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HAWTHORN's emotional reunion with former premiership skipper, five-time best and fairest winner and now West Coast midfielder Sam Mitchell will take place at the MCG in round five next season.
The 2017 AFL fixture, to be revealed in full on Thursday, will also confirm the first clash between the Hawks and their former vice-captain Jordan Lewis, who now plays for Melbourne, has been slated for the MCG in round seven.
The clash between the Hawks and the Eagles will be their only meeting for the season and has been scheduled for a 4.40pm AEST start on Sunday, April 23 during the elongated Anzac Day round.
Sam Mitchell's letter to Hawthorn fans
Because it is a Hawthorn home game, it opens the possibility of some sort of tribute to Mitchell, whose abrupt departure during the trade period meant there was no chance for their supporters to farewell the 34-year-old, who played 307 games over 15 years and is now considered one of the club's all-time greats.
The clash against the Demons a fortnight later is a 3.20pm AEST start and is a Melbourne home game.
Jordan Lewis in a Demons jumper will test Hawthorn fans in round seven next year. Picture: AFL Photos
Lewis, Hawthorn's 2014 best and fairest winner, and who played 264 games over 12 seasons, departed the Hawks after being informed that he may not be offered a new contract at the end of 2017. The Demons swooped with a three-year offer and Lewis was traded for a fourth-round pick.
While the departures of both players was amicable as possible and necessary given the ageing profile of the Hawthorn playing list, they came as a wrench to Hawthorn supporters, so the build-up to these games will be enormous.
Many of them have been only partly appeased by the subsequent recruitment of young midfielders Tom Mitchell from the Sydney Swans and Jaeger O'Meara from Gold Coast.
