Hawks developing next generation
Hawthorn have begun the process of putting AFL games into their next crop of players in 2016, with seven debutants pulling on the brown and gold this season.
Marc Pittonet, Kieran Lovell, Kaiden Brand, Kade Stewart, Blake Hardwick, Kurt Heatherley, Ryan Burton and ex-Demon Jack Fitzpatrick all broke through for their first senior games at Hawthorn, and with another pre-season under their belt we can expect to see more of them at top level in 2017.
The talent doesn’t stop there however, with James Sicily, Daniel Howe, Billy Hartung, Tim O’Brien and Jonathan O’Rourke also playing consistent AFL footy this season.
Adapting on the run
There is no doubt the absence of Jarryd Roughead dented Hawthorn’s premiership aspirations in 2016, but no one could question how well the Hawks managed to cover the key forward’s role.
Jack Gunston led Hawthorn’s goal kicking with 51 for the year, Cyril Rioli and Luke Breust finished with 47 majors each and Paul Puopolo kicked a career-best 34 goals in 2016.
While Roughead’s playing future is still clouded going into next year and beyond, there is no doubt the Hawks still have the nucleus of what is a very potent forward half.
What next for Hawthorn game plan?
Having boldly declared that he didn’t concern himself with contested ball halfway through the season, Alastair Clarkson would probably rue the fact that the Hawks lost the contested possession count by a total of +102 in their finals against Geelong and the Western Bulldogs.
While Hawthorn is known for not winning the contested ball stat for the majority of their games, they have taken a real battering in that area this season which ultimately contributed to their downfall in finals.
It will be interesting to see what Clarkson tinkers with over the off-season to try and make the Hawks more competitive in that area.
Hawks reasonably healthy
After starting the season with a few players missing through injury, Hawthorn managed to get their list healthy at the right time of year.
Aside from Jarryd Roughead, Ryan Schoenmakers and Jonathon Ceglar were the only two first choice players to suffer long-term injuries, as the Hawks got their full allotment of players together towards the back end of the season.
Luke Hodge put an interrupted first half of the season behind him to play some terrific football in the last two months of the 2016 season and the other Hawks’ veterans remained injury free, which is a good sign heading into 2017.
Don’t write Hawthorn off in 2017
Media commentators and footy fans alike have come thick and fast to write the Hawks off and say their era of dominance is over, but it may not be that simple.
Geelong showed this season that with smart recruiting, teams can go from missing the finals one year to premiership contention the next.
Hawthorn will do all it can in the trade and draft periods to ensure they stay up near the top of the tree in 2017.
