Your Brown and Gold MEGA draft preview

'Twas the week before...

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Most years, this week feels a little like the week before Christmas, with the excitement of presents wrapped up and sitting under the tree. Hawthorn fans feel like children again, waiting impatiently for the time to come when their parents allow them to open the gifts that are screaming to be unwrapped.

This year is slightly different to the past couple of years though, and that’s because we have a pretty reasonable idea of what to expect when we open those presents hear Mark McKenzie call those names.

McKenzie has runs on the board at the draft table, with previous high end draft picks just starting to come into their own as the next wave of great Hawthorn players. Josh Ward, Connor Macdonald, Cam Mackenzie, Josh Weddle lead the pack with Sam Butler, Henry Hustwaite, Bailey Macdonald, Jai Serong and Jack O’Sullivan right behind them, racing to keep up.

Building a competitive list requires more than just one Christmas, and this year Hawthorn have positioned themselves to add to their collection of prized assets, with indications the Hawks will select 3, possibly 4 players at the draft.

There isn’t the same air of mystery around the 2023 draft for the Hawks, as most draft experts are predicting a reasonably straightforward set of selections. Hawks Insiders will break down what the draft could look like for McKenzie and his team, and where it might leave the Hawks in the lead up to the 2024 AFL season.

First things first. The top pick.

If you listen to the rumours and scuttlebutt around the Hawks first pick in the draft, which currently sits at 4, but very likely to be 5 after a bid is placed on Jed Walter, Hawthorn has four names at the top of their list. One of the names is an outside chance of being available and one a potential outsider considered only a sneaky chance.

• Zane Duursma

• Daniel Curtin

• Nick Watson

• Connor O’Sullivan

We will look through the options individually and unpack the positives and negatives of each player and how they would fit at Hawthorn.

Zane Duursma

DOB: 28-08-2005
Height: 189cm
Weight: 79kgs

Gippsland Power/Vic Country
Position: General forward

Strengths: Aerial ability, athleticism, forward craft, finishing
Weaknesses: Endurance, long term midfield possibility

Highly fancied Zane Duursma is unlikely to be available when Hawthorn is on the board, with most of the talk centered around the talented forward’s landing spot thought to be North Melbourne with the pick before Hawthorn selects. Duursma projects as a hybrid half forward, midfielder at AFL level and he has shown an ability to do both at an elite level throughout his junior career. If Clarkson has his way and the Kangaroos lean Curtin, expect to see Duursma’s name called out very quickly by McKenzie and co. His movement and running style is reminiscent of a young Shaun Burgoyne, if he can produce half of what Burgoyne did, he will be some kind of player.

Nick Watson

DOB: 24-02-2005
Height: 170cm
Weight: 68kgs

Eastern Ranges/Vic Metro
Position: Small forward

Strengths: Aerial ability, football IQ, kicking, forward craft, finishing
Weaknesses: Size, consistency in game

The Wizard of Waverley Park has a pretty incredible ring to it, and if the majority of Hawthorn fans get their wish, Nick Watson will be lighting up the track at Bunjil Bagora all pre-season long. Standing at a not-so towering 170cm, Watson is an elite level small forward with incredible goal sense and a number of elite football traits. Despite his size limitations, Watson is very clearly one of the most talented draft prospects in the 2023 draft crop. His ability to sit on the heads of defenders is just as effective as his ability to rove the pack and snap a goal from the boundary. He is absolutely a wizard in the forward half of the field. Make no mistake about it, if Watson was 10-15cm taller than he is, he would be in discussions to be picked at number one in the draft.

Daniel Curtin

DOB: 08-03-2005
Height: 197cm
Weight: 95kgs

Claremont/Western Australia
Position: Utility

Strengths: Aerial ability, composure, skills, versatility, character
Weaknesses: Durability, ground balls

Listed at 197cm but with a desire and the ability to play through the midfield as well as key position, Dan Curtin figures to be a draft shaper of sorts. Hawthorn is seen to be in the mix for the West Australian talent, flying him over to Melbourne for a final interview earlier this week ahead of next weeks draft. The questions around Curtin that Hawthorn’s recruiting team will be need to understand are around his willingness to relocate to Melbourne and his long term future playing outside his home state, and what position Curtin, and to a larger extent the Hawks, see him playing in the short and long term. The Alistair Clarkson factor may end up taking Curtin off the board before the Hawks make their selection.

Connor O’Sullivan

DOB: 19-05-2005
Height: 198cm
Weight: 92kgs

Murray Bushrangers/Allies
Position: Key Defender

Strengths: Intercept marking, mobility, aerial ability, athleticism, versatility
Weaknesses: Forward craft, defensive accountability

An athletic beast at nearly 200cm, Connor O’Sullivan is the type of player clubs will build their backline around. O’Sullivan’s strengths are his athletic gifts and his aerial ability, the perfect combination for quality key position defenders. A fluid mover for a player his size, O’Sullivan projects as a Harris Andrews or Darcy Moore type of defender. As with most young key position defenders, he will take time adjusting to the size and strength of AFL forwards, but his size and frame indicate that he will be able to grow into his role comfortably. An O’Sullivan and McCabe combination would mean Hawthorn’s key position defensive stocks are set for a decade.

