Final ladder position: fifth(after 22 rounds), sixth (after finals)
Best and fairest:
Peter Crimmins Medallist - Brad Sewell
Best Clubman - Richie Vandenberg
Most Improved - Stephen Gilham
Best First Year Player - Xavier Ellis
Most Consistent - Brent Guerra
Leading Goal Kicker - Lance Franklin
Most Votes in the Brownlow - Sam Mitchell
Leading goalkicker: LanceFranklin (73)
Leading possession getter: Jordan Lewis (594)
Season in a nutshell: Aninglorious start to the season in Brisbaneleft the Hawks on the bottom of the ladder, but it proved to be one of the fewlow points in a season where the club’s bold rebuilding plan began to bearfruit.
Awin in round two vaulted them up the ladder into eighth and they didn’tdrop out of the top eight for the rest of a season that culminated in theclub’s first finals appearance since 2001.
Defining moment: The sight ofBuddy Franklin’s match-winning, long-range bomb slicing gracefully between thegoal posts in the dying seconds of Hawthorn’s elimination final against Adelaide was a definingmoment for him and the team.
The young Hawk side’s ability to dispatch the finals-hardened Crowsofficially moved it out of the development phase and into genuine flagcontender territory.
What went right: The Hawks’ burgeoning stocks of talentedyoungsters generally made good progress in their development this season whichwas the key factor behind the team’s success. Players like Jarryd Roughead,Clinton Young, Ben McGlynn, Grant Birchall, Stephen Gilham and Franklin furthercemented their places in the senior side and helped maintain the drive to thefinals.
Along with their development came a more attractive brand of football basedon hard running and which gave an exciting and unpredictable forward structureplenty of opportunities.
Hawthorn’s home-and-away season of 2007 yielded 263 more points than theprevious year’s with the high mark a 100-point thumping of the Blues that senttheir season into freefall.
The veteran of the group, Shane Crawford, kept his body sound and was aconsistent contributor throughout the season, with his game against Adelaide in theelimination final a highlight.
What went wrong: One of the moreconcerning aspects of the 2007 season was the manner in which the Hawks bowedout of the race for the flag. Alastair Clarkson lamented his side’s inabilityto perform under the bright lights of the semi-final against the Kangaroos. Hisplayers must learn to cope with playing when considered the favourite.
Shane Crawford, Luke Hodge and Jordan Lewis will all miss the start of the 2008campaign after copping suspensions for undisciplined acts during that match.
Richie Vandenberg, Mark Williams, Max Bailey, Danny Jacobs and Tim Clarkespent most or all of the season injured on the sidelines.
Campbell Brown attracted unwanted attentionas the business end of the season neared when he publicly admitted to lying tothe AFL Tribunal in order to get Chris Judd off a rough conduct charge earlierin the year.
The club says: “We're not comfortable at all with being happyto just to play finals footy. We've set about every year since I've been hereto play finals, and two of the years we've missed the mark and this is thefirst year we've been able to get there.
“We just need to understand just how difficult it is to get into a positionto play in these types of games.
“Our guys will benefit enormously from it, but I hope the disappointment of[the semi-final loss] will fuel a pretty hungry desire to have a strongpre-season and a strong home-and-away series next year so we can give ourselvesa chance to play in these types of games again.” – coach Alastair Clarkson
Coach's award: Brad Sewell is afirm favourite of the coaches thanks to the selfless, team-oriented way heattacks each and every task he is given. A worthy winner of the Peter CrimminsMedal, Sewell led the club in tackling, averaged 21 possessions and won plentyof admirers for the way he was able to curb opposition playmakers while stillgetting plenty of the ball himself.
An honourable mention goes to Ben McGlynn,who impressed regularly with his impeccable work ethic.
Next big thing: Mitch Thorp’sprogress was hampered by a hip complaint but big things are expected of the 194cmforward down the track.
Taken at No.6 in the 2006 NAB AFL NationalDraft, Thorp managed to make his debut in round 15 and didn’t look out ofplace. Depending on his pre-season, the exciting Tasmanian could slide into thespot vacated by Ben Dixon.
