Pre-Christmas Burning Questions (Part 1)
We take a look at the hardest hitting and most important topics at Hawthorn, this side of Santa's big day
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The Hawks have hit the track as they look to build on their impressive run in the back half of 2024. The Insiders look at some of the burning questions ahead of another big pre-season under the guidance of Peter Burge.
Who is your pre-season surprise packet and why?
Brad Klibansky
Sam Butler. Butler suffered a shocking foot/leg injury in the VFL last season but has come back incredibly strong. He look’s fit and ready to have a massive pre season. He’s out of contract at the end of 2025, so this pre-season is huge for him.
Danny Prins
Cody Anderson 👀 The ‘Beast from the East’ has landed at the Hawks and I have the same feeling I do with Anderson as I did with Worpel. You just get the feeling that, barring injury and the S+C team holding him back, Anderson will attack his first AFL pre-season ferociously. He might even put himself in the frame for an early season debut.
Nat Martin
It’s Cam Mackenzie for me. I am so high on him, I really expect him to make the next step this year in his 3rd year of AFL footy, putting himself in our top echelon of mids and putting the pressure on the James Worpel’s of the world. Needs to develop his tank and become a touch leaner in order to be able to play longer midfield minutes at a high level. He is a great driver in traffic and kicks it beautifully. It was really unfortunate for the kid he hurt himself the week of the first final.
Simon Morawetz
The AFL Fixturing Team, who have shown unexpectedly sharp judgment to reward the Hollywood Hawks with the Box Office slots. As a parent who can usually only watch footy after bed time, this is a most welcome result.
Andrew Weiss
I will touch on this in a later question but I think Tom Barrass will surprise everyone not just by how good he is, but with the leadership he will bring to the whole group - and especially the defensive unit. My other watch is for Cam Mackenzie to have a big pre-season seeing him take another step up when we get to Round 0 against the Swans.
Ashley Browne
Sam Mitchell for green-lighting Hawthorn’s participation in Full Sweat. I thought perhaps the Hawks might dial things down a notch after the media frenzy towards the end of last season, but as he explained in an excellent Wide World of Sports interview with Sam McClure recently, if the Hawks are going to play in a Grand Final any time soon the scrutiny will be even more intense. So why not get used it to it now?
Can Max Ramsden surpass Ned Reeves as the No.2 ruckman?
Brad Klibansky
Absolutely. We saw what Ramsden could do as a ruckman in the back half of the VFL season when Reeves was injured. Ramsden will be the Hawks’ #2 ruck by the middle of season 2025.
Danny Prins
Are we sure he hasn’t already? If I’m selecting a number two ruck, I want some one with versatility and a point of difference to my number one. Ramsden has proven at Box Hill that he can be effective forward of the ball, but he’s shown that his endurance, agility and skills around the ground are a weapon that no other ruck on Hawthorn’s list has. He’s ready.
Nat Martin
Yes. There’s something there with Maxy that Reeves doesn't have – and that’s the athleticism to impact the game when the ball hits the ground and then give us a chop out by taking a clunk around the ground. He’s not a key forward – he is a ruck – but he can rest forward and contribute which is another string to his bow. His form in the back half of the year at Box Hill – notably the Werribee game and the Round 18 Williamstown game - was really promising.
Simon Morawetz
Look, anything can happen, but Ned is the incumbent. He comes with size and experience. Either he would have to take a drastic drop in VFL form – or Max would have to make some giant strides – for this to happen.
Andrew Weiss
There is a very distinct possibility that this could happen - based purely on Ned Reeve’s body and how it hold up in the Magoos this year. If he is spending a lot of time off the park then it may just naturally happen. But if he remains fit all season, there is no way in my mind that Big Ned isn’t the certain number 2, and would replace Lloyd Meek if it was required.
Ashley Browne
Different sorts of players. The goal for Ramsden should be to replace Mabior Chol as a marking forward who can ruck a bit. Still think Reeves, if fit, is the best option to replace Meek if required.
What does Josh Ward need to do this pre-season to shore up his place in the Hawks midfield?
