As part of the club’s SEN Membership Day, Hawthorn CEO Ash Klein, Coach Sam Mitchell, and stars Dylan Moore, Conor Nash, and Mitch Lewis spoke with the team at SEN about the 2024 pre-season, their Round 1 match against Essendon, and more.
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On the high-forward role: “I think the mix of the front half – Luke Breust, Nick Watson, Jack Ginnivan, Dylan Moore and Blake Hardwick – is still going to be a work in progress for a little while yet. I think all of those guys are in our best side, so how we fit them in and what roles they can play we’ll see. Having Moore back will be really important for us because he can play so consistently. Even setting everyone else to make sure everyone is playing the way that they should. He is probably underrated outside our four walls, he is one of our most important players.”
On member support: “The Hawks supporters have been wonderful; last year, we averaged more than 50,000 at our MCG home games – I truly believe the Hawks fans and members are behind us. It will be a fascinating adventure; we are still young and developing, and we will only become better.”
Regarding the practice game against the Western Bulldogs: “We were kept in it throughout the second quarter because to their bad goalkicking, but I thought we played a lot more our way in that second term. The second half was really poor. It’s an odd one, facing the same opponents twice before the season, so it’s difficult to tell if the Dogs are very good or whether we were really bad. We’re still confident going into Round 1, and we’ve got a few of big players returning, which is good.”
On Jack Ginnivan: “Jack has fitted in incredibly well; he has impressed me with the way he has arrived. His game understanding is also impressive for such a young athlete. He is already in the offensive line, speaking out and discussing game structures and trends.
On Nick Watson: “That is up to the coaching staff, but I believe Nick has done enough to earn a Round 1 place; he is going to be a great player. To be honest, I don’t think his size is a concern; if anything, it benefits him because he is so difficult to handle. He gets so low to the ground and is very strong for a young athlete. When he has the ball in his hands, his ability to move on the spot, change direction, and lower his center of gravity to avoid tackles is perhaps one of the greatest on the team. “He’s got tricks, speed, and enthusiasm.”
Regarding his glandular fever: “I’m feeling fairly okay; it was a hard couple of weeks when I was initially diagnosed, but I’m starting to do some jogging and contact stuff now, which has been fantastic. During this moment, I’ve learned to exercise greater self-control; there’s no point in pushing anything because I might come out on the wrong side. I’ll need to hold a huge session next week to put my name in for Round 1.
On the new-look forward line: “It’s fantastic for us; I believe that fierce competition reduces complacency.” We have some good players who aren’t sure if they’ll play since there’s so much competition. We haven’t had that in several years. It’s amazing to see Jack Ginnivan and Mabior Chol step in and make an impact, Nick Watson has been tearing the house down and will be a weapon for years to come, and Jack Gunston can play wherever and is such an experienced head.”
