The future looks bright at Hawthorn

Hawks fans get excited! James Willoughby reports the draftees coming through the ranks with success by 2008 a real possibility.

Bring on 2008. After 10 of the top 48 draft picks over the past two years, every Hawthorn supporter has reason to be excited, with a crop of young Hawks set to give the club the opportunity to replicate the success Hawthorn enjoyed in the 1980s.

After the disappointment of the 2001 Preliminary Final – where the Hawks narrowly fell to Essendon – fans can now realistically dream of finals berths, albeit most likely in a couple of years.

The new team of coach Alastair Clarkson, assistants Todd Viney, Ross Smith and Damien Hardwick and fitness coach Andrew Russell have given the club a new lease of life in all facets, from injury management to discipline and recruiting.

Russell, whose fitness coaching at AFL level saw him work with the Bombers and Port Adelaide, has transformed Hawthorn from a club riddled with niggling problems to an almost injury-free zone.

The 2004 draft proved to be a masterstroke, with the recruiting team doing a brilliant job. The Hawks picked up strong tall Jarryd Roughead at no.2, mobile big man Lance Franklin at no.5 and tough nut Jordan Lewis at no.7.

The top 10 trio all performed brilliantly in their debut season, with all three showing they have the required quality to be stars for the club. Add to this, the level of improvement shown by 2001 no.1 draft selection Luke Hodge and goalsneak Mark Williams and the Hawks certainly do have a foundation to build on.

Despite winning just five games, Clarkson proved himself more than adept in his debut season to coaching at the highest level, with the main highlight being the development of his young guns.

Eleven players made their debut last season for the Hawks, the most since 1978 – a premiership year. Names such as Roughead, Franklin, Lewis, Thomas Murphy, Matthew Little, Josh Thurgood, Zac Dawson, Bo Nixon, Tim Boyle, Clinton Young and Harry Miller donned the brown and gold for their first time ever.

Many of them will go onto be stars for the Hawks, and coupled with this year’s crop of draftees, the Hawthorn Football Club should be a force in the AFL in two to three years’ time.

Midway through 2005, Clarkson brought a former colleague at Port Adelaide – Chris Pelchen – to the club. Pelchen took on the role as General Manager of player personnel and strategy.

Pelchen was able to sort out a complicated deal which saw Pick 14 and 18 arrive at Glenferrie in exchange for Jonathan Hay (Kangaroos) and Pick 54 and Nathan Lonie (Port Adelaide).

With a long-term view on this year’s draftees, the Hawks did extremely well once more in the draft, and have the makings of a quality side.

Hawks fans are salivating over the prospect of seeing no.3 draft pick Xavier Ellis line up in the midfield alongside superstars Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell and Shane Crawford. The 187cm 73 kg elite midfielder was expected to be taken by Collingwood at No.2 but the Pies opted instead for Ellis’ Gippsland Power teammate, Dale Thomas.

With Ellis being just 17, he will be committed to school football with Melbourne Grammar in 2006, but Hawk fans are hoping he will be available for occasional matches for Box Hill, and he could still debut for Hawthorn next year like Luke Ball did for St Kilda in 2002 when he was playing for Xavier College.

Ellis got a good grounding in the TAC Cup this year, averaging 20 possessions in seven matches and has been compared by many astute judges to St Kilda’s silky smooth midfielder Nick Dal Santo.

With their second pick and the sixth overall, Beau Dowler made his way to Glenferrie with the Hawks recruiting staff holding no doubts that Dowler can recover from the horrific car accident which left him with a fractured pelvis.

Peter Crimmins Medallist Luke Hodge paved the way for Dowler to come to Hawthorn, making a special visit to Dowler in hospital while the key forward was recovering from his accident.

Dowler booted 38 goals in 15 games this season as a forward, and averaged 16.3 possessions per game, with some of his strengths being his class in front of goals, and his speed and agility.

Hawthorn were very happy to snare Grant Birchall at No.14, with the classy utility expected to be picked in the top 10. Birchall was selected from the Tassie Mariners and was selected in the U/18 All-Australian side on a wing.

Birchall was also awarded the Harrison Medal for the best player in Division Two at the Under 18 Championships, and has been likened to Brendon Goddard. He has the height of a key backman, but the mobility of a defender and is also a long, penetrating kick.

Max Bailey might just be the young ruckman that the Hawks crave, after the 205cm ruckman was selected at pick No.18 from West Perth. Bailey, despite having a rather skinny build, is expected to put on the required muscle under a specific program designed by Russell.

The Hawks used pick No.22 to select Beau Muston, a classy on-baller from the Murray Bushrangers who is recovering from the effects of a knee reconstruction after a sizzling start to season 2005, while Travis Tuck was a steal at pick No.38 under the father-son rule.

With Muston and Dowler recovering from serious injury and Ellis playing school football, it is unlikely that we’ll see too much from the 2005 draftees after the immediate success of the class of 2004.

But whatever the line-up is next year, be assured that Hawthorn will once more be one of the dominant forces in AFL football in two to three years’ time.

The sleeping giant has awoken.

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