THEY flocked to Glenferrie Oval in many shapes and sizes – men and women, children of all ages, even a sausage dog and a labrador – all wearing Hawthorn jumpers, all still jubilant over the club's 11th premiership.

 

There were at least 15,000 of them – perhaps closer to 20,000 – creating a sea of brown and gold from the stage at one end of the ground, right across the field the Hawks called home until 2006.

 

In raptures after Saturday's 15-point Grand Final defeat of Fremantle, they waited patiently to greet their premiership heroes.

 

And when the players arrived, they were welcomed with a fervor even Harry Styles (who had watched the game and tweeted his congratulations to the Hawks on Saturday) and his fellow One Direction bandmates would seldom have experienced.

 

On the stage, coach Alastair Clarkson and his superstar forward Lance Franklin hoisted the premiership cup aloft.

 

Club president Andrew Newbold quoted former Prime Minister Bob Hawke's famous words following Australia's America's Cup sailing victory in 1983.

 

"Thirty years ago was the America's Cup, when someone said, 'Take tomorrow off, and any boss who sacks you is a bum,'" Newbold said.

 

"Hawthorn, take tomorrow off."

 

And, he made reference to Fremantle's band of purple-clad followers, who had arrived in Melbourne en masse in the lead-up to the match, and very nearly drowned out Hawks fans at Friday's Grand Final parade.

 

"They said this week that the purple haze had descended on Melbourne; well, out there, it looks to me like the brown and gold are back," Newbold said.

 

Coach Clarkson told the crowd that Saturday's victory had been born of last year's Grand Final disappointment.

 

"It's amazing how suffering is really the path to awareness," Clarkson said.

 

"It was a great awareness that we had, that we needed to atone for last year.

 

"But no matter whether we win or lose, we know that these supporters will always follow us anyway, but we're so glad that we could please you guys who have come here today."

 

Skipper Luke Hodge, his voice hoarse after night one of what is sure to be a multi-night celebration, thanked the brown and gold army for its loyal support.

 

"It's been a long 12 months," he said.

 

"We put in some hard yards early, and there's no better feeling than coming away yesterday with a victory in front of such a great, great fan base.

 

"To rock up here today and see so many of our fantastic supporters – you guys are the heart and soul of our footy club.

 

"Thank you for everything you've done throughout the year."

 

Before departing the stage, Franklin – a free agent who has promised to make a decision about his playing future in the coming days – turned and gave the crowd an almighty wave.

 

Was it a last wave goodbye?

 

And with that, the happy army of Hawks departed the ground, swamping nearby Glenferrie Road on foot and in cars, with horns honking and scarves flapping from passenger windows.

 

The party will next move to the club's second home, Tasmania, on Monday, with Newbold, CEO Stuart Fox, Clarkson and the club's leadership group, led by Hodge, to meet with state premier Lara Giddings in Hobart.

 

The entire team will then greet fans at a family day at Aurora Stadium in Launceston from 1pm.

 

From there, Tasmanian Grant Birchall and two other players will travel to Devonport to meet fans at Devonport Mall at 4.45pm.

 

Hawthorn's win on Saturday continued the club's run of winning at least one premiership in every decade from the 1960s onwards.

 

All 11 flags have been captured in that time.