The Hawks had a huge cleanout in the off-season, which will have some AFL Fantasy implications.
The departures of Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara are going to provide some good opportunities for certain players to fill their midfield roles. But there’s also some fear that Hawthorn lack the quality to win the football and may struggle to possess the football which will gurt fantasy scoring.
Regardless, there are some players worth looking at for Hawthorn. Read on below to find out who they are
Take a listen to our latest podcast: Pre-season 2023: Hawthorn Hawks Preview feat. Sanch from Hat Chat
The Undervalued
James Worpel was a fantasy jet a couple of seasons ago, but unfortunately, he fell out of favour with Sam Mitchell. Many AFL Fantasy coaches are eying him off as one of the players to replace either Tom Mitchell or Jaeger O’Meara, but personally, I don’t see it happening. If it were going to happen, I feel like we should have seen an increase last season, as O’Meara and Mitchell had their CBAs decreased. But Worpel also saw a decline last season, with his centre bounce attendance numbers decreasing by 12% in 2022. He also found himself playing in the reserves for part of the season before injuring his shoulder later in the year. There’s a chance he could be a valuable option, but I’m not confident.
One of Jack Scrimshaw, Jarman Impey, or Changkouth Jiath could be a valuable option, but I have no idea which one it will be. They all saw pretty sharp declines last season which was partly impacted by injuries, but also the return of James Sicily. Sicily is used a lot across half-back and ate into the other defenders’ numbers. However, I feel like one can co-exist alongside Sicily though if one can get a consistent role and remain injury free. My gut feeling is Changkouth Jiath as Impey can go forward and Scrimshaw can be used as a more accountable defender.
The Breakout Contenders
Will Day is a good chance at a breakout this season. His last two years at the top level have been hampered by injury, but by all reports, he’s flying in the offseason and looks to have one of the wings at Hawthorn locked down this season. This will give him a good chance to put up a decent average this season, and with defender status, this makes him a tantalizing proposition. However, the downside is that he will probably be a midfielder only in the future. Whilst it’s good news for AFL Fantasy coaches this season, he might not be as valuable in the future.
Lloyd Meek and Ned Reeves both fit the mould as breakout ruckmen. They’re both 24 years old and had a decent level of experience at the top level which makes them prime for a breakout this year, but the issue is I think they’ll play in tandem. Hawthorn has traditionally played two ruckmen and this continued last season under Sam Mitchell. That is. whenever there were two ruckmen fit and available Sam Mitchell would play them. I don’t see this to be any different in 2022 and the only way one of them breaks out is if the other gets injured.
I have a feeling that a second-year breakout is on the cards for Josh Ward. He was used in the midfield quite early on last season, but despite being dropped and suffering a concussion mid-season, he showed what he could do in the late stages of 2022. After that stint on the sidelines, he returned to the side in round 17 to play the remeaning 7 games and averaged 89 AFL Fantasy points in that period. With the midfield departures, I think his responsibilities in the midfield increase this season and can average over 80 if everything goes to plan.
The Stash Options
Connor Macdonald managed to play 20 games for the Hawks last which was a pretty impressive return for a first-year player. He was used up forward and on a wing, with small stints on the ball from time to time. I think the future for Macdonal is a role in the midfield, but I think he may need another season on the outside to develop his game. For that reason, I recommend stashing for now until he gets a more consistent midfield role.
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