Chris Cavanagh looks at eight reasons why Hawthorn will improve in 2018

IS Hawthorn primed to bounce straight back into September after missing the finals for the first time since 2009. With a batch of young stars and Alastair Clarkson at the helm anything is possible.

LAST season was not one to remember for Hawthorn, the club missing the finals for just the second time in 11 years.

But the Hawks showed generational change and fight after a tough start to the year and there is plenty of upside ahead.

Here are eight reasons Hawthorn can improve in 2018.

BIG CALL: WHY ROOS WILL IMPROVE IN 2018

WHAT NEXT? THE ONLY WAY IS UP FOR THE SUNS

RISING SWANS: WHY SWANS ARE STILL HEAVYWEIGHTS

DISAPPOINTMENT OF THIS YEAR

The 2017 season did not go the way many had expected for the Hawks. While some sort of slide was expected, the side missed finals for the first time since 2009. A proud club, there is no doubt Hawthorn will have a steely resolve to climb back into the top eight next season. Jeff Kennett is back at the helm as president and will demand nothing less.

MORE CYRIL

Cyril Rioli was sorely missed by the Hawks. One of the most exciting and influential players in the competition when he is up and running, the forward’s season ended prematurely when he suffered a serious knee injury in Round 8. The injury meant Rioli contributed just five goals for the season after booting 47 and 42 in the previous two years. A return to his best would provide the Hawks with a significant boost.

Cyril Rioli missed most of the 2017 season. Picture: AAP Images

MORE JAEGER (HOPEFULLY)

Jaeger O’Meara was the Hawks’ prized recruit last summer and did not come cheaply. Confident they could get the former Gold Coast midfielder’s knees right, the Hawks gave up pick 10 in last year’s draft and their second-round pick this year in exchange for the young gun. O’Meara did not play in 2015 or 2016 and managed just six games this year as his knee problems continued. Once compared to Chris Judd by former Suns coach Guy McKenna, O’Meara has serious talent and Hawthorn will have its fingers crossed a lot more of it will be put on show in 2018.

EXPERIENCE FACTOR

Yes, the likes of Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Josh Gibson have all departed in the past two years. But there is still a lot of experience on the list. Jarryd Roughead, Shaun Burgoyne, Grant Birchall and Rioli are all four-time premiership players, while Luke Breust, Jack Gunston and Paul Puopolo each have three flags to their names. That is still a bucket load more experience than a lot of clubs.

YOUTH COMING THROUGH

Along with the experienced talent, the Hawks have plenty of quality young players coming through. In his first season at the club after crossing from Sydney, Tom Mitchell won the best-and-fairest at age 24. Ryan Burton, 20, finished fourth in the best-and-fairest and was second behind Essendon’s Andrew McGrath in the Rising Star award after an eye-catching campaign off halfback. Then there are the likes of Blake Hardwick, James Sicily, Tim O’Brien and Conor Glass who are all under 24. Each shows plenty of promise and should thrive after more senior exposure in 2017.

COACH CLARKSON

Embarrassingly, he might still never have won a coach of the year award, but Alastair Clarkson is the best coach in the competition and he will continue to adapt next year. The Hawks looked shot at Round 6 this year with just one win to their name and three losses by 75 points or more. But Clarkson injected some youth and tweaked the game plan a little to score nine wins and a draw from the final 16 matches. You can bet the four-time premiership master will have something up his sleeve to improve his team this year.

JARMAN IMPEY

There was not a huge amount of fanfare around the trade that secured Port Adelaide’s Jarman Impey but he could prove a very handy and fairly cheap addition. The Hawks essentially gave up a late second-round pick as well as a fourth-round selection for the versatile small, who has 75 AFL games under his belt at age 22. He offers speed, endurance and an ability to play at either end of the ground. Impey said he struggled for form last year after his father died but is “ready for the new challenges ahead” at the Hawks.

Jarman Impey in action at Hawthorn training. Picture: Michael Klein

EASIER DRAW

It is far from an “easy” draw for Hawthorn in 2018 but it is better than the fixture it received last year, which was judged by Champion Data to be the hardest of any side. The Hawks had double-up matches against Adelaide, Geelong, Sydney, Collingwood and Gold Coast in 2017. Next season they get Geelong, Sydney, Essendon, St Kilda and the Brisbane Lions twice each. Hawthorn also plays its first four games at the MCG, has only one match in Perth and no trips to Adelaide.

Originally published as Chris Cavanagh looks at eight reasons why Hawthorn will improve in 2018