During the Hawks' bye round, as part of a three part series, hawthornfc.com.au reviews the season thus far of all Hawks players to have played a senior match in 2014. The second part of the series includes midfielders.

Luke Hodge

‘The General’ continues to impress in all areas of the ground – reporting for duty in the midfield this season and dominating in the absence of Brad Sewell and Sam Mitchell. After settling into a quarterback role in recent years while managing the Hawks' defence, Hodge has returned to the midfield as though he never missed a beat. While his influence can’t be measured in numbers alone, Hodge rates in the top six Hawks this season for disposals, kicks, marks, clearances, inside-50s, rebound-50s and goal assists.

Shaun Burgoyne

Nicknamed ‘Silk’ for his smooth and classy skills, Burgoyne has made a similarly silky transition into a primary midfield role for the Hawks this season. Like Hodge, Burgoyne has been called upon in the absence of Sewell and Mitchell and has had a profound impact through the middle of the ground. With an average of 25.4 disposals per game this season, the 31 year-old is second only to Grant Birchall when it comes to possessions. When it comes to contested possessions, Burgoyne leads the Hawks this season with an average of 9.5 per game, while ranking second for clearances with an average of 4.6 per game (second to Jordan Lewis).

Jordan Lewis

Lewis has fought relentlessly this season and continues to grow as a leader of the club. He currently leads the Hawks for clearances (4.3 per game) and centre clearances (2.5 per game), while his average of 9.1 contested possessions per game has him second only to Shaun Burgoyne. As well as his offensive output, Lewis is often tasked with negating key opposition players and is integral to the Hawks’ defensive structure.

Sam Mitchell

Mitchell carried on his brilliant form of last year into the present season, before injuring his hamstring in Hawthorn’s round seven win against St Kilda. In keeping with his knack for performing in big games, the in-and-under midfielder was at his best in Hawthorn’s round three win against Fremantle and round five loss to Geelong. In these two games Mitchell had a combined 62 disposals, 36 kicks, 20 contested possessions, 11 clearances, seven tackles, seven inside-50s and seven one-percenters.

Bradley Hill

After an exciting 2013, Hill has taken his game to even greater heights in just his third season with the club. Although Hawks supporters are aware of what he can do (see 2013 Finals Series), his consistency this year given his size, relative inexperience and style of play has been nothing short of extraordinary. With just 37 senior games to his name, Hill ranks in the top 10 Hawks this season for marks, kicks, goals, tackles, handballs, goal assists, disposals, inside-50s, marks inside-50, uncontested possessions and running bounces.

Liam Shiels

Shiels demonstrated signs of his future as a pivotal cog in the Hawthorn midfield before injuring his shoulder in Round 4 against the Suns. Having earned his stripes as one of the game’s most tenacious defensive midfielders, the addition of Will Langford to the side to perform similar duties has allowed Shiels to showcase his offensive capabilities as a pure midfielder. He averaged 22.2 disposals and 4.7 tackles per game before injuring his shoulder, and is a chance to return to the senior side for the Hawks’ round 10 clash with Port Adelaide.

Will Langford

Langford has been one of the finds of the season. After being upgraded from the rookie list at the end of last year, Langford has performed an array of tagging roles for the Hawks this season to become an integral part of the senior midfield brigade. As well as successful jobs on Docker David Mundy and Tiger Trent Cotchin, Langford played his best attacking game for the club against Sydney in round eight – recording a career-best 23 disposals to go with five tackles, four inside-50s and three clearances.

Isaac Smith

The Hawks running machine sets the aerobic standard for the rest of the club. Smith’s ability to run opponents into the ground makes him difficult to contain, with opponents trying to go with him during last year’s Finals Series with limited success. Smith ranks fifth in the league this season for running bounces per game, while ranking in the top seven at the club for disposals, kicks, marks and uncontested possessions. He also set a strong example by taking out the Hawks 2km time trial during the preseason, and should continue to set the standard for fellow wingman Bradley Hill and Billy Hartung, who ran third and second place respectively.

Billy Hartung

Taken by Hawthorn with its first pick in last year’s draft, the 19 year-old Hartung has shown ominous signs in his two appearances at senior level. Debuting as the sub against St Kilda in round seven, Hartung grabbed his opportunity with both hands when subbed on for Sam Mitchell just after quarter time. The 177cm speedster finished with 26 disposals, six marks, three tackles and two inside-50s, capping it off with a classy goal to excite Hawks fans about his future at the club.

Jonathan Simpkin

After coming on as the sub in last year’s Grand Final, Simpkin has performed this role in three of his seven games this season. But with injuries to a few of Hawthorn’s primary midfielders, Simpkin has taken on extra responsibility and performed well in his full games for the club. He played arguably his best game for the club in the round eight loss to Sydney, creating scoring opportunities with his tackling pressure and contributing with two goals of his own.

Mitch Hallahan

Last year’s J.J. Liston trophy winner (awarded to the VFL’s best and fairest player) made a sound impression in his senior debut. Coming on as the sub at three-quarter time in Hawthorn’s round five loss to Geelong, Hallahan finished with four kicks, two handballs and two inside-50s - while also kicking a clutch goal to keep the Hawks in the contest. Hallahan has since played three full games for the club and continues to apply his trade as an inside midfielder.

Ben McEvoy

The former-Saint has adjusted well to his new role under Alastair Clarkson’s tutelage. Renowned at the Saints for his ability to drop back behind the ball to take intercept marks, ‘Big Boy’ has been honing his craft as a forward when resting from his duties as the Hawks’ first-choice ruckman. As well as leading the club this year for average hitouts per game (23.3), McEvoy ranks third in competition for contested marks with an average of 2.3 per game. At just 24 years of age, McEvoy continues to develop into the complete ruckman and will be an integral part of the Hawks lineup for years to come.

Jonathon Ceglar

The developing ruckman showed solid signs in his two senior games this season. In the absence of Ben McEvoy, Ceglar battled manfully against Docker Aaron Sandilands in round three and notched up 19 disposals against the Suns in round four.