One saying sums up Hawthorn’s 2011 season. You snooze, you lose.
The Hawks were one kick away from playing Geelong in yet another grand final when they dropped the ball late in the preliminary final against Collingwood, having led for 80 of the 114 minutes played and by 17 points at three-quarter time.
The boys from Waverley Park lost only six games last year to three teams – Adelaide in round one; Geelong in rounds five, 12 and the qualifying final; and Collingwood in round 15 and the preliminary final.
Interesting this year then, that Hawthorn’s first three games are against Collingwood and then Geelong both at the ’G, followed by a round three clash with Adelaide.
For Hawthorn, Sam Mitchell won the club best and fairest ahead of Josh Gibson, Grant Birchall, Lance Franklin and Luke Hodge.
The men who now resemble a bag of licorice allsorts agreed with Hawthorn’s match committee, awarding Mitchell the most Brownlow votes of any Hawk with 30, although he was ineligible to win Charlie.
Buddy once again gained the goalkicking accolades with 82 majors – Luke Bruest (30), Cyril Rioli (29) Michael Osborne (21) and David Hale (20) next.
Hawthorn goes into the 2012 season with the fourth-oldest list, and the oldest ever managed by Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson. Clarkson is now third on the list of games coached for Hawthorn.
The list however has arguably the most depth out of any team, Collingwood and Geelong included.
If you look at the top 10 percent of each position, the Hawks have seven elite players – Hodge, Franklin, Mitchell, Rioli, Shaun Burgoyne, Birchall and the recovering big man Jarryd Roughead.
Under them there is the courageous and ever-improving run-with midfielder Jordan Lewis, along with Brad Sewell, Gibson, Matt Suckling and Stephen Gilham amongst others.
Complementing the big names are highly promising players that are yet to reach the 50-game milestone, and in some cases are yet to debut. So, who are they?
Liam Shiels was the most improved midfielder in the competition last year and looks set to become an elite on-baller – he was the Hawks’ leading tackler, and was number one for Hawthorn and fifth in the league in pressure acts.
Isaac Smith was a damaging player last year when the moving the ball forward, with just under half his inside-50s resulting in a score.
The defensive playmaker Matt Suckling and his solid backline colleague Ben Stratton will provide greater strength against the league’s goalkickers.
Keep an eye on the fourth-year midfielder Shane Savage. The Hawks will be hoping Bruest can deliver another very good season and Adelaide Crows convert Jack Gunston gels well next to Franklin.
Two players that I am interested in seeing play in the big league are Alex Woodward and Jordan Kelly.
Woodward was the 53rd pick in the 2011 draft after playing his under 18s with Sandringham in the TAC Cup. His numbers were very impressive and he is a consistent contested ball-winner, including averaging 10 when he represented Vic Metro in the 2011 NAB AFL under 18 championships. Woodward has several big names ahead of him but if he gets a run, watch out.
Kelly may spend most of 2012 in the VFL, but is another to keep an eye out for in years to come.
At the start of this article I wrote that one saying summed Hawthorn up last year. This year, one word that you will hear more than any other team in the competition is, ‘if.’
If the Hawks have a good run with injuries, they will win the 2012 premiership. I predicted Geelong last year because I thought they were the best and they proved me and many others correct. This year, I am on Hawthorn.
Jables
Guest
Agreed he's done pretty well for an inexperienced player IMO, I hate it when they throw him up forward for a couple of minutes though, I don't care where he played as a junior he clearly does not have goals in him
mickey
Guest
I'm sick of Schoenmakers bashing from some supporters, the guy's only played 35 games FFS. I'm confident he can develop into a solid (at least) CHB.
ChrisH
Guest
Can't believe we still have Ellis. And if Schoenmakers doesn't stop screwing up every single possession he has this year, get rid of him. Otherwise the other blokes mentioned are great.
Pacman
Guest
Woodward did his ACL against GWS in round 2 of the nab cup, so unfortunately he won't be seen this year.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
I expect Gee or Coll to play the Hawks. Should be another cracking year.
Brian
Guest
A big gorilla up back is always a problem, 2 out of Stratton, Schoenmakers, Gilham & Gibson need to stand up. On the ruck I agree, I don't know why a Bateman, Young, Savage or Ellis wasn't trade instead of Renouf. The othe key is Roughie returning to how he was. He can be crucial as a forward/2nd Ruck. FB: Birchall, Gilham, Gibson HB: Guerra, Schoenmakers, Suckling C: Shiels, Sewell, Burgoyne HF: Puopolo, Roughead, Lewis FF: Rioli, Franklin, Gunston R: Bailey, Hodge, Mitchell Int: Hale, Murphy, Smith Sub: Ellis Emerg: Stratton, McCauley, Bateman, Young, Bruce, Savage, Bruest, Osborne, Whitecross - That's a lot of depth on Emergency. Years of vying for premierships whilst having injuries has created massive bench experience.
Cam Larkin
Roar Guru
I'll cop it TomC - I reviewed two reports that stated the score I documented. Apologies. Not trying to blow my own horn however.
John Ascenzo
Guest
Happy for Geelong to be consistently under-rated. They will have a better team than last year with T Hunt, Motlop, Brown and a couple of others that have gone very well in the pre-season coming in and with Menzel and Vardy to come back mid year. (Never mind Varcoe, the big O, Wojo, Christensen and Simpson waiting in the wings) Go Cats!
TomC
Guest
The Hawks had a stack of youngsters make big steps in 2011 (Shiels, Suckling, Whitecross, Bailey, Puopolo, Smith, Schoenmkers) and the question is whether they'll be able to hold that form over another season. Bailey of course has already picked up an injury. But even if not all of them did there's so much depth across the ground that it probably wouldn't matter much. Plus it looks like Hale and even Bruce might be significantly bigger contributors this season. The only real area of weakness is in the ruck. None of Pattison, McCauley, Hale or the injury-prone Bailey are going to be dominant ruckmen, and they might run into trouble against teams like West Coast if they consistently lose the clearances as a result. They have a tough draw to start the season, but if they can beat Collingwood, Geelong in the first couple of rounds it's hard to see anyone stopping. West Coast in perth in round 4 should be a cracking game. By the way, Cameron, it'd be nice if you'd acknowledge your mistake in your last article before you blow your own horn about predicting Geelong to win in 2011.
Australian Rules
Guest
Hawthorn's first 4 games: Collingwood, Geelong, Adelaide, WCE (in Perth) - tough start! Despite all the hype, they could come out of the first month with only 2 wins (or worse). A definite chance for this year's flag but it's a long season.