Wreck-It Ralph: 12 reasons why Hawthorn is the AFL’s newest destination club
Hawthorn started the season as the frontrunner to lure Bailey Smith out of the Western Bulldogs. JON RALPH delves into the future of Hokball and why the Hawks cooled on their No.1 target.
Rival coaches should be very afraid. Josh Battle’s departure to Hawthorn is the canary in the coalmine as Sam Mitchell moulds the Hawks into footy’s new destination club.
Just 12 months ago, the Hawks swung for the fences, missed on Esava Ratugolea and Ben McKay, but still found gold in value recruits Mabior Chol, Jack Ginnivan and Hawks retread Jack Gunston. But a year on, they are a much more dangerous proposition for clubs attempting to keep their players.
Battle’s free agency acquisition is proof of the rude health of this football club.
It has married a handful of factors – a concerted recruiting campaign, the emergency of master coach Sam Mitchell, its pro-scout Jarryd Roughead, list boss Mark McKenzie, prudent cap management and football boss Rob McCartney’s vision as a compelling package.
If they can do what they did to turn Ginnivan and Chol into vastly improved players, what can they do with Battle and premiership Eagle Tom Barrass?
Take Battle as an example. With St Kilda fresh off a finals campaign and the Hawks about to start a 0-5 run, you could never believe Battle would have found himself Waverley-bound by September.
Free agents are supposed to chase wild fortunes going from ailing clubs to premiership contenders. Or get filthy rich if they are prepared to cross to a club in a similar premiership window rather than one that advances their premiership ambitions.
The worrying thing for Ross Lyon and co is that Battle has taken a lesser offer than the tabled St Kilda deal to get to Hawthorn. He hasn’t moved to better facilities, or a list that in round 1 seemed to have vastly more talent.
But Battle still went given the powerful Mitchell pitch as the Hawks convinced him his career would thrive at Hawthorn and his post-career life would be set up financially and as a person.
He still might secure first-round compensation for St Kilda, who are supremely confident they will get that initial band of compo. But multiple sources suggest the Hawks have offered less than $900,000 in guaranteed money a year.
So he’s going from a club that played finals to one that hadn’t won a final since 2015 for LESS money.
The Hawks have cap space to burn. They will be front-ending contracts and banking cap space under the AFL’s rules. And now that they look like a premiership force, it’s hard to find another side in football which will find it easier to secure talent to take them to the next level.
12 REASONS WHY THE HAWKS ARE BECOMING THE AFL’S NEW DESTINATION CLUB
1. HOKBALL
What does it mean? Not sure. It’s a vibe. It’s TikTok. It’s ethereal.
Cool young footballers playing attractive aggressive football.
But as with any trend, the kids want to be part of it.
2. CAP SPACE
Here is the jaw-dropping stat that shows why the Hawks are only just starting.
The Herald Sun AFL rich list showed only two players are in the top 100 paid players and only two of them – James Sicily and Karl Amon. None of them in the top 30 and only Sicily in the top 90, with Will Day one of a number of players who could have sneaked into the top 100. Tom Barrass and Battle will clearly slot into the 2025 list. But clubs believe they can afford four or five millionaires on their list by 2027. The Hawks are only just starting. Other clubs need to rearrange their cap or trade out stars to squeeze in priority targets. The Hawks have cash to burn.
3. THE PR CAMPAIGN
Hawthorn realised early on its young brash kids were having a heck of a lot of fun and leaned into it. They have actively encouraged the media to push the narrative. The irrepressible young Hawks led by a carefree coach who “gets it”. Who allows his players to take to the field with flair and instinct, who doesn’t ride them for irrelevant stuff but still provides strong cultural standards and on-field foundations. It has helped them sign up all their priority Hawks _ Changkuoth Jiath, Blake Hardwick, Conor Nash _ and land their defensive targets. If you know you are onto a good thing, it doesn’t help to let the world know.
4. SAM MITCHELL
He is the pitch master. It nearly diverted Liam Henry from St Kilda last year as he took a meeting with Mitchell and was wowed by the presentation. Within minutes of Battle meeting Mitchell this year he was expressing his openness to move clubs. He is eloquent enough to sell his vision, he is young enough at 41 for players to have watched his premiership heroics, he still has that steel in his voice when needed so players realise he won’t be a pushover. And he sees the game like very few others. The proof is in the pudding. Against premiership coach Luke Beveridge he made sure his side got every liberty it wanted and took away everything the Dogs needed to perform. It was masterful coaching.
