Love at first sight

First look photos have us excited - one player in particular stood out who we will be backing in through thick and finn

Subscribe to Hawks Insiders for all the news through Hawthorn-tinted glasses and more exclusive content.

Every pre season we are usually teased and treated by something.

It could be a rumour that player X is flying on the track, news of a player coming into the club and making an impact, or simply a photo shared which sets tongues wagging.

And on Thursday, tongues were doing just that.

Hawthorn’s media team has been clever in posting a range of pre pre-season photos of players hitting the track before they officially get campaign 2024 under way.

It has kept the momentum going from an exciting season this year, a fruitful trade period and ahead of a hopeful national draft next week.

So what exactly am I talking about?

Well, the photos of Finn Maginess of course - no disrespect to Josh Ward who is flying…

Having taken his game to a new level in 2023, Maginess did a decent job of proving many of his doubters wrong throughout the season.

Tagging roles on Josh Kelly (wow), Jack Steele and of course Nick Daicos spring to mind, showcasing his talents and that there is a role in the team for him.

Some of the knocks on his game around being too slow to dispose of the footy, and not getting enough of it are still areas he can improve on.

We have seen Sam Mitchell play Finn in different roles over the past couple of years in an attempt to teach him the game from different angles and give him more flexibility than being simply a stopper.

Areas of his game that CAN improve with hard work, dedication, and a mature attitude. 

So the photos doing the rounds have everyone buoyed for several reasons. Yes for some that might be pure aesthetics. But for others (like me) it shows a serious commitment through the off season to get better, to improve, and to give himself the best chance at having a decent career.

He’s clearly been running, hitting the gym, and taking his nutrition very very seriously.

And when you consider he only turns 23  in February next year (hands up who would have thought he’s a few years older), he’s giving himself a decent crack at becoming a 200 game premiership player.

It’s a reflection of the hunger that has been instilled in our young group to want success.

The photos give us that hope, they give us fans another glimpse that we are continuing to head in the right direction.

You love to see it.

Other pre season tongue wagers of the past:

Josh Weddle - running machine

“Get excited @HawthornFC fans - time trials today at the Open Training - Josh Weddle the absolute standout off screen to the right of this pic - miles ahead of everyone. Amon, Ward, Harry and CJ also catching the eye!!”

That was what we wrote in our tweet having attended the pre season time trials at Bunjil Bagora last year.

It was the first time that fans got a glimpse of the young player we desperately wanted and traded up for a month earlier at the draft.

The hype had begun, and rightly so.

Mitch Lewis - look at those guns

Like the Finn photos, it was pre season 2021 when hidden among a training gallery posted by the club was an image that had to be seen to be believed. 

Mitch Lewis had clearly packed it on and in all the right areas - putting a huge amount of weight onto his upper body frame.

His double cobra pose for the camera was a sight to behold, setting socials ablaze with how much work he had done to put his name forward as our clear number one key forward.

It led HI regular Smorganism (@smorganism) to post in his pre-season notes:

“Mitch Lewis is impressing on the track, with an improved intensity in the contest. The way he is leading at the ball and using his frame has me excited about what he could do this year.”

Tom Scully - the running machine is back, maybe

When we traded former GWS and Demon number one draft pick into our club for a future fourth pick that never got used, there were a lot of people wondering if we would actually see him don the brown and gold.

Scully broke his ankle in the second round of 2018 - fracturing the fibula in his right ankle and also sustaining a syndesmosis injury with thoughts he may never make it back onto the park.

And despite more pre-season surgery and missing the first game of the season in 2019, Scully went on to play our next 21 games that year in an amazing recovery.

So heading into the 2020 season, hopes were high that our acquired running machine could get back to his full aerobic best and become a huge weapon for Clarko and team.

A huge pre-season saw Clarko state that Scully should become a top-10 player at the club if he remained injury free and his Intraclub ann Marsh Series form boosted those expectations. 14 games later his career at the club was over.

Jon Patton - The General lights up Bunjil

It was a headline we had been used to seeing over the past decade - The General taking control of things out at Waverley.

But ahead of our 2020 campaign, The General in question was not HRH Luke Hodge, but former number one pick and Giant Jonathan Patton who we had acquired in the off season in exchange for a bottle of coke and a packet of chips.

Despite two years out nursing multiple knee reconstructions, Patton lit up a Hawthorn Intraclub match in February in front of many excited onlookers - some of your HI writers included.

Hopes were high that we had found the key forward we were chasing and for a fleeting moment that day, the pre-season excitement took over.

Stewart Dew - the unlikely bulky hero

Stewart Dew’s place in Hawthorn history is that of folklore, and we certainly don’t need to remind you of the greatest six-minute stretch of Grand Final football ever to be played by an individual.

But Dew’s recruitment before the 2008 season - after 12 months in football’s wilderness, had everyone talking.

With the support of fitness guru Andrew Russell, Dew was tasked with having to shed over 25 kilos that he had put on while he was in his luscious retirement paddock through 2007.

And despite some hammy twinges through the pre-season and a strain in round three that saw him miss four matches, the pre-season hype was more than paid back in spades.

Harry Miller - Indigenous Fever

When Harry Miller was selected at pick 25 in the 2003 AFL National Draft, he was set to become just the sixth indigenous Australian to play football for the brown and gold.

And despite being delisted at the end of 2006 with only 18 games and 13 goals to his name, it was his 2004 pre-season that really had fans excited about his potential.

Miller wowed those inside the club in February 2004 when during an intra-club match he kicked five goals and put his name forward for selection against Brisbane in the pre-season cup the next week.

His performance led then forward coach Donald McDonald to declare:

"Honestly, from my perspective, I wouldn't say excitement. I would say it's more relief that you've picked up a player who's shown something. When you have your first pick (at No. 25), you want to be able to make sure that the kid can play a bit,"

"It's been a little bit more relief that he's shown to date that he can go all right."

---

Join the Hawks Insiders community on Twitter and Facebook