara and our Western Australian contingent is looking pretty impressive.

QLD:
Brendan Whitecross is riding solo as the only Hawthorn player from the sunshine state. Drafted from Zillmere in 2007, Whitecross is a fan favourite. The versatile midfielder has played 97 games despite undergoing back-to-back reconstructions in 2012 and 2013.
Northern Territory:
He’s the lone-ranger but he’s doing the Northern Territory and Tiwi Islands proud. Cyril Rioli is everything we love about Hawthorn. With four premierships, 178 games and a Norm Smith Medal, Rioli is a superstar.

Internationals:
Two Irishmen and a New Zealander round out our 45-man list. Kurt Heatherley was drafted by the Hawks in the 2013 Rookie Draft as an international scholarship selection and later elevated to the senior list in 2015. Born and raised in New Zealand he made the journey across the ditch at as a teenager and played Under 18’s football for Sandringham Dragons. Conor Glass and Conor Nash both came to the Hawks from their home country of Ireland. Glass was on Hawthorn’s radar for two years before signing as an international rookie in 2016. After making the move to Australia in July 2016, Glass began learning the AFL ropes through the Box Hill Hawks development side. Nash was also drafted to the Hawks as an international rookie at the end of 2016. A very gifted rugby player, he stands at an impressive 197cm and will most likely begin his development as a key back.