HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson believes the Hawks have a group of young players ready to emerge and form the next generation of stars at the club.
Speaking at the club’s season launch on Wednesday night, Clarkson said there were a number of players who would put their hands up to continue the team's recent on-field success.
“We’ve got about eight to ten players who we haven’t seen a lot of, but we’re hoping these players can emerge and show us the next generation of footballers who are going to continue the wave of success the club has enjoyed over the last few years,” he said.
“That’s going to be a lot of hard work. They’re not all going to play at once.
“They (the younger players) are going to be heavily influenced by the leadership of the more senior players at our club, and certainly the coaching staff as well.”
Clarkson said that Hawthorn still tries to ensure its young players find their feet as quickly as possible.
“There will be those in the room who will recall the days when Hawthorn always ensured that their young players served a really strong apprenticeship in the reserve grade,” he said.
“It’s not easy to do in the current environment, but AFL is such a demanding game we need to make sure our players are physically and mentally ready to cope with the demands of the game from week-to-week.”
Clarkson said that the leadership and encouragement from older players was crucial in helping the young players to find their feet at AFL level.
“The old foxes in our group like Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Shaun Burgoyne, Josh Gibson - we want them to try and improve, but also encourage the younger players and invest in them," he said.
The Hawks have had a particular focus on getting game time into their younger generation, with a number of young players enjoying extended minutes on-field during the Hawks’ two NAB Challenge games thus far.
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