Universal Love Jordan Lewis - thanks for the memories and best of luck in retirement

[QuietB]

Of all the Hawks from this period Lewis is the most underrated IMO. Get a job - do it - star pretty much no matter what that job is.

The day he got the job as defensive forward on Heath Shaw and slotted 5 for his troubles epitomises this. How many prima donna midfielders from other clubs would be willing to sacrifice themselves like that? Those sorts of things cost you personal accolades but win your team premierships (although sadly not that year )

Congrats on a great career

 

[HODGEYROAD]

12 very good years at the HFC Taz, really hope he enjoys a well earned retirement.

 

[Mercy Seat]

Clarko waxing lyrical about Lewis at the press conference on at the moment, as you'd expect.

So great to see Clarko alongside him at the conference. So much for all the “Clarko did the dirty on him” talk from oppo supporters...

 

[Spursfan]

You know you getting old when you can remember a guy's first few games like it was yesterday and now 14 years have flashed by. What a warrior he was, good luck in the future Jordan

 

[vanders]

Absolute champ and a legend of our great club.

Unfortunate that he doesn't get to share in the send off spoils with his best mate Rough but it seems fitting that they started their careers together and get to start life after footy together too.

Will always be a beloved player of HFC and no doubt in years to come his post Hawthorn career will be forgotten along with Mitchell's and Hodgey's

 

[Dinsdale]

a tough bastard when we needed one, muchas gracias

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Thanks Taz. Absolute legend and warrior for our club.

 

[offtherails9]

Well done Lew. Genuine gun. Team player. Hard as nails. Didn't really care for being friendly or mates, a bloke with a bit of campaigner in him. Congrats mate. Hawthorn legend forever.

 

[Birdofprey]

Just watched the presser on the Hawks website.

Awesome - he spoke so well and thoughtfully - so impressive. (Goodwin and Clarko great as always).

 

[vanders]

 

[Brishawk]

What a warrior this bloke was. Absolute legend. Always brought his a game in finals. Unlucky not to be norm smith in 2014 but hodge was epic also. Good luck Jordan! Wouldn’t mind him coming back to the club as a coach but expect to see him in the media.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Ahead of the 2004 national draft, Hawthorn traded pick 10 to Collingwood in exchange for pick 7 and Bo Nixon (who played one game for Hawthorn in 2005).

After selecting Jarryd Roughead at pick 2 and Lance Franklin at pick 5 in the 2004 national draft, there was significant speculation that the Hawks would use pick 7 on ruckman John Meesen (who ended up being drafted by Adelaide with pick 8 and played six games for the Crows and Melbourne in six seasons). However, Hawthorn decided to select Jordan Lewis, a hard-nosed midfielder from country Victoria (Lewis played his Under-18 football with the Geelong Falcons and played his junior football with Warrnambool in the Hampden FNL).

Making his debut for Hawthorn in round 3, 2005 against the Bombers (along side fellow debutant Jarryd Roughead), Lewis collected 21 disposals in an encouraging debut. Lewis went on to play 19 games for Hawthorn in 2005, including 23 disposals against the Western Bulldogs in round 9. He did enough to earn a rising star nomination in 2005, and was voted Hawthorn's best first year player in 2005.

Switching from jumper 40 to jumper 3 in 2006, Lewis played 20 games in 2006, missing out on two games after being an emergency in round 8 and missing round 19 through a groin injury. Lewis accumulated almost 400 disposals in 2006, as the Hawks won nine games and lost 13 (including the last four games of the season).

Lewis took his game to the next level in 2007, gathering almost 600 disposals for the season and playing in all 24 games (including the elimination final win over Adelaide and the semi-final loss to North Melbourne). He finished fourth in the Peter Crimmins Medal count, the first time he finished inside the top 10.

Lewis missed the first two games of the 2008 season after being suspended for striking Brent Harvey in the 2007 semi-final. During his first game for 2008, he was reported again for striking Daniel Pratt and misses another week. Lewis missed rounds 9 and 15, 2008 through injury but manages to accumulate over 500 disposals for the season, including a career best (to that point) 38 disposals against Collingwood in round 18. With Sam Mitchell well-held by Cameron Ling in the grand final, Lewis' 21 disposals was an important factor in Hawthorn upsetting the Cats to win its first premiership in 17 years.

The Hawks suffer a premiership hangover in 2009 and Lewis missed the first three matches of the 2009 season thanks to a shoulder injury, but he played the remaining 19 games. In a disappointing season for the Hawks generally, Lewis' form is one of the few bright spots as he averaged 26 disposals per game on his way to 498 disposals for the season.