Watching the game live at the MCG it was apparent the Hawks had total control of the game. So often the Hawks would have midfield control even as the Dogs pushed a half forward up to the stoppage for an extra number. And if their opponents did find a way to push the ball forward Hawthorn had a loose number back. That is no mean feat.
5. PLAYERS ARRIVING AND TURNING FROM LIST CLOGGERS INTO STARS
Lloyd Meek had only played 15 games at the Dockers in two years, and after two years in the Hawthorn system smacked up an All Australian ruckman in a final. Jack Scrimshaw played four AFL games in two years at the Suns and was still a freewheeling defender when Mitchell arrived. He’s now a genuine defensive star. Check out his stat line against the Dogs _ 26 touches, 78 per cent kicking effectiveness, 12 intercept possessions, four intercept marks, 10 contested possessions.
6. DINGLEY
Everyone has an elite facility. Battle’s Moorabbin facility wants for nothing. Hawthorn is tired and old but players speaking to the Hawks this year have been sold a vision of all the bells and whistles at the Kennedy Centre at Dingley, which will be operational by the second half of next year. It’s no Seaford, which for St Kilda players was in the middle of nowhere. It’s close to the bayside, players can live in East Brighton or Bentleigh or Sandringham and be 15 minutes away for their morning commute.
7. MABIOR CHOL
He amassed just 14 tackles in eight games last year. The former Richmond and Gold Coast star has always been able to kick goals. But this year he has laid 59 in 22 AFL games. It’s insane. Is he going to have second-year blues? Maybe. But if he makes tackling the bedrock of his game he sure won’t. If you were a player manager looking to slot your player into a club to maximise their longevity and talent, you would look at Chol as an example of why you might choose Hawthorn.
8. TOM BARRASS
The Herald Sun first reported earlier this year that clubs were again asking about Barrass and his chances of heading east. The Dogs were kicking his tyres, but as it turned out they weren’t ever in the race. Whitten Oval seemed a perfect landing spot but Barrass instead settled quickly on Hawthorn even though at that stage they were a long way from premiership contention.
9. HAWKS HAVE BLOCKBUSTER FIXTURE WRITTEN ALL OVER THEM
They already play at the MCG as their field of dreams. Now can new Hawks boss Ash Klein create a handful of marquee games to turbocharge that fixture? What do they do with their Tasmanian contests when the Devils team comes in? Time to get thinking. Adrian Dodoro used to pitch Anzac Day to every aspiring recruit. Next year the Hawks will be prime time darlings with a Thursday and Friday-heavy slate, but how do they set their fixture up for the long term?
10. BAILEY SMITH
What a luxury to be able to pass on Western Bulldog Smith given the emergence of their midfield. The Hawks were reported to be “neck-deep” in Smith after the trade period last year. But they don’t even need him. They have given up early picks for midfielders – Josh Ward at pick 7, Cam Mackenzie at pick 7, Will Day at pick 13. But Jai Newcombe is a mid-season pick, Conor Nash an Irish rookie, James Worpel pick 45, half forward Dylan Moore pick 67. They can afford to trade out a first-rounder for Barrass instead of using it on Smith. Smith might have been a nice additional midfielder but how much midfield time would he actually get in this on-ball unit. Instead they use their available cap space on a positional requirement who might win them a final next year in Barrass.
11. JARRYD ROUGHEAD
Four time premiership star and new pro scout Roughead has secured his bonus for bringing in A grade talent after crossing from St Kilda’s recruiting department, where he didn’t love the vibe under Ross Lyon. Put it this way _ if Roughy asked you for a beer to discuss your career options, would you ever say no? He’s the perfect knockabout bloke with footy cred and genuine warmth to open doors for his list team. He’s seen it all, he knows his footy, he’s not a lawyer or footy boffin. What a weapon for the Hawks.
12. IT’S NOT JUST SAM MITCHELL SELLING THE VISION
Football boss Rob McCartney has been instrumental in putting the package together to make clear to players they will thrive at Hawthorn and on their way out of the club. As McCartney told Fox Footy’s coverage on Friday, the appeal for Battle was holistic. “It is more about what we can offer him about improving his football but also his other pursuits once he finishes his football. It’s a great reflection on the environment we have created and the journey we are on. We have been able to show in recent years we can grow the person and the player. It opens up the doors for Josh about what he can do post-football.” Every club sells some kind of package, but at Hawthorn its working its charms. Harry Perryman is still a chance to arrive as a free agent, but given their improving list they will be fine without him. It is no secret Geelong has remained in premiership contention through its ability to sell itself to potential recruits, and now the Hawks are catching up quickly.
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