Hawthorn fans have had the privilege in recent years of living through one of the most successful eras in VFL/AFL history.
There are only four other clubs in the league that can boast the glory of a threepeat, Carlton (1906–08), Collingwood (1927–30), Melbourne (1939–41 and 1955–57) and Brisbane (2001–03).
But it must be said, that at the tick of the 21st century, the AFL had grown into a national game and, naturally, it became especially difficult to build a footballing dynasty.
This fact sets the achievements of the Lions and the Hawks apart from other threepeats, as the game had transformed into a much more competitive and tightly fought industry.
But how does this compare globally? Has there been any other threepeats in a top worldwide league throughout the 2000s?
The answer is yes. But only two*, and it takes two of the most famous sporting clubs in the world to match the feat of the Hawks.
From 2000 to 2002, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by superstars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, dominated the basketball landscape. Their third consecutive championship was the Lakers 14th in their history, since joining the league 55 years before.
Cristiano Ronaldo led Manchester United to the second threepeat in their history from 2007-09, confirming the club as the strongest in the world at that time. Manchester United are the only professional club of any sport in the world to have completed two threepeats in the last 20 years.
Across the globe, when looking at all semi-professional and professional sporting leagues, there has been only 19 threepeats achieved, exemplifying the rareness and difficulty of maintaining such dominance over consecutive years.
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*Entire list of threepeats in the 2000s
This is a comprehensive list of every threepeat that has been achieved by professional sporting teams throughout the 2000s. For the purposes of this article, and its statistical relativity, only the top leagues for each sport were considered.
For instance, the Los Angeles Lakers NBA threepeat was considered a greater achievement than the consecutive championships of the Brose Baskets in the German Basketball Bundesliga.
Basketball
National Basketball Association (USA)
2000–02 Los Angeles Lakers
Basketball Bundesliga (Germany)
2010–2013 Brose Baskets (four-peat)
AFL
Australian Football League
2001–03 Brisbane Lions
2013–15 Hawthorn Hawks
Soccer
Belgian Pro League (Belgium)
2012–14 S.C. Anderlecht
Danish Superliga (Denmark)
2009–11 F.C. Copenhagen
Ligue 1 (France)
2002–08 Lyon (seven-peat)
2013–16 PSG (four-peat)
Fußball-Bundesliga (Germany)
2013–16 Bayern Munich (four-peat)
Serie A (Italy)
2006–10 Internazionale (five-peat)
2012–16 Juventus (five-peat)
Eredivisie (Netherlands)
2005–08 PSV (four-peat)
2011–14 Ajax (four-peat)
Primeira Liga (Portugal)
2006–09 Porto (four-peat)
2011–13 Porto
La Liga (Spain)
2009–11 Barcelona
K League (South Korea)
2001–03 Seongnam FC
Premier League
2007–09 Manchester United
UEFA Europa League
2014–2016 Sevilla
Rugby League
European Super League
2007–2009 Leeds Rhinos
Rugby Union
Aviva Premiership
2003–05 London Wasps
