2015 Hawthorn Football Club season

The 2015 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 91st season in the Australian Football League and 114th overall. Hawthorn entered the season as the two-time defending AFL premiers, having won back-to-back AFL premierships. Hawthorn won their third consecutive AFL premiership, fifth AFL premiership, and thirteenth premiership overall, defeating West Coast 107–61 in the Grand Final. Hawthorn became the first team to win five premierships in the AFL era. Hawthorn became just the second team in the AFL era to win three-consecutive premierships; joining the Brisbane Lions (2001–2003); and the sixth team in VFL/AFL history to win three consecutive premierships; joining Carlton (1906–1908), Collingwood (1927–1930), and Melbourne (twice; 1939–1941, 1955–1957). Alastair Clarkson won his fourth premiership as coach, tying with Leigh Matthews for most premierships won in the AFL era. Clarkson also surpassed John Kennedy Sr. and Allan Jeans (3) for most premierships won as coach of Hawthorn. Luke Hodge joined Michael Voss as the only players to captain three premierships in the AFL era. Grant Birchall, Shaun Burgoyne, Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Cyril Rioli, and Jarryd Roughead all won their fourth premierships, tying with Martin Pike for the most in the AFL era. Shaun Burgoyne played in his sixth AFL Grand Final, tying with Martin Pike for the most appearances in the AFL era.

Hawthorn Football Club

2015 season
President	Andrew Newbold
Coach	Alastair Clarkson
Captain(s)	Luke Hodge
Home ground	Melbourne Cricket Ground Aurora Stadium
AFL season	16–6 (3rd)
Finals series	Premiers (Defeated West Coast 107–61)
Best and Fairest	Josh Gibson
Leading goalkicker	Jack Gunston (57)
Highest home attendance	73,584 (Round 1 vs Geelong)
Lowest home attendance	11,320 (Round 9 vs Gold Coast)
Average home attendance	41,314
← 2014 2016 →

Club summary

The 2015 AFL season was the 119th season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; having entered the competition in 1925, it was the 91st season contested by the Hawthorn Football Club. The Melbourne Cricket Ground once again acted as Hawthorn's primary home ground, hosting six of the club's eleven home games,^[1] with four games played at their secondary home ground, Aurora Stadium in Launceston, and one played at Etihad Stadium in Round 21. The four matches at Aurora Stadium were against the Western Bulldogs, Gold Coast Suns, Fremantle and the Brisbane Lions in rounds 3, 9, 15 and 22 respectively,^[2] while the one home game at Etihad Stadium was against Port Adelaide in Round 21. The club played Geelong, Essendon, Port Adelaide, Sydney and Carlton twice during the regular season, and travelled interstate five times (twice each to Sydney and Adelaide, and once to Perth).^[1]

Major sponsors Tasmania and iiNet continued as the club's two major sponsors,^[3][4] while Adidas continued to manufacture the club's on-and-off field apparel.^[5]

Senior Personnel

Alastair Clarkson continued as the club's head coach for the eleventh consecutive season, while Luke Hodge continued as the club's captain for the fifth consecutive season. Both have held their respective positions since 2005 and 2011, respectively.

Playing list changes

During the 2014 off-season, the Hawks acquired the services of Melbourne's James Frawley via the free agency system,^[6] as well as those of Greater Western Sydney's Jonathan O'Rourke during the trade period.^[7] 200-gamer Brad Sewell announced his retirement shortly after the end of the club's 2014 season, in which the club won their 12th premiership but for which he was overlooked.^[8] In addition, Mitch Hallahan, Kyle Cheney and Luke Lowden were all traded away from the club,^[9] while Jordan Kelly, Derick Wanganeen and Ben Ross were all delisted.^[10]

The following lists all player changes between the conclusion of the 2014 season and the beginning of the 2015 season.

Trades

9 October 2014	To Hawthorn Jonathan O'Rourke Pick 43, 2014 AFL draft	To Greater Western Sydney Pick 19, 2014 AFL draft Pick 40, 2014 AFL draft	[11]
16 October 2014	To Hawthorn Pick 47, 2014 AFL draft Pick 49, 2014 AFL draft	To Gold Coast Mitch Hallahan	[12]
16 October 2014	To Hawthorn Pick 31, 2014 AFL draft Pick 50, 2014 AFL draft Pick 68, 2014 AFL draft	To Adelaide Kyle Cheney Luke Lowden Pick 43, 2014 AFL draft Pick 47, 2014 AFL draft Pick 59, 2014 AFL draft	[12]

Free Agency

Additions

Date	Player	Tag	2014 team	Deal	Compensation	Ref
6 October 2014	James Frawley	UFA	Melbourne	Signed 4-year, $2.2 million deal	1st round pick, 2014 AFL draft	[13]

Draft

Main article: 2014 AFL draft

AFL draft

Round	Overall pick	Player	Recruited from	ref
2	31	Daniel Howe	Murray Bushrangers
3	49	Teia Miles	Geelong Falcons
3	50	Marc Pittonet	Oakleigh Chargers

