No. 9
Position: Half back flank
Career: 1940-49
Games: 85
Awards: Two-time interstate representative; 1949 Club Champion; 1949 Brownlow Medallist.

One of Hawthorn’s first VFL superstars. Austen initially had his heart set on playing for Carlton, but was zoned to Hawthorn and played five games in his first year. His brilliance in defence earned him a guernsey for every game in his second year, but he went on to play only two more games in the next four years.

Austen lost the 1949 Brownlow Medal on a countback to South Melbourne’s Ron Clegg but was later reinstated as a Brownlow Medal winner. He quit Hawthorn in 1950 and joined the Tigers, ending his career as captain-coach of the Richmond reserves.