Your 2023 Hawthorn Hawks season preview is here, just in time for the start of the new AFL season! Everything you need to know about the Hawks is here, all in the one article – aren't you lucky. We’ve got information about squad changes, rankings and stats from last year, key matches to look for, as well as none other than ex-AFL star Heath Shaw’s opinion on how the Hawks will go this season.
Let’s get cracking shall we!
Recruitment Report
Let’s take a little look at the new signings for the Hawks, along with all the players they’ve parted ways with:
Ins: Karl Amon, Josh Bennetts, Fergus Greene, Henry Hustwaite, Bailey Macdonald, Cam Mackenzie, Lloyd Meek, Jack O’Sullivan, Cooper Stephens and Josh Weddle
Outs: Jackson Callow, Connor Downie, Jack Gunston, Kyle Hartigan, Daniel Howe, Ben McEvoy, Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara, Tom Phillips, Jack Saunders and Liam Shiels
2022 Rankings
Where did the Hawks rank for disposals in the AFL last season? Or what about clangers? All the key rankings for the Hawks are below:
Kicks: 15th
Handballs: 14th
Disposals: 14th
Marks: 15th
Hit-outs: 14th
Frees For: 12th
Frees Against: 11th
Goals: 11th
Behinds: 15th
2022 Stats
Who had the most goals for the Hawks? Who had the most marks? All these stats and more can be found below:
Most Disposals: Tom Mitchell - 589
Most Tackles: Jaeger O'Meara - 105
Most Clearances: Jaeger O'Meara and Tom Mitchell - 107
Most Marks: James Sicily - 190
Most Goals: Luke Breust - 40
3 Key Matches To Watch
These are the key matches you can’t miss if you’re a Hawks fan (up to Round 15):
Match 1: Round 2, vs Swans, at SCG (Sun, Mar 26, 1:10pm)
Match 2: Round 3, vs Kangaroos, at University of Tasmania Stadium (Sat, Apr 1, 1:45pm)
Match 3: Round 4, vs Cats, at MCG (Mon, Apr 10, 3:20pm)
2023 AFL Season Expectations
Anybody want some players? We have some going cheap, all offers considered. After the fire sale of any player with some value in the market and losing some real experience, I’d say that it’s going to be a long year.
Plenty of experience out the door and you feel winning games isn’t really at the top of the list for the Hawks. Light at the end of the tunnel might be that they have plenty of youth and high draft picks, but hard to get excited about.
Predicted Finish: Bottom 4
