The best and the rest (HFC guernsey edition)
You know it's pre-season when the ranking articles come out, but on the eve of Hawthorn's 100th birthday season, now is the time to deep dive into the history of our iconic guernsey
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I am a jumper geek.
I love our jumper, I love what it stands for and what it means. And this year we will wear brown and gold on field for the 100th season in the VFL/AFL.
But it’s not just the one jumper for 100 years.
No, we have in fact worn many (as you will see on this list, I have largely decided there have been 29 jumpers in the clubs history, with the exception of our indigenous strips, which you will read about in a moment.)
So, despite not being asked because I’m a geek and love talking about our guernsey, I have ranked all of those strips from best to worst (and boy do they get awful at the end.)
One note I will make – I have made the decision not to include our indigenous jumpers on the list. These jumpers are very different to what we normally wear, they aren’t just colours and shapes thrown together to identify who we are as a club. Each of these jumpers tells a story – be it our club or the players themselves. Incredible work goes into the designs and the stores they tell. As a result, I don’t think it’s in the spirit of this article to rank them as to what is better or worse. They are their own stories and should continue to live as such.
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1. Stripes V6 (2006-2012)
For me, this is my favourite jumper our club has ever worn. It was the perfect mix of history – the jumper worn in our maiden flag in 1961 – and still felt modern. The white panel and black number is such a classy look. For a club who was growing into the dominant force it would be for the decade to come, it has such a positive place in fans mind.
2. Stripes V3 (1975 – 1996, 2003-2005)
If you lived through the golden age of the Hawthorn Football Club, this is what you saw. A gold back introduced for the switch to colour TV in 1975. You saw fashions change, you saw society change, you saw footy change, all in this jumper. 10 grand finals, seven premierships, a record 13 years in a row in the finals. This jumper is iconic for our club. It also made a return in the early 2000s after the (awful) yellow jumpers went away. Just a great jumper.
3. Stripes V7 (2013 – 2025)
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