Brad Klibansky
Just keep working hard on the training track. Wardy is an ultimate professional, so that won’t be an issue. He can also improve other areas of his game. We’ve seen he can star as an inside mid but not so much on the outside. He struggled playing on the wing in 2024.
Danny Prins
Stay out of his own head. Ward is a deep thinker, which can have it’s positives and negatives. He will be enthused by his finals series, as he well should be.
The game against the Bulldogs might just be the foundations of the rest of his career, but that output need to become the norm, not the outlier. He can do that by focusing on what he can control and letting go of the rest.
Nat Martin
Ball use and his stoppage craft. We know he is fit, it’s not his running he needs to work on. He isn't a winger though, he needs another trick to differentiate himself and allow himself to be someone we have to pick playing on the ball. Become an elite handballer, work on getting better separation at stoppage, turn that left foot in to a short kicking weapon that can ping off a quick 45 – like his coach did.
Simon Morawetz
The coaching staff clearly know he’s there – you don’t take passengers into a finals campaign. He played pretty well in those finals, too. As long as he puts in the yards during pre-season, he will be there or thereabouts. When/once he is named, he just needs to keep doing his role. It could also be as simple as staying injury-free – we might not get as good a medical run as we did last year, in which case the spots will be available for the players who are.
Andrew Weiss
Not sure he could do anything to shore up his place in the midfield to be honest. I have the likes of Will Day, Jai Newcombe, Connor Nash and James Worpel all ahead of him, and I think we will see more of CMac, CMack, and even Dylan Moore getting additional midfield minutes this year. I think there is a spot for him rotating off the bench, across the wings and in the middle, but his best chance if the club buying into the need to get 15 plus games into him developmentally. Not sure how it plays out - he is a curious watch this year for sure.
Ashley Browne
Watch the Bulldogs final on high rotation. He was magnificent that night. Bring that level of play and especially that manic tackling, and there will be a place for him in the side. Also agree that he should not overthink things.
What do the Hawks need from CJ this summer?
Brad Klibansky
To get through without suffering an injury. Despite his poor form and consistent injuries, the club has shown huge faith in CJ re-signing him for three more years. It’s time for him to repay the faith.
Danny Prins
This one is simple. A full, uninterrupted pre-season. I’m probably one of the few that still owns property on Jiath Island, but I fully believe that when he gets his body right and finds confidence in himself, he has the x-factor and attributes to be a damaging weapon off half back or on the wing. 2025 could be his year, and I hope it is.
Nat Martin
They need him fully fit – for the entire summer. He is an athletic beast – we all know that. He doesn't have to build up his body anymore. We need him to have an uninterrupted summer, keep his momentum going into the season and make that other wing spot his. This is his eighth season, he is 26 in June. It’s time to deliver and play consistent footy
Simon Morawetz
Not get injured. This is the easiest question here by some margin.
Andrew Weiss
1) Injury Free. 2) Injury Free. 3) Injury Free. And when he is done being injury free, consistency of ball use is still my knock that I’d love to see improved across preseason and the early rounds of footy.
Ashley Browne
Stay fit obviously, but the fascination is where he fits in the side. High-risk, high-reward footy surging off half-back might suit him. We just don’t know.
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The other burning question is where will Sic play? I managed to speak with him at the open training session on December 7. I asked him about his shoulder and he said that he would be 'cherry ripe' by round one next year. I asked him where he would be playing and he said..."back." I then suggested that the space between the defensive and offensive arcs should be his domain as it would give him the best of both worlds. He could continue to intercept and hit up our forwards with precision passing and he could also intercept opposition kicks out of our forward line and send the ball back over their heads for a goal. James laughed at this and suggested that I pass it on to Sammy.
So, Sam, if you are reading this, the space between the two arcs should be the home the home of James Sicily.
Totally agree with what has been said about Ward. He is fully capable at the level as we saw in the finals last year. The main thoughts I have on him is that maybe, just maybe, it is just getting used to the pace of the game at AFL for a whole game. Whilst he IS capable, sometimes the adjustment in the concentration required to play at the level, just takes time. Think back to Dylan Moore's first few seasons. Moorey looked slow in initially, then one day it clicked. My hope is that Ward has had his click moment in the finals and his slow start to his career will be a distant memory.