AFL Awards - how will the Hawks fare?
We look at all the categories that will be presented at the AFL Awards night on Wednesday night and determine the best brown and gold prospects
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Award Season.
Certainly for supporters (like us) of teams that are not playing in the finals series this year, one eye will be watching what is happening on the field as we pray that one of our more preferred opponents wins the flag.
The other eye will be on the happenings off the field, including trade rumours, draft prospects, and the 2023 award functions such as big events like the Brownlow Medal and the Peter Crimmins Medal.
But it all starts tonight at the 2023 AFL Awards function, which will include some big ticket awards on show including All-Australian selection and the award for the ‘Most Incredible Player to ever be selected in a Mid Season Draft, have played less than 52 games and made the All Australian Squad of 44’.
But seriously - a big number of awards are ripe for the picking tonight - here we look at what they are, the Hawks who are in contention, and their chances of scooping the gong on the night.
The event will be live on Fox Footy from 7pm, so you can play along at home…
2023 AFL Rising Star
Hawthorn Nominees:
Josh Weddle - Round 10 v West Coast
Seamus Mitchell - Round 17 v Greater Western Sydney
While there are some wonderful names in this year’s crop of AFL Rising Star nominees, it is hard to look past the two players nominated in the opening two rounds - Harry Sheezel and Will Ashcroft. And with Ashcroft injuring himself and missing a chunk of the end of the year, that may just tip the scales in Sheezel’s favour.
There are some other very good players that we think will have a great chance to be in the top-five for the award including Fremantle’s Jye Amiss, Gold Coast’s Bailey Humphrey, St Kilda’s Mitchito Owens and Giant Finn Callghan.
From there the field thins out - particularly the nominations towards the back half of the season, but where Josh Weddle places on the overall voting tally will be an interesting watch.
Given the impact he has had this season we think he will be at the top end of the leaderboard - hopefully cracking the top five.
HI Prediction: Fifth or Sixth.
2023 AFL All Australian Team
Hawthorn Nominees:
Luke Bruest
Jai Newcombe
James Sicily
Let’s be very clear, just to make the All-Australian Squad of 44 when playing for the team that finished 16th on the ladder is a fantastic effort by Luke Breust, Jai Newcombe and James Sicily.
Newcombe’s rise from obscurity to superstardom continues, and those who wrote him off early as just a physically developed inside midfielder will be eating their words. He won’t make the team, but making the squad should give Newcombe great confidence going forward, and sets him up to attack season 2024.
Breust and Sicily are legitimate chances to make the final side, with both players having fantastic seasons. Breust finished just outside the top 10 in the Coleman Medal, kicking 47 goals and 23 behinds as a small forward in a team that struggles to score goals. It was a phenomenal effort by the veteran, who continues to enhance his Hawthorn legacy.
Sicily was robbed of a blazer last year and his 2023 season feels like a direct response to the snub. His game against St. Kilda in the Round 11 win at Marvel Stadium was one of the best individual games from a defender in 2023. Sicily finished that game with 43 disposals (22 intercept possessions and 16 marks (4 contested). He ended the season as first overall in marks (9.9 per game) and averaged 26.4 disposal per game. Only a ridiculous suspension (for an incident where he was awarded a free kick) could get in the way of him and his first All Australian spot.
HI Prediction: Sicily to be named All Australian, Breust and Newcombe to miss.
Coleman Medalist presentation
Hawthorn relevance:
Luke Breust - 11th overall
As mentioned above, an 11th place finish in the Coleman Medal is an incredible effort by a small forward when you factor in how poor Hawthorn’s forward line has functioned at times in 2023. Add to this that the only other small forwards on the list below (Toby Greene and Charlie Cameron) play for teams who qualified for the finals this year, it gives perspective to the herculean effort given by Hawthorn’s three-time premiership hero.
No award is given for 11th place in the Coleman, but Luke Breeeeeuuuuuust will always be number one in our hearts.
