Hey, I’m back.

Did you miss me?

I’m sorry I stopped writing so early in the season last year. After close calls in rounds three, four and five, and the Hawks emerging as three-point victors on each occasion, I started having heart palpitations. Then, after the 75-point loss to GWS in Round 6? I was a goner.

It took all the strength I had to stay upright in my chair, let alone string intelligible sentences together whilst watching our games.

My worries started to settle as the boys fought their way back to the top of the table in Round 14, after many a noble performance.

Yet, just as I was about to dust off my keyboard to start penning the Chronicles of ‘Fourthorn’, the boat started to rock.

The round 20 and round 22 losses, to Melbourne and West Coast respectively, put a slight dint in my September expectations. However, with a gutsy one-point win over Collingwood to seal a top four finish, I believed with all my might that our boys would do it again.

Hawthorn are a clutch team, through and through, who will always win when it counts.

Until we didn’t.

We lined up against Australia in the semi-final on Friday 16th of September, as the country urged the (under) Dogs toward their fairy tale drought-breaking premiership.

They were the better team on the night, they had our number, and they went on to win the premiership.

And I’m happy for the dogs, I am. They deserve it.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Perhaps we’ve been spoilt in recent years, but Hawthorn supporters have grown used to winning. Personally, I am not quite ready to become accustomed to anything else.

Moving forward, and it was a turbulent off season; we’ve made some changes and we’ve opted for youth heading into the 2017 season. And you know what? I’m bloody excited.

I’m excited to see how Jaeger’s knee holds up, and watch him grow to become the elite midfielder he was destined to be.

I’m excited to see how Ty Vickery slots into our forward line – his arrival ruffled a few feathers among hawks fans, but what could be better than rubbing it in a Richmond supporter’s face after he boots six goals against one A. Rance?

I’m excited to watch Cyril (as I am every year), taking flight, creating magic, and igniting the crowd in a way only Cyril can.

And I’m excited for Roughy. There is nothing that can inspire our players and fans more than having the big man out there, revving the boys up and booting goals (and hopefully nabbing another Coleman while he’s at it.)

Yes, we may not have tasted the sweet taste of grand final victory last year, but there’s no need to throw your toys out of the cot just yet.

We made finals for the sixth consecutive season, and in the qualifier, a mere two points stood between the Hawks and another preliminary final berth. That should be a pretty successful year, in anyone’s books.

But let’s stop talking about 2016.

2017 is here.

And I, like every Hawks’ supporter, have just one New Year’s wish.