Sam Mitchell’s youthful and brash Hawthorn were one of the stories of 2024 but are they Fantasy and SuperCoach relevant in 2025? Will Day says yes but there’s a few others.
Fixture
The Hawks play Opening Round so they’ve got an early bye in Round 4, alongside Essendon. Hawthorn’s mid-season bye is Round 15, the penultimate bye round.
Squad Changes
Ins
Cody Anderson (No.64 draft pick, Academy), Josh Battle (free agent, St Kilda), Tom Barrass (trade, West Coast), Matt Hill (Category B rookie), Noah Mraz (No.35 draft pick), Jaime Uhr-Henry (Category B rookie)
Outs
Josh Bennetts (delisted), Denver Grainger-Barras (delisted), Cooper Stephens (delisted), Jack O’Sullivan (delisted), Ethan Phillips (delisted), Clay Tucker (delisted), Chad Wingard (retired)
Snapshot
Key defenders Tom Barrass and Josh Battle are the big off-season additions to the Hawks’ line-up, with their recruitment potentially meaning a role change for loose backman James Sicily.
Injury returns
Key forward Mitch Lewis and key defender James Blanck endured long-term ACL injuries last year, but neither will be right for Round 1. Both are still working through their rehabilitation, with a view to mid-season returns.
Changkuoth Jiath had an injury-interrupted 2024 season, playing only 11 games, and is value but a mid-only.
Mainstays
James Sicily is always a player of interest but the big watch is on his role, as a move forward has previously been to his detriment from a Fantasy/SuperCoach scoring point of view.
Dylan Moore is likely to be among the top 6 forwards in 2025, so needs to be considered, but don’t expect any major rise in his midfield time to boost his scores.
Room for improvement
Top of the list is Will Day who only played 16 games last year, held back by injuries. Day is a gun midfielder/half-back flanker, who is under-priced having been subbed out in both Round 22 and 23 on low scores. He’s capable of going 100+.
Onballer Jai Newcombe receded in his career progression in 2024, particularly from a Fantasy perspective, so there’s upside in him.
Rookies
There’s not much on offer from the Hawks this year, so we’ll throw in Henry Hustwaite purely from a SuperCoach perspective, given his starting price in that format. The 2022 Draft pick 37 got a sniff last year, playing 4 games, as sub on 3 occasions.
