Hawthorn track watch: Nick Watson stars, Will Day impresses in latest pre-season hitout
Nick Watson and Will Day starred as Hawthorn’s pre-season went up a notch in the club’s latest session. MATT FORREST brings you all the key training notes.
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He missed Hawthorn’s finals campaign, but Will Day is back and looked better than ever during the main hit out of the week at Waverley Park.
The Peter Crimmins Medalist had off-season surgery on his shoulder after a rare collarbone injury suffered late in the home-and-away season against the Tigers, with Day taking a slow return to contact.
But he rarely left the centre square during match simulation, collecting the ball at will and applying ferocious pressure in the chase.
His second and third efforts drew the praise of the Hawks faithful in one passage where he collected the ball at the source and dished it off, followed up after a teammate turned it over, intercepting the ball and spreading to Nick Watson, who drilled the goal.
Day looked unencumbered by his shoulder injury, playing the entire match and being arguably best afield.
Nick Watson takes the pre season mark of the year 🚀 pic.twitter.com/9GEYBfMZpD
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) January 23, 2025
CHANGING ROLES
Sam Mitchell has preached versatility since taking over the coaching duties, and that was evident on Thursday as the match started with evenly-matched sides.
Half forward Connor Macdonald pushed onto a wing and went head to head with Harry Morrison for a half before pushing forward and kicking a goal, Blake Hardwick rarely left the attacking 50, and Massimo D’Ambrosio floated down back to provide a sure kick out of defence.
Nick Watson pushed further up the ground and found plenty of the ball, while Ned Reeves and Lloyd Meek both started in the ruck for opposing sides and pushed forward.
But while Mitchell was not afraid to move players around and change the teams, after the dust settled on half time and the whips began cracking, the fans saw true potential Opening Round groups.
Jumper swapping gave the ‘Brown’ team the first-choice midfield of Meek, Jai Newcombe, James Worpel and Will Day, competing against Reeves, Conor Nash, Cam Mackenzie and Josh Ward.
But the ‘Gold’ team had the stronger defensive group, consisting of Josh Weddle, Tom Barrass, Jack Scrimshaw, Changkuoth Jiath, Jarman Impey and Karl Amon, as well as the preferred forward group of Hardwick, Macdonald, Watson, Jack Gunston, Max Ramsden and Mabior Chol.
RAMSDEN’S TIME TO SHINE
Some eyebrows were raised around the track when Max Ramsden turned his jumper inside out and joined the ‘Gold’ forward line.
Lining up alongside Mabior Chol, Nick Watson, Jack Ginnivan, Blake Hardwick, Luke Breust and Connor Macdonald throughout the four quarters, it was clearly the stronger forward group.
But Ramsden, who has only played five games since being drafted at the 2022 mid-season draft, looked at home in the attacking unit.
The 203cm forward pushed up the ground well and competed in the air, pulling down marks and creating a contest.
With Mitch Lewis (knee) and Calsher Dear (back) both slated to miss the start of the season, Ramsden could be a likely tall to call upon.
WIZARD SPECIAL
It was a mark of the year candidate that never will be, but Nick Watson’s screamer during Thursday’s scratch match was a cherry on top for his dominant performance.
The ‘Wizard’ rose over defender Seamus Mitchell to pluck a one-handed mark, landing on his back to the roar of the crowd that had gathered.
Watson dutifully slotted the goal from 40m out, drawing praise from coach Sam Mitchell who called to him: “right in front of the cameras”, pointing towards the cameras filming the session.
Watson finished with two goals but dominated in a role further up the ground, collecting the ball at will and showing poise with ball in hand.
FAMILY PROSPECTS
Former premiership captain Luke Hodge was in attendance to watch his son, Cooper Hodge, duke it during the drills.
Hodge is linked to both Hawthorn as a father-son chance, and Brisbane as a member of the Lions Academy.
Hodge showed promise in the training alongside Goy Jiath (Changkuoth Jiath’s brother), Ky Burgoyne (Shaun Burgoyne’s son), and Kobe Williams (Mark Williams’ son).
SORE HAWKS
Vice captain Dylan Moore made for a lonely figure on the far wing, away from the fanfare of the Hawks faithful that had made the trip to Waverley Park.
The All Australian forward spent part of the warm up with injured pair Mitch Lewis and James Blanck, with the talls recovering from respective ACL injuries.
While Blanck and Lewis are set to travel to America as part of a rehabilitation block, Moore ran laps solo.
He was later joined on the sidelines by Calsher Dear, who is recovering from a back injury that has him in danger of missing the start of the season.
Moore was limited by a sore quad, with the forward restricted to just running, however the club is not concerned about the injury.
Skipper James Sicily also missed match simulation but completed the warm up and the drills, due back in the coming weeks after off-season shoulder surgery.
Sam Frost also missed the scratch match and ran laps, having had a quieter period of the pre-season after welcoming a newborn baby in recent weeks.
Prized recruit Josh Battle pulled up sore after a session earlier in the week and was restricted to just running, but the club is confident it is not an issue to be concerned about.
PLAYERS WHO IMPRESSED
Will Day - did not miss a trick and showed no signs of a shoulder injury that kept him out of the Hawks’ finals campaign. Played through the midfield and showed plenty of his trademark poise with ball in hand.
Nick Watson - not limited to a pure small forward role, the ‘Wizard’ pushed further up the ground during match simulation. A deft sidestep and spin to dish the ball off through traffic was a highlight, but the livewire found plenty of the ball and kicked a couple of goals. His mark over Seamus Mitchell was an obvious highlight of the day, but his newfound accumulating trait was an unexpected bonus.
Connor Macdonald - started the day on the wing and found plenty of it matched up against Harry Morrison. He was a natural fit, pushing down back to help relieve pressure and providing a strong linking kick to the forwards. In the second half he started forward and was very dangerous, burst away from Will McCabe and kicked a running goal from 50m.
Originally published as Hawthorn track watch: Nick Watson stars, Will Day impresses in latest pre-season hitout
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