In round 3, 2010, the Hawks were thrashed by the Bulldogs under the roof at the Docklands, and Lewis is knocked out in a sickening clash with Jarrod Harbrow.

Remarkably, Lewis didn't miss a match, but the Hawks slump to 1-6 before a Sam Mitchell tackle on Shane Tuck secures Hawthorn's second win over the season over Richmond. The last-ditch victory against the Tigers sparked a run of seven straight victories before the Hawks lost to the Cats for the second time in the season as the "Kennett Curse" began to build momentum. Lewis kicked a then-career best four goals in round 16, 2010, as the Hawks obliterate the Brisbane Lions by 75 points at York Park. The Hawks fought their way into the top eight, but were soundly beaten by Fremantle at Subiaco in the elimination final, bringing 2010 to a close. Lewis finished fifth in the Peter Crimmins Medal.

The Hawks bounced back from that disappointing exit to start the 2011 season strongly (despite a first-up loss to the Crows). In round 2, 2011 against Melbourne, Lewis was named as substitute for the first and only time in his career, and made his way onto the ground to replace Brent Renouf. Clarkson decided to use Lewis as the "third man up" in the ruck contests and he recorded 75 hit-outs for the Hawks (never a prolific tackler, Lewis ended up having more hit-outs than tackles in 2011). Unfortunately for Lewis and Hawthorn, the 2011 season ended in disappointment and heart-break as the Hawks lost a close final against Collingwood. Despite missing three matches for the season, Lewis finished sixth in the Peter Crimmins Medal.

Having been named joint vice-captain in 2010, Lewis and his co-vice captain Jarryd Roughead took it in turns to captain the Hawks through much of 2012 after the persistent absence of Luke Hodge (Hodge played 10 matches in 2012). Lewis missed rounds 11 and 12 due to suspension for rough conduct on Todd Goldstein. A personal highlight for Lewis in 2012 was kicking a career-best five goals against Collingwood in round 17, at the MCG. Lewis missed the 2012 qualifying final victory over Collingwood through injury, but the week off enabled him to return to full fitness for the preliminary final thriller against the Crows, but the Hawks were upset by the Swans in the grand final.

Then came Hawthorn's golden era. In 2013, Lewis missed just one match for the season (round 22, due to a hip injury) and led the club for most inside-50 entries for the season, with 102 among his 524 disposals for the campaign.

Lewis played his 200th AFL match in round 7, 2014. The Hawks did the milestone man proud, thumping St Kilda by 145 points at the MCG. Lewis set a personal best of 44 disposals against Fremantle in round 21, and almost cracked 700 disposals for the season (he ended 2014 with 688 disposals). He earned All-Australian recognition and was awarded 15 votes in the 2014 Brownlow Medal count - a personal best. Lewis had a game-high 37 disposals in the 2014 grand final demolition over the Swans and won the Peter Crimmins Medal for best and fairest at Hawthorn.

Hawthorn recorded a historic treble of premierships in 2015, with Lewis a prime mover. He had 665 disposals for the season (highlighted by 41 disposals against the Bulldogs in round 3 and 36 disposals and two goals against Carlton in round 17). Among those 665 disposals were 104 inside 50 entries as the Hawks fought back from losing the qualifying final against the Eagles to win the premiership over the Eagles.

Lewis ended up playing one more season for Hawthorn in 2016, where he played all 24 matches (including final losses against Geelong and the Bulldogs). Lewis finished second in the Peter Crimmins Medal. Shortly after the best and fairest, Lewis was traded by Hawthorn to Melbourne where he ended up playing 54 games for the Demons (his 55th will be this Saturday).

 

[hawkman]

I wonder if he regrets going to Melbourne and not being a 1 club player like his best mate

 

[wolvesjr34]

Best of luck moving forward Jordy. I'll be the first to admit I actually thought he was cooked by the end of 2016, but he played some good football for Melbourne and I think the change of scenery refreshed him to go again with a new challenge. I most certainly do not begrudge the man for that.

Also, man, how high esteem is Clarko and the Hawthorn footy club held in that another club would reach out to ask a former to coach to be there at retirement presser? I think it attests to the greatness of Clarko and the relationship he is capable of having with his players.

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

I just recall the early days after his recruitment and people claiming he was a tough bastard. And something about a tomahawk. I remember thinking that’s what we need, a few Enforcer types.

