Welcome To Hawks Insiders

The footy media doesn't care about HFC - but we do.

Ever get the feeling you know more about the Mighty Hawks than the people paid to write, think and talk about footy on a daily basis?

That’s because you do.

Newsrooms have shrunk, meaning AFL journalists - the few who remain, anyway - have to cover more teams and issues. There’s less capacity to create specialised content on any particular team and more pressure to generate clicks on sensationalised topics, non-issues, or umpiring decisions. Is any other code so obsessed with the interpretations of rules?

Existing AFL media outlets rarely go beyond the clicks, especially those in a nine team town such as Melbourne. Meanwhile, former players dominate the footy media landscape, playing their role in a self-perpetuating clickbait cycle that does little more than generate huge audiences for betting companies. No offence to Nick Dal Santo and Jonno Brown, but do we really need to see their mugs on 18 footy shows a week?

The frustration is amplified if you follow the nuanced coverage and deep analysis in overseas outlets such as The Athletic, ESPN, Bleacher Report, and The Ringer. Surely there’s another way?

This is why we’re starting Hawks Insiders, a subscription newsletter that puts Hawthorn front and centre, like Cyril roving the pack in that magic third quarter in 2008.

What You’ll Get

Imagine a space in which the impassioned conversations you’re having on message boards, WhatsApp groups or private social pages are explored in greater detail by people in the know. But for the most part things will be kept lighthearted and conversational. Some of our regular content will include:

• Match recaps and player ratings

• Game analysis and deep dives

• Player profiles and interviews

• Draft and trade coverage

• Retrospectives and throwbacks

• Weekly mailbag

• Exclusive audio content

We’ll be sending a constant flow of content direct to you inbox, centred around topics that reflect what true Hawks supporters are talking about, not lazy mainstream media narratives that are just so easy to debunk.

Hawks need to go to the draft. They have for the past two years.

Hawthorn should never have brought in Chad Wingard. He’s in our top three players.

What were they thinking with Hartley, Hartigan and Frost? They cost the club next to nothing.

Hawks need to play the kids. Are there some kids we don’t know hiding behind the couches at the Ricoh?

Hawks have no good young talent. Have you seen Shaun Burgoyne play?

We reckon this is the first ever AFL-related Substack, and we’re super excited to nurture an engaged community of fellow Hawks diehards.

Why Are We Doing This?

In the post three-peat era, Hawthorn is just making up the numbers. The mainstream footy media is focussed on back page occupiers like Collingwood and Richmond or perennial strugglers like Essendon and Carlton, while Hawks supporters seek out informed coverage from forums (Hawk Headquarters, BigFooty); private Facebook groups; podcasts (Hawk Talk, Golden Years); or the handful of journalists on the Hawks beat such as Marc McGowan.

When the Hawks somehow put four quarters together and eke out a win it’s Clarko’s tactical genius not the 22 on the field. When they don’t - they’re either furthest away from a flag (Kane Cornes), destined for the wooden spoon (David King), the “next North Melbourne” (Kane Cornes again), “as bad as there is” (the usually measured Gerard Whateley), or irrelevant (if they’re lucky).

There is never enough content about Hawthorn in the media to keep supporters happy and much of what is there is misinformed and sometimes wrong. At the same time, this is a pivotal moment that could shape this club’s history. There are things happening behind the scenes that are bigger than our midfield’s inability to win the pill (even though we’ll talk about that in extreme detail, rest assured.)

Some of the big picture topics we’ll be talking about include:

• The AFLW licence

• The move to Dingley

• A looming coaching succession plan

• Is Sammy Mitchell the right man for the job?

• Jeff Kennett: the good, the bad and the ugly

• The Tassie deal

There’s simply so much Hawthorn content out there that we could fill five newsletters a day if we wanted to.

And while we are Hawthorn fans, we won’t be shills for it. We are #AlwaysHawthorn will call out the club, the coaches and the team when we need to.

Who’s Behind This?

Andrew Weiss and Darren Levin are the Waldorf and Statler of Hawthorn footy club fandom. Darren is a former columnist for The Herald Sun, who’s had bylines in The Age, The Guardian, and Rolling Stone. While Andrew runs My Sport Live, which helps Australian sports organisations and event promoters to stream live events on the internet.

Along with their friend, respected footy journalist, author and Hawks oracle Ashley Browne, they launched the official Hawthorn FC podcast Golden Years in early 2020. Launched just before the pandemic with none other than Shaun Burgoyne, Golden Years takes a nostalgic look back at classic Hawthorn games.

We’ve discussed the 2013 Geelong prelim with Silk himself, the infamous ‘line in the sand’ game against the Bombers, all four grand final wins of the Clarkson era, the greatest regular season match ever with Gary Ayres, Ben Dixon’s kick after the siren in 2001, and even the ‘snow game’ against GWS with Isaac Smith he who shall not be named.

The Hawks Insiders team meet a fan.

Through two seasons and 35 episodes, we’ve amassed a community of supporters and true fans whose thirst for Hawthorn content isn’t being satisfied.

Andrew and Darren are the main drivers behind this project, but they’ve roped in Ashley and his insider knowledge of the club for at least one exclusive column per week. As the newsletter grows, we’ll be bringing in more voices from our extended network of Hawthorn supporters, media personalities, and friends.

So share this far and wide with your Hawks supporting family and friends, because the more resources we have, the more Hawthorn content you’ll receive.

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