Yup, look at Ablett, you can win all the Brownlow votes you want, but if you've not got talent around you, then RIP.
We're not comparing a spineless Gold Coast team full of undisciplined kids to the Hawks machine are we?
The reality is that Lewis is ineffective (I don't care for the bnf results) and Hill is average (with Hartung being the natural replacement). Mitchell hurts but that's the sacrifice they make to pursue an immediate rebuild.
It's excellent list management. Whether Hawthorn can manage the emotions of their players is another matter.
Yes, we did see something similar when our non-Dynasty of 2000 ended but that was both a miss-management of the list and the players. At least Hawthorn can sell a future based on the presence of three players who are as structurally important as anyone on the list as opposed to the inflated contracts of Mercuri and Hird.