Lewis was a great mix of skill with toughness early days but then became an outside type as the years rolled on. Forever the team man, he will always be respected and welcomed back at the Hawks

Well done on a great career Jordan

 

[Dixie Flatline]

I just recall the early days after his recruitment and people claiming he was a tough bastard. And something about a tomahawk. I remember thinking that’s what we need, a few Enforcer types.

Lewis was a great mix of skill with toughness early days but then became an outside type as the years rolled on. Forever the team man, he will always be respected and welcomed back at the Hawks

Well done on a great career Jordan

Stretching the memory banks, but I'm fairly certain one of his early nicknames on joining Hawthorn was "Chief", due to an incident involving a tomahawk before he was drafted.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Lewis probably doesn't know and wouldn't care if he did, but he's one of the few VFL/AFL players to have won 200 games of football in his career. Combining his Hawthorn and Melbourne records together, currently his record stands at 200 wins, one draw and 117 losses. He needs 18 disposals in his last match to rack up 7,500 disposals in his career (including a career best 668 disposals in 2014).

I would put his 2014 season above all others. Although he kicked a career best 27 goals for the season for Hawthorn in 2012, he took his game to the next level in 2014. In 2014, he had 668 disposals and kicked 17 goals, while also having 89 inside 50s. He had 15 Brownlow medal votes, which is his personal best effort (he had 11 in 2016).

As a Hawk, Lewis played 264 games (169 wins, 1 draw and 94 losses), and accumulated 6,273 disposals and kicked 145 goals. He also had 444 hit-outs in his career while as a Demon, he's had .... zero.

Among his 318 games for Hawthorn and Melbourne, he has played 155 games at the MCG and has won an even 100 games (a record of 100 wins and 55 losses at the MCG).

Lewis left the Hawks equal 12th on the all-time list of games played for the Hawks, with Peter Knights. After his final game of AFL, he'll be 49th on the list of VFL/AFL players for most games played, sandwiched between Dick Reynolds (320 games for Essendon) and Marcus Ashcroft (318 games for the Bears and Lions).

 

[PT Bar None]

B&F winner in a premiership year. That's a special group.

One of my faves, and a legit champion of Hawthorn. Congrats for a great career!

 

[TazHawk15]

Another Hawk warrior who will be forever attending Premiership reunions and gave everything he had every time he played.

Thanks for the memories Jordan.

 

[QuietB]

I wonder if he regrets going to Melbourne and not being a 1 club player like his best mate

Playing for Melbourne won’t be his last job.

 

[QuietB]

Lewis probably doesn't know and wouldn't care if he did, but he's one of the few VFL/AFL players to have won 200 games of football in his career. Combining his Hawthorn and Melbourne records together, currently his record stands at 200 wins, one draw and 117 losses. He needs 18 disposals in his last match to rack up 7,500 disposals in his career (including a career best 668 disposals in 2014).

I would put his 2014 season above all others. Although he kicked a career best 27 goals for the season for Hawthorn in 2012, he took his game to the next level in 2014. In 2014, he had 668 disposals and kicked 17 goals, while also having 89 inside 50s. He had 15 Brownlow medal votes, which is his personal best effort (he had 11 in 2016).

As a Hawk, Lewis played 264 games (169 wins, 1 draw and 94 losses), and accumulated 6,273 disposals and kicked 145 goals. He also had 444 hit-outs in his career while as a Demon, he's had .... zero.

Among his 318 games for Hawthorn and Melbourne, he has played 155 games at the MCG and has won an even 100 games (a record of 100 wins and 55 losses at the MCG).

Lewis left the Hawks equal 12th on the all-time list of games played for the Hawks, with Peter Knights. After his final game of AFL, he'll be 49th on the list of VFL/AFL players for most games played, sandwiched between Dick Reynolds (320 games for Essendon) and Marcus Ashcroft (318 games for the Bears and Lions).

The ruck nomination rule really should be called the Jordan Lewis rule

 

[robiecampbellbrown]

Classic modern era Hawthorn player: tough as nails, courageous, skilful and smart.

 

[lethalselbow]

Love Lewis. Toughest, fiercest Hawthorn player going around. Great skills and ultra competitive.

Was shattered when he left as i thought he should have been captain.

What a legend.

 

[Davo23]

Great man, Jordan, always will be a Hawthorn legend.

Love the hardness, the sneaky tummy punches, the big games and the big moments, always played his role and did his bit to get the silverware.

The glasses and the jacket are unfortunate, but you can’t be perfect!


.

 

[Shot of Jaeger]

How lucky are we to have had Lewis, Rough, Mitch, Hodgey, Bud, Cyril, Birch, Clarko, etc for so long.
Blessed.
Bloody love this club.

Good luck this weekend Taz.