SAM MITCHELL'S office is the first thing you see when you exit the elevator on level one of Hawthorn's headquarters at Waverley Park. Nick Watson met the coach in there a few days after kicking four behinds against Richmond in June, where they mapped out a plan.  

Watson never had problems finishing off his work growing up. The 170cm small forward tormented defenders while playing for East Ringwood, Caulfield Grammar, Eastern Ranges and Vic Metro. It was why the Hawks swooped to select Watson at pick No.5 in the 2023 Telstra AFL Draft. 

But there is a vast difference between performing in front of a few hundred people in the Eastern Football League or APS and getting it done at the highest level. Watson made his debut in front of 73,805 people in round one, played on Easter Monday with 67,020 in the house, while 92,311 crammed in for Dustin Martin's 300th game. 

Aside from Harley Reid, no other 2023 draftee has come under more scrutiny so far. No player taken last November has had more shots at goal. Watson is now starting to take his chances. Seven days before kicking 3.0 in front of 74,171 people in the wet to all but end Collingwood's premiership defence and to earn the Telstra AFL Rising Star nomination for round 19, he kicked the sealer from the boundary against Fremantle in Launceston.

Mitchell was regarded as one of the best ball users of his generation, hitting the full gamut of kicks on both feet, across a 329-game career that involved countless pairs of size nine Pumas. Before or after training, the pair work on a routine that has helped Watson convert his past four shots, taking him to 10.19 – plus seven other shots – from his first 11 games. What they're doing is working.

"I haven't thought about the accuracy too much. I've kicked goals growing up, so I knew it was going to come. Everyone in the building knew it was going to come, it was just a matter of time. Slowly I'm starting to kick more goals," Watson told AFL.com.au after the 66-point win on Saturday. 

"Me and Sam have been going to work at training, doing goalkicking before every training session, which has helped big time and it's starting to pay off. Every training we go out and kick goals. He has taught me his technique and it's paying off, which is lovely."

Mitchell is only 63 games into his time as Hawthorn coach, but he played a lot of football with Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli. He understands the seismic interest in prodigiously talented forwards, even this early. Watson has demonstrated an ability to absorb the pressure and perform.  

"Everyone has always been interested in the 'Wizard'. It is just one of those personalities. He is close to the smallest players in the League, he has been an early draft pick and been one of those players everyone has been interested in," Mitchell explained. 

"He has had a target on his back for his whole career, really, and that includes school footy. He is probably more adept at handling pressure than most. Full credit to him, he is not perfect, and he is going to continue to grow, but I'm rapt with the work ethic that he is putting in to improve his game."

While he finished with three classy goals on Saturday, the unselfish decision to centre a ball from the pocket to an unmarked Massimo D'Ambrosio highlighted Watson's development across his first season in the AFL. Although, he admits, he was tempted to take the shot. 

"I definitely did (think about it)," Watson quipped. "As soon as I got it, I thought I was definitely going to have a ping. But I saw too many options inside, so I had to do the team thing and kick it inside."

Watson grew up a diehard Collingwood supporter in a family that spent plenty of weekends in winter heading to the MCG to watch the Magpies. Jack Ginnivan was one of his favourites. Now the 19-year-old is creating a dynamic partnership with the agent provocateur, living his dream in brown and gold, rather than black and white stripes. 

"I was a big Collingwood supporter growing up," he said. "My whole family is Collingwood. We were all members growing up, so it was good to get the win against them. I watched them play in the big games and they played in a lot of big games. This [playing AFL] is even better than what I pictured and now it's coming into real life, so I'm loving it. It is so good at the Hawks."

Hawthorn has recovered from a 0-5 start to 2024 to sit just half a game outside the eight after round 19, winning nine of 11 games to erase that disaster on the Gold Coast. 

But despite that stunning sequence, the Hawks are sitting in 11th spot and will need to win at least three or most likely four of their final five games to qualify for September. They face Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney on the road, then meet Carlton and Richmond at the MCG, before a trip to University of Tasmania Stadium to host North Melbourne in round 24.

"Even though we started 0-5, we had belief within the group and it's just building and building," he said. "We are loving what we're doing. We're putting our head down getting to work. We'll review it, get straight onto next week and then hopefully get that finals spot."

Finals may arrive earlier than expected this year, but if they don't, Watson and the Hawks are primed for plenty of September action in the years ahead. The 'Wizard' was built for the month that matters most.

2024 Telstra AFL Rising Star nominees

OR: Matt Roberts (Sydney)
R1: Ollie Dempsey (Geelong)
R2: George Wardlaw (North Melbourne)
R3: Harvey Gallagher (Western Bulldogs)
R4: Sam Darcy (Western Bulldogs)
R5: Harley Reid (West Coast)
R6: Darcy Wilson (St Kilda)
R7: Jake Rogers (Gold Coast)
R8: Caleb Windsor (Melbourne)
R9: Colby McKercher (North Melbourne)
R10: Kai Lohmann (Brisbane)
R11: Harvey Harrison (Collingwood)
R12: Bodhi Uwland (Gold Coast)
R13: Luke Nankervis (Adelaide)
R14: Harvey Thomas (Greater Western Sydney)
R15: Logan Morris (Brisbane)
R16: Will Graham (Gold Coast)
R17: Darcy Jones (Greater Western Sydney)
R18: Lawson Humphries (Geelong)
R19: Nick Watson (Hawthorn)