Ben Stratton’s impressive 2013 season has cemented his place as one of the league’s most reliable defenders.

The 24 year old from Perth has always gone about his business quietly and performed his role for the team with little fuss but in 2013, he finally got the recognition he deserves.

While his teammates, coaches and fans would have certainly appreciated his courage and team-first attitude, the wider football community finally noticed just how important Stratton is to Hawthorn.

At 189cm, Stratton showed this season that he could play on both talls and smalls because of his athleticism and ability both in the air and below his knees.

His defence has always been his strength, with his spoiling and closing speed two of his best attributes, but this year he added an attacking streak to his play. 

In the absence of the injured Matt Suckling, Stratton became a key role player off half back by adding to the side’s ability to counterattack from defence.

He worked well with Grant Birchall, Brent Guerra, Josh Gibson, Luke Hodge, Josh Gibson and Taylor Duryea to provide run from defence and because of that, improved his disposal average from 12.2 disposals last year to 14.7 in 2013.

He even achieved a career-high 23 disposals against Sydney in Round 7.

But, it was the West Australian’s at times amazing defensive efforts that made him such a valuable player for the Hawks.

He is selfless and is willing to sacrifice his own game for the team and he proved that over and over again this year.

Like his defensive teammates Brian Lake and Josh Gibson, Stratton reads the play well and takes it upon himself to zone off his man when possible to be third-man up in a marking contest to make an impact.

With Gibson, he has improved his ability to spoil and learnt from Brian Lake the art of backing yourself and taking marks from opposition kicks inside defensive 50 – he was ranked third at the Club for marks behind Lake and Jack Gunston this year.

His selfless style of play had him ranked second at the Club for one percenters behind Gibson.

Such was his consistent level of performance that he finished fourth in the Club’s best and fairest and was named as the most consistent player of season 2013 by his coaches.

Stratton is dependable and provided many team-lifting moments throughout the year through his ability to chase from behind and force an errant kick or turnover.

One moment that stands out is his chase on Ryan Crowley in the dying minutes of the Grand Final as the Fremantle player ran into an open goal and Stratton came from at least 10-15 metres behind to apply pressure and force him to miss.

It was the moment that killed off any hope of a Fremantle comeback.

His courage also allowed him to take two game-saving marks against the Cats in the Preliminary Final.

Stratton played 25 games this year and averaged 4.9 marks and three tackles – laying a tackle in each of his games.

He was an important player throughout the finals series and was deserving of his premiership medal.

At 24 years of age with now 77 games experience, another pre-season under his belt heading into next season means Hawks fans have plenty to look forward to from the reliable defender.

He signed a contract extension earlier this year and bleeds brown and gold, too.

What Chris Fagan said: “Every week Ben Stratton got his job done whether it was on a tall forward or a small forward, he just has that ability to mix and match.

“His pace is fantastic, he’s a desperate spoiler and a desperate tackler and many times in games he was able to apply that pressure to the opposition. A couple of times in the Grand Final he actually turned a certain goal into a point by his ability to chase.

“He won the award for most consistent at the Peter Crimmins Medal night and that was well deserved.”

Stratton in the news in 2013
- Stratton re-signs

Videos featuring Stratton in 2013
- Stratton’s 50^th consecutive game
- Stratton speaks about his new contract