Former president of the AFL Coaches Association Danny Frawley, has stated there is an ‘asterisk’ next to Hawthorn's premiership success between 2013 and 2015.
He believes the introduction of GWS and Gold Coast into the competition and the extra picks they were given made it too hard for teams to catch them.
“Hawthorn people will just drive off the road but there’s a little asterisk with their 3 in a row, because GWS and Gold Coast getting all the young picks,” said Frawley on the AFL Nation pregame show.
“The sides around tenth, eighth, ninth, seventh and fifth couldn’t improve because all the good picks were going to the northern states.
“So Hawthorn had a great opportunity to be on top at that particular stage, they did stay on top a hell of a lot longer than they should have.
“I’ve got no doubt that by getting Josh Gibson, James Frawley and Brian Lake, they got those at the right price, the right time.
“There was no one like a Richmond jumping up from thirteenth to first because GWS and the Giants were getting all the picks.
“For three years, there was no top elite talent going to the clubs that should have been pressing Hawthorn for a premiership.”