JORDAN Lewis runs out for game number 250 this week, continuing what has been a very decorated career at Hawthorn.
Lewis has played in four premierships with Hawthorn, as well as earning All Australian selection in 2014 and winning the Peter Crimmins Medal as the Hawks’ best and fairest in the same year.
It’s unquestionable that Lewis has added to the proud heritage that his jumper number – the number 3 guernsey – holds at the Hawthorn Football Club.
Lewis is the 19th player to have played in the number 3 jumper at Hawthorn, an incredibly famous number at the club.
The number was ingrained into the Hawthorn history when it was taken on by one of the best players to ever play the game – Leigh Matthews.
Matthews held the jumper from 1972 till 1985, playing a pivotal role in elevating the Hawks into a powerhouse club and winning many personal and team accolades along the way.
Matthews won three premierships while wearing number 3 at the Hawks and also collected a staggering five best and fairest awards - his playing career finished with four flags and an amazing eight club best and fairest awards.
The number was left vacant for two years after Matthews retired in 1985, before Anthony Condon took on the number 3 after playing two seasons in the number 43 jumper.
Renowned as an on-baller who could run all day, Condon played 145 games for Hawthorn between 1987 and 1997, playing in the ’89 and ’91 premiership sides.
Lewis and Condon also share another link in the Hawthorn history books – there are six players to have gathered a club-record 44 disposals in a game for the Hawks, with Lewis and Condon being two of those players.
Lewis, Condon and Matthews have carried the number through nine premierships as players.
The way Lewis plays reflects the manner in which the previous custodians of the jumper have played – they are tough, uncompromising and fiercely competitive.
Lewis has now worn the guernsey through four premierships and the majority of his career, adding his own chapter to this famous number at Hawthorn.
