Until the start of the 2010 season on 25th March 2010 we will review in depth every 16 clubs. We started off with Fremantle, then the Bulldogs, the Kangaroos and Collingwood. Last week we have looked at Richmond, Sydney, the West Coast Eagles, Essendon and Melbourne. This week we start off with Geelong, on Tuesday we looked at St Kilda then Adelaide and today Hawthorn and whether they will have a better year in luck than last year.

After Kick2Kick reviews each club, we will give their full season 2010 predictions like we did last year. If you would like to review a team or something else, please contact us.

What Happened Last Year

2009 for the Hawthorn Football Club will go down as Annus horribilis in their history books.

The Hawks had injuries, missing out on the finals in a heated clash with the Bombers, grumblings from a vocal president…the list goes on.

In what of should of been a return to form, Hawthorn really struggled against the better teams with a leaky defense that ranked among the worst in the AFL.

While their fellow finals rivals have gotten better, the Hawks have seemingly stagnated with their famous rolling zone leaving little room for error. It might be back to the drawing board for Alastair Clarkson!

Buddy needs a Coleman winning year to ensure Hawthorn see any finals action.

The New Season

Not a great start so far with fitness question marks over some players and a mounting injury list which includes new recruit  Shaun Burgoyne, Cyril Rioli, Brad Sewell, Clinton Young and ruckman Simon Taylor.

Hawthorn’s ruck divison is looking almost looking non existent with no.1 choice Simon Taylor out for 4 months with a broken leg and back up bigman Max Bailey indefinitely ruled out with ACL troubles.

Prediction : 8th

Players to Watch

Shaun Burgoyne – A fresh start at a new club is what Burgoyne wanted, but the star recruit is being wrapped in cotton wool after having knee surgery late last year.

At his devastating best, Shaun Burgoyne can be the difference between winning and losing.  His versatility means that coach Clarkson could use him in a variety of positions.

Lets just hope the former All Australian can be fit enough to get out on the paddock for 2010.

Beau Muston – Drafted in 2005, Muston has hardly played for the Hawks and had two knee reconstructions.  But the Hawthorn Football Club kept their faith in him with Muston has shown us glimpses of  his talent.

In two games for the club in 2009 Beau managed 31 and 26 possessions. 2010 needs to be the year he gets more game time and hopefully stays injury free.

Bench Warmers

With the amount of injuries already a fair few players will be sidelined so it should present a lot of good opportunities to test Alastair Clarkson’s player depth and new recruitments.

Rhan Hooper – Only played 9 games in 2009 with his previous club of 4 years in Brisbane, as they seemingly have run out of patience with Hooper.

He has talent to burn but discipline and commitment issues have hindered his on-field development.

The Hawks have thrown Rhan a lifeline by drafting him, but if he can’t step it up Hooper will be watching from the sidelines yet again.

Need to Improve

The whole club collectively needs to find that consistency that won them a premiership in 2008. I don’t believe it was a one off but the players themselves have to realise there is little room for error in today’s game.

Are Hawthorn happy to just have that one premiership or do they still have that burning desire we saw in 2008?

Wayde Skipper – Needs a huge season as the Hawks rely on him as their no1 ruck-man due to injuries. After showing some promise at the Western Bulldogs, Skipper needs to prove to the Hawks faithful he is worth the gamble however he will now have to wait 4-6 weeks with a serious hamstring injury.

Lance Franklin – It was a tough year in 2009 for Buddy but he still managed 67 goals and 3rd in the Hawks’ Best and Fairest.

But big things are expected of Buddy and he needs to capture that 2008 brilliance if Hawthorn are to be a sporting chance of winning a premiership this year.

There is a lot of pressure from the fans, but Franklin needs to be a standout AFL player rather than very good player for Hawthorn.

Your Thoughts

Can Hawthorn convert their talent into a premiership this year or has injuries already ruled them out of finals football?

Will they even make the top eight?

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