Leigh Matthews Trophy for the Most Valuable Player
Hawthorn Nominees:
James Sicily
Will Day
Jai Newcombe
Every club has three players put forward and for this award which is actually decided upon by the players at each club. Every AFL player is asked to nominate the three teammates they deem worthy of the Leigh Matthews Trophy - with the top three from each club (in our case Sicily, Day and Newcombe) being put up for stage two.
In stage two of the voting process, players are asked to select their MVP from the top-three list of nominees from every club, however, players can’t vote for their teammates in stage two.
There is no doubt that we feel Sicily to Hawthorn is as valuable as any other player to their club. Does this make him the most valuable player in the competition? It is not likely that many others will see it that way, but no doubt he will get votes.
HI Prediction: We expect to see either The Bont, Zac Butters or Nick Daicos taking home the trophy, but think that Sic will get a fair number of votes from his peers. Not confident that Newcombe or Day will register many between them.
Robert Rose Most Courageous Player
Hawthorn Nominee:
Blake Hardwick
The other day former Geelong ‘villain’ Steve Johnson proclaimed Hardwick as one of the most underrated players in the entire competition. And for Hawk fans far and wide this is purely a statement of fact.
Hardwick is criminally underrated, and wears the number 15 at our club for a reason - he is as tough and courageous as his predecessor Luke Hodge and was given the number for a reason. It’s elite company to be in the same breath as the General - let-alone the same jumper.
Dimma is sure to be at the pointy end at the Peter Crimmins Medal night this year, but might struggle here against some of the bigger name players up for the award such as Jack Viney, Zak Butters and Tom Liberatore.
HI Prediction: May scrape into the top five of voting - if we get to see the full leaderboard!
AFLPA Best First Year Player Award
Hawthorn Nominee:
Josh Weddle
Not an award that we would usually be in the running to feature in - certainly not over the past 15 years or so anyway.
But there is no doubt that in the current 18-team competition, we have one of the top-five first year players in 2023 in Josh Weddle, and we’d be pretty confident he will fourth or fifth.
Other names in contention for this award are similar tot he Rising Star Award with Harry Sheezel, Will Ashcroft and Bailey Humphrey the standouts.
You could then probably raffle fourth and fifth between Weddle and Mattaes Phillipou who are a cut above the next lot of nominated debutants.
HI Prediction: Fourth place for our excitement machine.
AFLPA Best Captain
Hawthorn Nominee:
James Sicily
See our MVP comment about the importance of Sic to our team this year. It is unlikely there has been as important a player to their side in the competition as Sicily is to Hawthorn, and his leadership has been showcased in spades in 2023.
He has come a long way in 12 months when there was raging debate as to wether or not he was even the best player for the job given his temperament in games past.
And while he may not be given the same respect in this award as some of the finals bound captains such as Lachie Neale, Darcy Moore or Max Gawn, he has shown that his leadership traits are as good as anyone’s.
Our captain, our leader.
HI Prediction: Let’s just enjoy his green blazer for now.
2023 AFL Coaches Association Champion POTY
Hawthorn relevance:
Jai Newcombe
Newcombe was coming 16th on the overall leaderboard heading into the blackout stage of voting where we don’t get to see the votes in the last couple of games of the season.
Unfortunately Duke missed the second last game and was not significant in the final game against Fremantle, so is unlikely to tally more than what he was on.
This means his best hope here is to score top-20 finish, which would be some sort of achievement for the boy from Poowong.
Would be a wonderful way to cap off a sensational year for our gun mid that may not yet have hit his ceiling as an AFL player.
HI Prediction: Top-20 awaits - fair effort.
2023 AFL Coaches Association Best Young Player
Hawthorn relevance:
Josh Weddle
Connor Macdonald
The AFLCA Best Young Player award is given to the player who had the best two first seasons of their career. Unfortunately that rules out the likes of Jai Newcombe, Will Day and a host of our other kids.
Of course this is the award that Newcombe in fact won last year, so it already holds a special place in our hearts, right?
But being ineligible this year, what it does mean is that Nick Daicos is an absolute monty to win this one, and no-one else will even get close.
HI Prediction: Good opportunity to take a toilet break, top up your cup of tea and move on.
