Who is making tongues wag? What questions need answering? And who is a Round 0 smokey?
Our Insiders give their thoughts on a number of pre-season questions
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As we roll into February, the pre-season is set to crank up a notch with scheduled practice matches and Community Series matches within touching distance.
But based on the the sample size thus far, we can already piece together some thoughts and concerns at this point of the 2025 campaign.
So we simply put forward the following questions to our Insiders, to get their initial reactions and comments:
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
Ashley Browne
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
The reporting around Tom Barass gives me all the feels. In the last 30 years, despite all the success, big hulking forwards have so often been Hawthorn’s Achilles.
We knew Barass could play, even though West Coast has been largely off-Broadway since the 2018 flag, but the Waverley track watches observe that to date, he has been good as advertised and might be the answer to one of the few remaining questions surrounding the Hawks in 2025.
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
Didn’t see much in the way of progress from Max Ramsden last year, but with Mitch Lewis and Calsher Dear missing for the start of the season, he has sensed an opportunity and is doing his darnedest to grab it.
Might be hard to fit he and Mabior Chol into the same team, but if there is any sign of regression from Chol in the early part of the season, Ramsden might be ready to go. He should be looking to bypass Chol in the next 18 months in any event.
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
With Barrass and Battle walking into Hawthorn’s (already very good) back six, a good player gets squeezed out. Does Blake Hardwick go forward? Is James Sicily now a genuine swingman? What to do with Josh Weddle?
Pleasant selection dilemmas. All of them.
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
CJ. But the more interesting story would be who misses out to make way for him.
Danny Prins
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
Outside of watching the Nick Watson hanger on repeat, reading about and seeing a fit and firing Will Day burning up the track and the match sim has me up and about.
I've planted my flag in the camp that if Day was playing against Port, we win. 2025 is the year he establishes himself as a premier midfielder of the AFL.
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
Without a shadow of a doubt, it has to be Cam Mackenzie. Multiple Hawthorn players have indicated that Mackenzie is ready to explode, based on his training and match sim performance.
If Mackenzie can take a considerable leap in his development, he adds another dimension to the Hawks midfield unit. His combination of size, agility, endurance and ball use would be welcomed with open arms.
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
What does the forward set up look like, and framing that question, when is Calsher Dear back?
It's not secret now that we have addressed our key defensive stocks through the addition of Battle and Barras, that the Hawks are thinnest at the tall forward. Mitch Lewis is recovering from his ACL injury, and will be a massive boost, and we don't know when Dear will return from his preseason setback.
Which leaves us wondering what our forward set up will be in the early rounds of the season.
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
I don't believe there will be any real surprises come Opening Round, but if there were, Cody Anderson replacing Connor Macdonald on a half forward flank - with Macdonald moving into a midfield/wing role that he has been excelling in over the pre-season.
Anderson would bring a competitive nature that Hawthorn's forward set up needs. He is a defensive menace and would give opposition defenders nightmares.
Brad Klibansky
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
Cam Mackenzie- the top 10 draft pick enters his third season at AFL level and looks ready to explode. He looks a lot fitter and stronger than he did last season and will look to take his game to another level in 2025 - Jai Newcombe, Day, James Worpel, Conor Nash and Mackenzie is a brilliant midfield mix.
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
Jack Gunston- “the rookie” will take the field for his 16th season and has been flying on the training track looking like a 21-year old. Look for Gunston to have a big impact, especially early on in the season.
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
How will the backline set up? With Tom Barrass and Josh Battle coming to the club, there simply won’t be room in the back six for all of Sicily, Hardwick, Scrimshaw, Weddle and Frost. Hardwick will likely start the 2025 season forward. Frost may be unlucky and miss out.
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
Max Ramsden - Calsher Dear won’t be playing in the opening few rounds of the season, which means there is a key position forward spot up for grabs. Ramsden has had a huge pre-season to date. He’s put on a lot of size and look’s ready to take his opportunity.
Nat Martin
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
I’m going for the easy low-hanging fruit here but it’s Nick Watson. He is a truly special talent. Let’s not forget this is a bloke that had 52 scoring shots in 18 games in his first season and kicked seven goals in his first two finals. The sky is the limit, get your wizard hats ready.
