"Boys to men": The young Hawks stepping up in 2026

Although Hawthorn weren't able to land their star recruit over the off-season, the improvement seen within their young talent could be sufficient enough to rise to premiership contention.

Despite fielding the sixth most experienced team in the AFL in 2025 (by average games played), seven of the Hawks' best 23 are currently just 25 years or younger, including their newly appointed co-captain Jai Newcombe and not including absent star Will Day.

Failing to complete a trade to acquire Essendon superstar Zach Merrett over the 2025 trade period, reports of positional switches have suggested that coach Sam Mitchell is in the process of patching the hole that required filling within their midfield, as the club looks to maximise internal growth within their young crop.

And according to long-term captain (and now co-captain) James Sicily, the club's young core have taken a major step ahead of the 2026 season.

“The boys (are) becoming men, (particularly) the third to fifth year players,” Sicily told SEN Breakfast.

“A lot of us were boys over the last three years, but I feel as though they are really becoming men.

“They are a lot stronger, and what they are already good at, they are becoming even better at.

“Guys like Josh Weddle, Josh Ward, Connor Macdonald, Cam Mackenzie, Massimo D’Ambrosio – all of these guys are taking their weapons and the things that they’re good at to another level.

“Sounds on the track are a bit different – it’s definitely a lot more physical and a lot faster. I feel like the group is really maturing, which is going to be important.

“Last year, a lot of our games were decided by two goals, and given how close the season was last year, maturity is going to play a huge role in handling those games and the momentum.”

Beyond the improvement from the club’s rising stars, Sicily also cited the club’s new facilities as a key factor in their readiness ahead of this season.

“I think we’re going to be generally better just from the facility that we’ve been able to train n and that we’ve got now at Dingley,” he said.

“It’s amazing - you get to the end of the day and it’s four or five o’clock and you don’t feel like you want to leave yet because there are so many things readily available for us to get better and to use.

“We’re very fortunate that we have this wonderful facility.”

So, who has impressed the most over the off-season so far?

“They are already pretty exciting, but Nick Watson and Jack Ginnivan have been the real highlights for the summer so far for us,” Sicily said.

“Wizard’s ability to just kick goals out of nowhere; he has really lifted his work rate and his pressure to another level.

“Ginni has been someone that last year was good at getting the ball but probably didn’t use it as well as he would have liked to - not so much around the goals, he was really clever around the goals, but his ball use in general play.

“This summer, he has been so amazing with his ball use, finding the ball in other ways rather than just kicking goals and really getting involved in score involvements.

“I’ve been really impressed with him, his attitude and his work rate. His general skill – he is already pretty skilful, but he is looking like he’s going to have a really good year, and hopefully he does.”

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