Whilst I have been thoroughly enjoying our amazing success over the past couple of seasons, a nagging concern I have always had has been how we will replace our older stars as they retire. This has come up from time to time on this board and the response has been that we can simply bring in Shem, Heatherly and other VFL youngsters. The problem here is that we, like all clubs, are overly optimistic about our young unproven players but there is no guarantee that these players will even make it at AFL level, let alone replace the champions we will farewell.
HOWEVER, Hawthorn has again demonstrated to me that their professionalism and planning has come an incredibly long way in the last decade (and IMO is pretty much unrivalled). Our 3 most imminent retirements look likely to be Brian Lake (33 y.o), David Hale and Brad Sewell. These guys, particularly the first two, play positions that are very difficult to replace (young players take a lot of time in these roles). Yet, we have Ceglar ready to go to replace Hale, Langford has already replaced Sewell and Frawley looks set to replace Lake. 3 key retirements and I'm not sure we'll even be weakened! That really is amazing, especially in this day and age (18 teams, poor draft picks, etc)
The next wave will be in the midfield - Hodge, Mitchell and Burgoyne are 30+. However, our outside players are now proven with Hill, Smith and Hartung to deputise. On the inside, Lewis has shown he can be the main man, Langford has emeged and Shiels remains a good foot soldier. In terms of additions to the team, Whitecross and Anderson are still to return and Woodward and Hallahan appear to be the best midfielders in the VFL. Whilst there are no guarantees from this lot, Mitch/Hodge/Silk look good for at least another season or two and with Hawthorn's efficiency in replacing the aforementioned players (Lake, Hale, Sewell) I am much more confident that we can do the same thing to ensure our midfiled remains strong and our team remains a premiership threat for years to come. Hopefully it all pans out - it really is great to be a supporter of this Super club.
HOWEVER, Hawthorn has again demonstrated to me that their professionalism and planning has come an incredibly long way in the last decade (and IMO is pretty much unrivalled). Our 3 most imminent retirements look likely to be Brian Lake (33 y.o), David Hale and Brad Sewell. These guys, particularly the first two, play positions that are very difficult to replace (young players take a lot of time in these roles). Yet, we have Ceglar ready to go to replace Hale, Langford has already replaced Sewell and Frawley looks set to replace Lake. 3 key retirements and I'm not sure we'll even be weakened! That really is amazing, especially in this day and age (18 teams, poor draft picks, etc)
The next wave will be in the midfield - Hodge, Mitchell and Burgoyne are 30+. However, our outside players are now proven with Hill, Smith and Hartung to deputise. On the inside, Lewis has shown he can be the main man, Langford has emeged and Shiels remains a good foot soldier. In terms of additions to the team, Whitecross and Anderson are still to return and Woodward and Hallahan appear to be the best midfielders in the VFL. Whilst there are no guarantees from this lot, Mitch/Hodge/Silk look good for at least another season or two and with Hawthorn's efficiency in replacing the aforementioned players (Lake, Hale, Sewell) I am much more confident that we can do the same thing to ensure our midfiled remains strong and our team remains a premiership threat for years to come. Hopefully it all pans out - it really is great to be a supporter of this Super club.