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
I think it’s been Max Ramsden. For him to put his hand up to be playing early is a bit of a surprise, and there is definitely a spot there with Calsher being unavailable. He has out performed Jasper Scaife so far in the match sims, added significant size to his frame and been one of the best performers on the track since the Christmas break. There is big watch on him against the Cats and Dogs.
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
Again, nothing surprising but what on earth is the ideal defensive mix? Battle, Barrass, Sicily, Frost, Hardwick, Scrimshaw, Impey, Amon, Weddle and potentially Jiath can’t all fit. Who misses out on a game and who goes elsewhere up the ground?
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
Think it has to be Ramsden for the reasons outlined above. Depends where they want to play Weddle (or Sicily) but there is a definite spot he could make his.
Mick Cowan
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
Tom Barrass is the “excitement machine” for me. Not just his size and pace, but his use of the ball by foot all add up to a Mitchell style of player. He may be the missing link in the back six.
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
Max Ramsden has been the one to jump out of the pack and put himself forward as a potential option should Dear miss some games. The main concern here is his ability to put defensive pressure inside F50.
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
The unknowns are:
a) How the forward half will be set up, particularly if Dear is out for a lengthy period?b) Which of the options for the half back spots will be “unlucky”?
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
None of the draftees will force themselves into consideration, so of those on the fringe could Jai Serong be an option for Dear’s spot early on, given his ability to put pressure on inside F50.
Andrew Weiss
1) Who has excited you the most through the pre season thus far?
Tom Barrass is clearly the big name on the list but I want to discuss Connor Macdonald.
Moved onto a wing in the practice match and still kicked multiple goals while running all day - it is the next step that will see him become an AFL elite player by the end of 2026. I’m here for it.
2) Who has been the surprise packet through to the end of January?
Ned Reeves. He has only been slated as an ‘in case of emergency break glass’ ruck option if Lloyd Meek goes down. But the pre-season form and an increased tank means he could be more than that - a reliable option that we can depend on and have faith in. Wouldn’t that be handy?
3) What questions do you think still need answering?
Well and truly been covered above… forward setup and who makes the starting back six.
4) Give us the name of a Round 0 selection smokey.
I’m going to go with Harry Morrison. Seems strange, but unlikely that he will make many people’s starting 22.
However after his great showing in the finals last year and a possible leaning towards experience, he may make the team for Round 0 (note that I don’t think he will…).
Stay tuned to HI as we ramp up towards the start of the AFL Men’s season.
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We have the depth now so that what we see in opening round at the SCG and then round 1 could be influenced by match ups. Sydney's strength is in the midfield/wings pushing forward - KPPs not a thing. Suspect we'll need the pace and running back to handle that and clean ball use if our midfield are not getting enough ball in the middle. For me our midfield group are a bit one-paced. Maybe Mcdonald can help out there if only via the wing. Not sure we'll see Impey for OR/Rd 1 - he may be (along with frost) the main casualty this year. Definitely Weddle back there and I would have Amon as well.
Biggest concern I have is the forwards. We relied on Breust more than we'd like to admit last year for key goals at important times and while we'll see wiz improve not sure how much more upside there is from ginny, chol , McDonald from whom we need more consistent impact on the scoreboard. Be amazed if we get away with another smokey doing a 'calsher' ie ramsden making an impact - we really really need someone taking the ball to ground and making the next effort/contest for our smalls to have opportunity.
The defence question really isnt as hard as what everyone makes it. We all know Barrass, Battle and Sicily will be the talls. Scrimshaw will be the 4th and Impey with be the 5th. These 5 are really obvious. Frost wont play unless someone is injured. The 6th can be Amon ? or possibly C.J but both can just rotate from half back to wing while Massimo holds the other wing. Weddle could be our wildcard up forward but i expect him to have stints in the backline when needed. Sicily wont be playing forward unless Sam swings him late in the game if we need a couple goals, exactly like he used him last season. Hardwick will play forward unless we are down in numbers down back. Not rocket science.