Concerns for Rivals as AFL’s Key Question Mark Delivers Results

Hawks will play in GF & Pies to miss 8? | 02:22

As a natural disaster converges on Queensland, the prime-time Hawks will now help open the 2025 AFL season with the footy world watching, and it’ll be no skin off their back as they build on their 2024 ascension.

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Hawthorn, which started 0-5 in 2024 before winning 11 of its final 13 matches to book a September spot then claim its first finals win since the 2015 premiership, will play under lights in nine of its first 15 games this year.

Following the defensive-half additions of Josh Battle and Tom Barrass, plus natural adjustment in expectation after a scintillating run of form, most expect a quality Hawks outfit again this year.

The question is of just how high their ceiling is.

“They are my biggest question mark — and I’m not questioning them (on) whether they’re good or not, my question is how good are they?” triple All Australian Nick Dal Santo told Fox Sports News’ AFL Tonight this week.

“They were the great story of last year. They were so good that we got annoyed at them. We were all cheering for them, we loved this ‘Hokball’, we loved this team almost coming from nowhere. They were exciting to watch, we’d cover their games, it was good. You’d drive to that game going ‘this is going to be a good day of football’ — and it normally was.

“But now I want to see (if) they back it up. And if they can, to what level? I think, opposition teams, I don’t think they take anyone lightly, but they’ll be more heightened playing against the Hawks this year than what we saw last year.

“(I’m) really excited about what they could be. I liked some of their pre-season form, even though they didn’t roll the Dogs down in Tassie last week, but they’ve got some big recruits, particularly in the back half, they’ve got youngsters in the front half that are still waiting to burst a little bit more onto this scene. They’re my big watch, just through pure excitement.”

Crucially, Hawthorn owns one of the league’s most potent forward-half profiles — and we know playing a forward-half game is a staple for premiership sides.

Forcing opposition turnovers in the front half and capitalising on cough-up is a must-have trait for contenders. The Hawks were a top-six unit in this category last season.

They averaged 44.8 points scored from the forward half — a figure that ranked fifth in the competition — and their Friday night opponent, Sydney, was one of just four teams who managed a better clip.

Hawthorn’s dazzling ball movement — and the subsequent social media popularisation of ‘Hokball’ — was another of its known strengths last year. But the Hawks were also efficient in limiting opposition transition.

Mitchell’s men topped the league in limiting opposition points scored from the back half. Overall, Hawthorn owned the third-best defensive-half scoring differential last season.

Adding Battle and Barrass to the fold is only going to aid this side in going from strength to strength.

Star midfielder Will Day was one of Hawthorn’s best link-up users last year. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Fox Footy’s Will Schofield, who played under Mitchell during the mentor’s sole season as an assistant during the Eagles’ 2018 premiership campaign, labelled Mitchell “the best coach I’ve ever played under”.

“It’s taken a little bit of time for everyone to catch up on this, but it’s clear now. The decisions he made two or three years ago now around the list, they are coming to fruition and now we see the talent that they have and their game-style – and he’s driving all that,” Schofield told AFL Tonight.

“Plus, you add players like Barrass and Battle, you’ve got guys who can win games of footy, and they’ve shored up areas of the game that potentially they were worried about. Adding those two guys gives you more ability to work James Sicily at either end of the ground. We saw him win a minimum of two games off his own boot last year and was a kick away from winning a semi-final against Port Adelaide as well.

“I have them as one of the premiership favourites. I think they’ll be playing in a Grand Final this year.”

The prospect of Sicily spending more time forward certainly aligns with the fact the forward unit will be undermanned to begin the year, without Calsher Dear and Mitch Lewis due to injury.

Sam Mitchell has certainly earned his plaudits after Hawthorn’s rise at the back end of last year. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Former Hawthorn sharpshooter Ben Dixon went a step further, tipping his former outfit to claim the ultimate silverware.

“They’re going to improve so much (after) playing finals footy,” Dixon told foxfooty.com.au’s Will Faulkner last month.

“Look at Hawthorn in 2007 — they had so many young kids, and then the next year they went to the next level and won the flag. Hawthorn are at that stage again.

“There’s no fluke that Hawthorn are built on premierships. Sam Mitchell says they’re here to win and they were disappointed the way they went out last year (against Port Adelaide).

“These young kids are going to thrive on it. What they took out of the finals series last year has only energised them over the pre-season.”

“I’ve actually got them winning it … If they don’t finish in the top four and don’t play off in a Grand Final, it’s an underperformance.

“Gaining Tom Barrass and Josh Battle, what it does is release other players. So (James) Sicily goes forward, (Blake) Hardwick goes forward, ‘CJ’ (Changkuoth Jiath) might go on a wing.

“Sam was happy to throw the magnets around last year to keep the opposition coaches, and when you’ve got that flexibility, it’s a great opportunity.”

It might’ve been a gruesome sight on Grand Final day last year — and there’s a new man at the helm in Dean Cox — but you’d be silly in thinking the Swans won’t remain one of the league’s most formidable sides this upcoming season.

Sydney led the league in scoring last season and was also the best forward-half scoring outfit. There’s no reason to believe it won’t at least come close to topping the charts again, even without Errol Gulden and Callum Mills to start out.

Regardless, Friday night presents a tremendous opportunity for the Hawks to re-stamp their authority and make a winning start to the year.

“Realistically, we weren’t good enough (last year), we finished sixth, there were five teams in front of us and the Swans were certainly one of those,” Mitchell himself told reporters at Waverley Park on Wednesday.

“They’re one of the teams we’re going to need to compete against and beat to go where we want to go.

“It’s a great opportunity to play against them now (that) we have evidence we can improve and need to put it on show.”