Rocket to the moon?

What does history tell us about Hawthorn's future after 2024's meteoric rise?

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It has recently come to my attention that there’s a new football season approaching.

I really enjoyed the last one, and I hadn’t wanted a new one to barge in and overwrite the memories and feelings from it.

And yet, a new season presents new opportunities for the Hawks to build on the enormous foundation laid in 2024. There exists a prevailing assumption that the Hawks will continue our upward trajectory.

But nothing is guaranteed in footy. How fair is that assumption exactly? Is it based in reality and precedent? Or is it just a gut feel?

To answer that question, I have looked back over the modern history of teams that have shown similarly sharp rises to see if their situations were comparable, and if their success was sustainable. I’ve used ladders as they were at the end of the Home & Away season, rather than after finals.