The practice of wearing a team’s alternate strip for the following year in the last round of the current season is common in the English Premier League and Hawthorn is the first AFL club to adopt the initiative.
Created in consultation with designers from major Club partner PUMA, Hawthorn staff and players, the guernsey features a menacing Hawk with its wings unfurled emblazoned on the breast on the jumper.
The Hawk’s wingspan creates a ‘v’ shape, simulating a Hawk in full flight. The v-shaped graphic is a deliberate throwback to the historic Mayblooms (Hawthorn’s original nickname) guernsey which was introduced in 1925 - the year the Club first entered the VFL.
The new guernsey is primarily white, in accordance with AFL stipulations, and boasts an intimidating Hawk on the front and brown and gold stripes down the sides.
Particularly striking, the players’ numbers on the back are brown with a gold trim - a unique feature of the new jumper (the numbers on other clubs’ guernseys are either black or white).
Hawks senior player and PUMA ambassador Sam Mitchell was on hand to launch the guernsey, which the team will wear in its away games in season 2012 and beyond, and was impressed with the new jumper.
“I really like the clean and simple design of the new clash guernsey and think it looks really striking,” Mitchell said.
“In a year in which we’re celebrating our Club’s history it’s also a fantastic touch to replicate the old Mayblooms guernsey by creating a ‘v’ shape with the wings of the steely-eyed Hawk on the front.”
“Here’s hoping the guernsey proves to be a successful one for us, and that we can make our own history in it,” Mitchell said.
Hawthorn’s 2012 clash guernsey is available now at HawksNest Waverley, HawksNest Glenferrie and HawksNest Online
A close-up of the guernsey shows a menacing Hawk with its wings unfurled emblazoned on the front.
Hawthorn Captain Luke Hodge models the Hawks' new clash guernsey, featuring brown numbers with a gold trim.
L-R: Isaac Smith, Shane Savage, Luke Hodge, Matt Suckling and Ryan Schoenmakers proudly wear Hawthorn's new clash guernsey.
