Analysis by Alex
At a glance
Top 5 Scorers
| Player | Games | Average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Heeney | 21 | 105.2 | 18 |
| Tim English | 22 | 104.6 | 20 |
| Darcy Parish | 12 | 91.6 | 54 |
| Lloyd Meek | 19 | 88.4 | 64 |
| Lachlan Sholl | 20 | 85.3 | 77 |
Season Summary
A year that was phoned in for much of it. There weren’t too many highlights to take out of it, short of earning another pick #1 overall.
A win to end the season against the Soldiers was their first win since round 9 2022, and so upper management will be screaming for more effort in 2025.
With many young guns ready to keep developing their games, it’s now or never for our Eastern-most team to put in the hard work and make this a team once again to be feared.
Season Grade – F
All-Australians
| Pos | Player | Average | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| F3 | Issac Heeney | 103.72 | 18 |
DangerGawn Votes
| Rank | Player | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Tim English | 12 |
| 25 | Isaac Heeney | 9 |
| 28 | Tom Powell | 9 |
| 46 | Darcy Parish | 5 |
| 51 | Trent Rivers | 4 |
| 69 | Lachlan Sholl | 3 |
| 119 | John Noble | 1 |
Pre-Season Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | GP | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Harley Reid | 6 | 65.5 |
| 1 | 3 | Ryley Sanders | 6 | 62.67 |
| 1 | 6 | Daniel Curtin | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 10 | Jake Rogers | 6 | 35.5 |
| 3 | 21 | Caiden Cleary | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 56 | Campbell Chesser | 16 | 41.81 |
| 6 | 60 | Oliver Henry | 15 | 39.4 |
| 7 | 61 | Connor O’Sullivan | 1 | 40 |
| 7 | 67 | George Stevens | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 71 | James Leake | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 91 | Josh Goater | 1 | 32 |
| 11 | 101 | Riley Hardeman | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 111 | Charlie Edwards | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 121 | Lachlan Sholl | 17 | 85.94 |
| 14 | 131 | Lloyd Meek | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 151 | Anthony Caminiti | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 161 | Brandon Zerk-Thatcher | 20 | 50.85 |
| 18 | 171 | Jack Bytel | 3 | 42.33 |
| 19 | 181 | Koltyn Tholstrup | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | 191 | Caleb Poulter | 2 | 24 |
Most Inspired Selection
Pick 121 – Lachlan Sholl
I’m going to ignore Harley Reid and Ryley Sanders here, as they were excellent picks, but hardly “inspired” when we all knew who the top 3 players in the draft should be. It was inspired to get pick 3 in a trade, but that’s a move that was addressed last year.
Lachlan Sholl ticks all the boxes you would want in a later round selection – he plays for the team you cheer for, he plays every week, and he scored exceedingly well for a player picked in the 13th round, becoming one of your top 5 scorers for the season. Add in that he’s only 24 and you’re looking for youth, and that’s the very definition of an inspired pick.
Trades
This is a team that knew where it sat in 2024. Heavy recruiting of youth over a couple of years, and now just needing to sit back and get time into those youth to trust their progress will come with experience. Potential room to move with a couple of veterans (if you call 28 years old a veteran), or they could be the old heads leading the charge in a couple of years.
List at end of 2024 season
| Player | G | Avg | Rank | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Heeney | 21 | 105.2 | 18 | 28.03 |
| Tim English | 22 | 104.6 | 20 | 27 |
| Darcy Parish | 12 | 91.6 | 54 | 27.01 |
| Lloyd Meek | 19 | 88.4 | 64 | 26.04 |
| Lachlan Sholl | 20 | 85.3 | 77 | 24.05 |
| Jacob Hopper | 12 | 82.5 | 94 | 27.06 |
| Trent Rivers | 23 | 82 | 98 | 23 |
| Justin McInerney | 17 | 79 | 115 | 24 |
| Tom Powell | 23 | 78.7 | 116 | 22.05 |
| Lachie Ash | 17 | 77.4 | 131 | 23.02 |
| John Noble | 20 | 74.4 | 158 | 27.05 |
| Will Day | 16 | 74.1 | 161 | 23.02 |
| Riley Thilthorpe | 7 | 68.3 | 209 | 22.01 |
| Harley Reid | 20 | 66.7 | 217 | 19.04 |
| Kysaiah Pickett | 21 | 66 | 223 | 23.02 |
| Ryley Sanders | 14 | 63.9 | 254 | 19.07 |
| Mattaes Phillipou | 13 | 63.9 | 255 | 19.08 |
| Caleb Poulter | 7 | 62.7 | 268 | 21.1 |
| Jack Lukosius | 21 | 61.3 | 288 | 24 |
| Charlie Comben | 19 | 60.5 | 301 | 23.01 |
| Jackson Mead | 23 | 60.3 | 306 | 22.1 |
| Josh Weddle | 23 | 59.1 | 319 | 20.03 |
| Darcy Fogarty | 23 | 58.6 | 333 | 24.11 |
| Koltyn Tholstrup | 10 | 54.5 | 379 | 19.02 |
| Brandon Zerk-Thatcher | 23 | 50.3 | 429 | 26 |
| Braeden Campbell | 20 | 47.8 | 467 | 22.06 |
| Dylan Stephens | 16 | 47.7 | 470 | 23.07 |
| Oliver Henry | 21 | 45.2 | 493 | 22.01 |
| Noah Long | 7 | 43.6 | 514 | 20 |
| Riley Hardeman | 3 | 43.3 | 518 | 19.06 |
| Campbell Chesser | 18 | 40.7 | 545 | 21.04 |
| Connor O’Sullivan | 1 | 40 | 550 | 19.03 |
| Jake Rogers | 9 | 35.6 | 586 | 19.05 |
| Daniel Curtin | 7 | 32.1 | 607 | 19.05 |
| Josh Goater | 1 | 32 | 608 | 21.02 |
| Caiden Cleary | 5 | 28 | 619 | 19.05 |
| Luke Pedlar | 4 | 24.8 | 635 | 22.03 |
| George Stevens | 0 | 0 | 675 | 19.04 |
| Charlie Edwards | 0 | 0 | 676 | 19.03 |
| James Leake | 0 | 0 | 756 | 18.1 |
Ages as of 31 August 2024
Averages are AFL H&A season averages (not DangerGawn games played)
Player to watch in 2025
Will Day
Hok Ball was the thing to watch from the actual game perspective in 2024, and a young leader of that midfield in Will Day should be the one to watch in 2025 for Nelson. In 2023 he had an average of 95 to show just how good he can be, but injuries unfortunately ruined his 2024 campaign. He’s (hopefully) over his injury riddled year, and with a solid pre-season should be able to take the reins alongside Jai Newcombe as the heavy hitters in Hawks midfield for years to come.
Sneaky interesting pick also in Mattaes Phillipou. 3rd year breakout anyone???