HAWTHORN'S stuttering start to 2017 may prove to be a blessing in disguise, says four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson.
The reloaded Hawks still believed they were a premiership threat entering the season, with prized recruit Jaeger O'Meara, Tom Mitchell and Ty Vickery replacing Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Brad Hill.
But a sorry 1-5 start, including three defeats by 75 or more points, forced Clarkson's hand to give belated opportunity to youth.
Hawthorn enters Saturday night's clash with Fremantle with wins over top side Adelaide and Collingwood, a draw with third-placed Greater Western Sydney and a three-point loss to second-ranked Geelong in the past month.
"It might be the very best thing that's ever happened to our footy club," Clarkson said.
"That we've been challenged a bit with injury and challenged by some early-season form, when we didn't have too many injuries, to be fair.
"But it was challenged a little bit that we needed to fast-track the next phase of our football club, and get ourselves back in the mode of playing some youngsters and finding some emerging talent that will help us win our next piece of silverware."
O'Meara and All Australians Cyril Rioli, James Frawley, Grant Birchall and Josh Gibson are among the Hawks who have missed significant time and remain out of the team.
But Clarkson's men, who sit 13th on the ladder with a 6-9-1 record, remain a slim finals chance with six matches remaining.
"We had aspirations over the summer. (We wouldn't) come out and say we were a chance to be top four without genuinely thinking that to be the case," the coach said.
"If a lot of things had gone right (we could have done that). If Jaeger had been able to get up and play some footy and we didn't have as many injuries; 'Roughy' (Jarryd Roughead) returns from his illness and plays outstanding footy like he was playing beforehand – he's been OK for us without being brilliant.
"The season is so close, as we know now. You need only one or two players up and going for you, and it's the difference between being third or fourth on the ladder to 12th or 13th.
"But after some pretty heavy losses early in the year, it helped us crystallise where we were going and what we needed to do, and that was to invest in a little bit more youth."
Many of the key young contributors did not join the senior cause until after the opening round.
NAB AFL Rising Star favourite Ryan Burton came into the team in round two and Daniel Howe was not in the side until round five, while Tim O'Brien, James Sicily, Billy Hartung and Blake Hardwick were a round four package deal.
Teia Miles (round two) and Dallas Willsmore and James Cousins (both round 10) have made their AFL debuts, while Irishman Conor Glass will do the same against the Dockers in Perth.
Defender Harry Morrison could make it five before the season ends, according to Clarkson.
Hawthorn and Fremantle find themselves at similar developmental stages after forging a strong rivalry – albeit dominated by the Hawks – at the top of the ladder, including meeting in the 2013 Grand Final.
"Freo won some early games and we've won some more recently, but it's going to be a good game," Clarkson said.
"We're pretty closely matched sides at the present time. They've played some great footy over the last couple of weeks … and we're going to need to play really well to get the points tomorrow night."
