A nest full of new Hawks

Our full recap of a defining draft

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It’s been a big couple of days for Hawthorn’s recruiting team, with a bevy of fledgling Hawks joining the nest at Bunjil Bagora.

They jewel in the crown was very obviously Josh Ward, selected with Pick 7 on night one of the AFL National Draft, but the Hawks were only just getting started.

All the chatter was that Mitchell, McKenzie and co were incredibly keen on Matthew Johnson, but when he was taken at Pick 21 by the Fremantle Dockers, the Hawks quickly changed tact and selected exciting forward mid Sam Butler from the Greater Western Victoria Rebels.

Danger danger Butler.

It wasn’t long before the Hawks had their next pick at 26. While the fans were expecting Tyler Sonsie, who spent some time at Box Hill, the club further added to the midfield stocks by picking Dandenong Stingray’s ball magnet Connor MacDonald.

Then, we waited. And waited.

And waited some more.

The gift that keeps giving.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the Hawks were back on the clock and they wasted no time jumping in ahead of Fremantle to take Jai Serong, brother of the Dockers emerging star Caleb.

Can Hawthorn become the Serong Family Club?

Heading into the Rookie Draft on Friday, Hawthorn had two list positions available, but with McKenzie previously committing to leave a list spot open to tap into the Supplemental Selection Period, the Hawks would go into the draft with one live pick. That pick ended up being used on Northern Knights inside midfielder, Ned Long. 

In the coming days, the Hawks are expected to add Eastern Ranges small forward Paul Haasbroek to their Category B Rookie List, who will be joining the previously announced Fionn O’Hara.

What types of players did the Hawks get with their selections?

The Hawks were always expected to have a midfield heavy draft hand, and they did not deviate from that expectation. A brief summary of each Hawk selection will explain their key traits and differences:

Josh Ward: A classy and smooth moving midfielder who is capable of racking up mountains of disposals, he has a strong work rate and uses the ball very well when he gets it. Ward was named captain of the NAB League Team of the Year after an outstanding shortened season for the Northern Knights.

Sam Butler: A damaging forward midfielder with elite acceleration. Butler enjoys the defensive side of the game through chase down tackles but maintains his offensive output. He was one of a number of GWV Rebels players selected early in the draft.

Connor MacDonald: A predominately inside midfield with an incredible work rate. MacDonald flourishes in the contest with his ball hunting ability and defensive pressure his standout traits. He had a fantastic year for the Dandenong Stingrays at NAB League level.

Smiles all ‘round.

Jai Serong: A versatile and skinny developing tall prospect out of the Gippsland Power. He has shown good hands in marking contests as well as being very good below his knees. 

Ned Long: A strong body in the contest who can push forward and kick a goal, Long is an endurance specialist who was incredibly damaging for the Northern Knights in the NAB League this season.

Fionn O’Hara: An emerging star in Ireland in rugby and Gaelic football, O’Hara has been tracked by the Hawks for some time and has a strong endurance base and kicks well off both feet.

What happens next? How does the Supplemental Selection Period (SSP) work?

Hawthorn has kept a list spot open with a view to inviting players to train with them over the course of pre-season. These names will come to light in the coming weeks, but this is a tried and trusted avenue for the Hawks, who had Will Bravo, Jackson Callow and Lachie Bramble training with them last year.

As we know, Bramble was a breakout star in the back half of the season after winning the SSP spot and Jackson Callow was one of two selections by the Hawks in the Mid-Season Draft.

The Hawks will cast their net far and wide to see who might be interested in trying out for that last list spot, but some names we might expect to hear are Ronald Fejo Jnr, Jamal Stretch, Cooper Beecken, Tyreece Lieu, Josh Rentch, and Morgan Ferres.

Final thoughts…

This year’s draft haul is proof we are at the beginning of a new and exciting phase in the history of the Hawthorn Football Club history and Sam Mitchell has come in and wiped the slate clean before building his team in his likeness. 

The question will be how many of the recently selected players will be able to break into the Hawks AFL side in 2022 and how many games will they play? At this stage, your guess is as good as mine, but one thing is for sure Mitchell plans to be aggressive in his approach and that bodes well for his new young charges.

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