Decision time

As far as Hawthorn is concerned, the decision on who to draft more than likely comes down to the above names, with all players very different from each other. It begs the question, who should Hawthorn draft?

If available, I cannot see Zane Duursma being bypassed by Hawthorn. He ticks all the boxes for what the Hawks are looking for. Skilled, crafty, versatile and clean by hand and foot, Duursma would step straight into the Hawthorn team next year and could eventually add to a burgeoning midfield group. If Duursma isn’t available when Hawthorn selects, McKenzie will have a very tough decision to make.

With that considered, the real question is who will Hawthorn draft?

I expect to hear Nick Watson’s name called out by Mark McKenzie on draft night, leading to the Wizard bringing his talent to Waverley Park.

The family connections.

Hawthorn, long known as the family club, a number of draft prospects with family connections to past and present Hawthorn players. This years draft crop is stacked with talent linked to the club, and finally it looks like the Hawks will utilise a Father/Son system that clubs like Geelong, Western Bulldogs and Essendon have profited off for so long.

Will McCabe

DOB: 29-09-2005
Height: 197cm
Weight: 86kgs

Central Districts/South Australia
Position: Key Defender

Strengths: Intercept marking, aerial ability, speed, versatility, vertical leap
Weaknesses: Strength, one on one defending

A surefire bet to be bid on and matched, Will McCabe will join the club his father Luke McCabe previously played for and is now a Football Director at. A talented key defender with speed and athleticism, McCabe has produced fantastic consistency at SANFL U18s level for Central Districts throughout his draft year. McCabe will need to be given time to fill in to his body and adjust to the size and strength of AFL football, but his raw tools make him an intriguing prospect for Hawthorn in an area of need.

Tew Jiath

DOB: 02-03-2005
Height: 188cm
Weight: 72kgs

Gippsland Power/Vic Country
Position: General defender

Strengths: Athleticism, composure, distribution, intercept marking
Weaknesses: Ground balls, strength

Brother of Hawthorn excitement machine Changkouth, Tew Jiath is the definition of a late season bolter. Jiath made his Coates League debut in Round 9 and never looked back, making himself a permanent fixture in the Gippsland Power team over the course of the back half of the season. Although Tew plays a similar position to his brother, the two are different stylistically, with Changkouth using his pace and explosion to break lines with his run and carry, while his brother uses his pinpoint kicking skills to transition the ball from back to forward. Jiath is only available to the Hawks if he slides past pick 40, with most experts expecting a bid in the mid to late 20’s, the Hawks will need to be content with one Jiath, not Tew.

Calsher Dear

DOB: 04-08-2005
Height: 195cm
Weight: 87kgs

Sandringham Dragons
Position: Key forward

Strengths: Aerial ability, scoreboard impact, versatility, upside and potential
Weaknesses: Rawness, consistency in game, kicking for goal accuracy

Much of the focus has been on Will McCabe, but Hawthorn’s other Father/Son prospect Calsher Dear has been quietly going about putting together an impressive season, in his first year in an elite junior environment. Son of the late Paul Dear, former Hawthorn ruckman and Norm Smith Medalist, Calsher is raw but has plenty of upside and AFL level skills. Dear’s impact on games cannot be underestimated, with his ability to take a big mark, kick a long goal or impress around the ground when pinch hitting in the ruck. Dear will most likely be a longer term project, but don’t be surprised if he ends up making the grade, such is his raw talent. Expect a bid on Dear to come later in the national draft, but if it doesn’t, the Hawks are committed to taking him with their last pick on the second night of the draft.

Will Lorenz

DOB: 19-05-2005
Height: 186cm
Weight: 72kgs

Oakleigh Chargers/Vic Metro
Position: Midfielder

Strengths: Composure, skills, decision making, agility
Weaknesses: Strength, breakaway speed

Grandson of former Hawthorn player Hawthorn champion and captain of Hawthorn’s Team of the Century, Graham Arthur, Will Lorenz shaped as a first round pick early in the season. A rougher than expected draft year has lead him to slip in player rankings according to most draft experts. Lorenz is a smooth moving midfielder who uses the ball extremely well by hand and foot, with his ability to glide around the field a highlight. Lorenz will need to work on his strength and speed in order to make his mark at AFL level. The Hawks will be hoping that Lorenz slides to very late in the draft so that they can snap him up with a late pick and continue the family connection.

What else will the Hawks do?

The reality is that Hawthorn will more than likely take 3 picks in the draft, they might stretch this to 4 if the right player is available when they are on the clock late. As previously reported, Jai Newcombe will be promoted from the rookie list to the primary list. This will most likely be the only other move the Hawks make this week, with the option of leaving a rookie spot open to trial players through SSP period, with recently signed Box Hill Hawk Ethan Phillips a name mentioned in the media as one to keep an eye on.

Hawthorn will head into preseason with a handful of young players and a number of seasoned veterans after a bumper trade a draft period which has led to a revamped roster, and a sense of expectation that only a terrible fixture can dampen.

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