Overall mark: A+
Win-loss: 10-1 WWWWWWWWWLW
Ladder position: First
Leading possession winner: Sam Mitchell – 274 possessions
Leading goalkicker: Lance Franklin – 59 goals

Season so far
In 2007 we saw the first signs that Alastair Clarkson’s rebuild was starting to bear fruit and this has been the year where all the hard yards have really started to pay off. The Hawks top the ladder with just one loss and have played some scintillating football along the way.

Lance Franklin has become a truly dominant forward and leads the race for the Coleman Medal with Jarryd Roughead providing able back-up. Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell and Chance Bateman form the nucleus of a blue-chip midfield and Trent Croad, Grant Birchall and Stephen Gilham have excelled in the only pre-season area of concern; defence.

The underrated ruck tandem of Robert Campbell and Simon Taylor has proved all the doubters wrong. Not only does the present excite, but the future looks bright as well with the club getting good service from youngsters like Xavier Ellis and Cyril Rioli.

Clarkson deserves high praise for the way he has the side playing and has shown himself to be an astute tactician.

There haven’t been too many negatives, but the unfortunate Beau Muston did his knee in the NAB Cup, Mark Williams earned the wrath of Clarko for his choke gesture against Port Adelaide and Buddy and the coach made headlines for the wrong reasons in a torrid week following the loss to the Dogs.

Best win
The 10-goal final term to bury the Magpies in round seven was pretty impressive and coming from a long way back to beat the Power at Aurora was gutsy, but seeing off the dogged Lions by two goals on their home patch gets the nod.

The high-quality affair saw 36 goals kicked, with Franklin and Daniel Bradshaw leading the way with eight and seven respectively, and plenty of lead changes with just two points separating the teams as the final term started. Mitchell finished with 32 possessions and Buddy kicked three goals in the last quarter to seal the premiership points for the Hawks.

B&F leader
Mitchell, Sewell, Bateman and Franklin will form the leading pack at the half-way point, with the skipper probably in front of Buddy by a nose. The prolific ball winner is ranked fourth in the league for average possessions per game and they are rarely wasted.

In a midfield that has been without Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Shane Crawford at various times, Mitchell has had to carry the extra burden and he has done it well with his 39-disposal performance against Collingwood a highlight.

Surprise packet
Cyril Rioli has been one of the most exciting prospects to come out of last year’s NAB AFL Draft. The Hawks were delighted when he fell to them at No.12 and he has slotted into that small froward role very nicely. There was no doubting his potential, but the surprise has been how consistently he’s been able to contribute, with the 18-year-old the only player in that draft to have played all 11 games so far this season.

He has a season tally of 13 goals, with his pressure and tackling just what the doctor ordered for an attack that already boasted some high-quality tall options.

Missing in action
Given the high injury toll and the absence of Croad for three weeks you would have thought Zac Dawson might have been able to force his way into the line-up by now. After failing to crack it for a game all last season the tall defender worked diligently to add muscle mass to his frame over the summer, but is yet to add to his 14 career games.

Highly-rated young forwards Beau Dowler and Mitch Thorp have also struggled with form and consistency with the winless Box Hill Hawks.

Coach's award (one-percenter player)
Sewell is Clarkson’s blue-collar warrior and you get the feeling he'd be the first player picked when fit. He works tirelessly when given a defensive job to do and has also developed the offensive side of his game to the point where his possession average ranks third at the club.

His efforts went unnoticed by most outside the Hawks early in his career, but his stature in the game has grown to the point where his exclusion from the Victorian squad for the Hall of Fame Tribute match caused a public outcry.

Unfortunately the 24-year-old ruptured the ligaments in the AC joint of his right shoulder in the loss to the Dogs in Tasmania and will be out for at least the next month.

Second-half story lines
How good can the Hawks be if they get everyone fit? With just one loss the side sits atop the AFL ladder, but it’s debatable whether they’ve had their best 22 on the park yet this season.

Will teams figure out the Hawks? They are the hunted now and a lot of time and effort will be put in by opposition coaches looking to break them down.

Can the club keep Buddy focussed? The prodigious talent is the focus of intense media scrutiny that would prove distracting to many, but he’s shown an admirable ability to let his footy do the talking so far.

The run home:
Round 12 – Adelaide at AAMI Stadium
Round 13 – North Melbourne at the MCG
Round 14 – West Coast at the MCG
Round 15 – Sydney at the MCG
Round 16 – St Kilda at Telstra Dome
Round 17 – Geelong at the MCG
Round 18 – Collingwood at the MCG
Round 19 – Brisbane Lions at Aurora Stadium
Round 20 – Richmond at the MCG
Round 21 – West Coast at Subiaco
Round 22 – Carlton at Telstra Dome

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL.