Preview '23: How will they go?
In our final of our 2023 preview articles we make today's question real simple: How many wins? Where will we finish? And what should we expect?
It’s game day! Ahead of today’s game against the Bombers, we finish series of 2023 season preview articles. How will we go this year?
Our insiders take one final glimpse into the crystal ball to give their takes on how many wins we will notch up this year and where the brown and gold will finish on the ladder.
Who is on the money? How do you think we will fare? A great time capsule article to break back out at the end of the season.
Go Hawks!
Danny Prins
17th - FIVE WINS
This season my focus isn’t on the wins and the losses so much as it is on the individual and team development.
Which players are elevating themselves to a new level of sustained output, which young players are taking the step from VFL to AFL and looking comfortable, and as a group, how are the players understanding and executing the roles and gameplan that the coaching group has requested from them?
In saying all that, AFL and elite sport in general, is a wins and losses business. I expect the Hawks to win between four and six games. Hopefully that’s not too pessimistic for Hawks supporters, because it isn’t for me.
I’m excited for this season for what it is, a development season. That is exciting in itself.
Brad Klibansky
17th - FIVE WINS
Lower your expectations. 2023 is going to be a roller coaster for supporters of the club. Winning eight games last season was an excellent result but I expect us to regress heavily in 2023.
With the loss of Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara, Jack Gunston and former captain Ben McEvoy, the team will struggle with the lack of experience. Injuries will undoubtedly happen, with players not necessarily ready for AFL football forced to play.
However, this season will be exciting at times as we will get to watch the new generation of Hawks play together. Watching the likes of Reeves, Meek, Newcombe, Ward, Macdonald, Mackenzie and Weddle play together is going to bring big smiles to the faces of supporters.
Season 2023 is all about getting as many senior games as possible into the players Sam Mitchell hopes will be part of our next premiership side.
Simon Morawetz
17th - FIVE WINS
We are fortunate enough to be in possession of the rarest of football commodities: a pressure-free season. We will not win that many games, and that is OK. We are playing a longer game than just 2023.
Now, that does not give us licence to sit back and coast through the season. We can be let down by skill errors, but not effort. We can accept fading late in games against more seasoned bodies, but not because the game plan isn’t sound. We can accept a lowly ladder position if and only if it is laying down the platform for a new dynasty.
So godspeed Ward, Moore, Newcombe, CJ, Mackenzie, Macdonald, Worpel, Weddle, Day and – yes – Denver. Get us excited for the future.
Andrew Weiss
15th - SEVEN WINS
Saints twice, North twice and games against West Coast and Adelaide in Tasmania, GWS in Adelaide, Essendon in round one and Fremantle in the final round at home.
Add in a couple of wins that are not expected (think Geelong, Port and Brisbane in 2022) and there is absolutely no reason that we can’t win seven to eight games this season.
It will be very exciting to see our young prospects develop and it will bring a roller-coster of emotions, shifting expectations and hopes throughout the season.
But as Head of Football Rob McCartney told us a couple of weeks ago - it’s about three years and another 60 games together for this group - if we keep our eyes on the long-term goal, the win-loss ration this year is not actually important.
Just really looking forward to this ride with what already seems to be a special group of players, coaches and administrators at our club.
Ashley Browne
16th - SEVEN WINS
This is Hawthorn. No tanking for draft picks. No wooden spoons (at least not for the last 57 years.
There will be no spoon this year. Barring a catastrophic injury run, Hawthorn has too much talent and is too well coached to finish 18th.
There might not be as many wins as last year but the team should be better. As noted previously, there are few, if any, list cloggers at the Hawks and they should be competitive in large parts of most games. And there will be one or two games where it all clicks and it will be a joy to watch.
Having functional, actual ruckmen in every game this year should help as well.
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