Rookie draft

Round	Overall pick	Player	Recruited from	ref
1	18	Jared Hardisty	Claremont
2	36	Jermaine Miller-Lewis	South Fremantle
3	53	Lachlan Langford	Melbourne Grammar School
4	65	Sam Grimley[note 1]	Hawthorn

1. Grimley was originally delisted by Hawthorn on 9 October 2014 but was re-drafted as a rookie

Retirements and delistings

Date	Player	2015 team	Reason	Ref
25 March 2014	Dayle Garlett	—	Delisted
4 October 2014	Brad Sewell	—	Retired
9 October 2014	Jordan Kelly	Western Bulldogs	Delisted
9 October 2014	Derick Wanganeen	—	Delisted
9 October 2014	Ben Ross	—	Delisted

2015 player squad

2015 Hawthorn Football Club squad

Senior list						Rookie List		Coaching staff
2 Jarryd Roughead (VC) (vet) 3 Jordan Lewis (VC) (vet) 4 Matt Suckling 5 Sam Mitchell (vet) 6 Josh Gibson 7 Ben McEvoy 8 Taylor Duryea 9 Shaun Burgoyne 10 Brad Hill 11 Brendan Whitecross 12 James Frawley 13 Jonathan O'Rourke 14 Grant Birchall 15 Luke Hodge (C) (vet) 16 Isaac Smith 17 Brian Lake 18 Jonathon Ceglar 19 Jack Gunston 20 David Hale 21 James Sicily		22 Luke Breust 23 Tim O'Brien 24 Ben Stratton 25 Ryan Schoenmakers 26 Liam Shiels 27 Matthew Spangher 28 Paul Puopolo 29 Will Langford 30 Kaiden Brand 31 Angus Litherland 32 Jonathan Simpkin 33 Cyril Rioli 36 Zac Webster 37 Jed Anderson 38 Dallas Willsmore 39 Alex Woodward 40 Billy Hartung 41 Daniel Howe 42 Teia Miles 43 Marc Pittonet				34 Kurt Heatherley (B) 35 Sam Grimley 44 Jared Hardisty 45 Jermaine Miller-Lewis 46 Lachlan Langford 47 Shem-Kalvin Tatupu (B)		Head coach Alastair Clarkson Assistant coaches Brett Ratten Brendon Bolton (Forwards coach) Cameron Bruce (Midfield coach) Adem Yze (Backline coach) Damian Monkhorst (Ruck) Damian Carroll (Football Academy Development Coordinator) David Neitz (Key Position coach) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Long-term injury list Upgraded rookie(s) (vet) Veteran's list (ret) Retired Updated: 21 July 2015 Source(s): HFC Website; Coaches

Season summary

Pre-season matches

The club played three practice matches as part of the 2015 NAB Challenge, and were played under modified pre-season rules, including nine-point goals.

Rd	Date and local time	Opponent	Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold)			Venue
			Home	Away	Result
1	Thursday, 26 February (7:10 pm)	Collingwood	2.8.6 (72)	0.17.14 (116)	Lost by 44 points	Aurora Stadium (H)
2	Sunday, 8 March (4:10 pm)	North Melbourne	2.9.13 (85)	1.9.9 (72)	Lost by 13 points	Deakin Reserve, Shepparton (A)
3	Thursday, 19 March (7:10 pm)	St Kilda	1.4.6 (39)	22.13 (145)	Won by 106 points	Etihad Stadium (A)
Source

Premiership Season

Home and away season

Rd	Date and local time	Opponent	Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold)			Venue	Record	Report
		Home	Away	Result
1	Monday, 6 April (3:20 pm)	Geelong	17.21 (123)	8.13 (61)	Won by 62 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	1–0	Report
2	Sunday, 12 April (3:20 pm)	Essendon	12.6 (78)	11.10 (76)	Lost by 2 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (A)	1–1	Report
3	Sunday, 19 April (1:10 pm)	Western Bulldogs	19.13 (127)	8.9 (57)	Won by 70 points	Aurora Stadium (H)	2–1	Report
4	Saturday, 25 April (7:10 pm)	Port Adelaide	15.9 (99)	13.13 (91)	Lost by 8 points	Adelaide Oval (A)	2–2	Report
5	Saturday, 2 May (7:20 pm)	North Melbourne	10.10 (70)	19.16 (130)	Won by 60 points	Etihad Stadium (A)	3–2	Report
6	Saturday, 9 May (4:35 pm)	Greater Western Sydney	16.12 (108)	14.14 (98)	Lost by 10 points	Spotless Stadium (A)	3–3	Report
7	Saturday, 16 May (2:10 pm)	Melbourne	24.11 (155)	7.8 (50)	Won by 105 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	4–3	Report
8	Saturday, 23 May (7:20 pm)	Sydney	9.15 (69)	11.7 (73)	Lost by 4 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	4–4	Report
9	Saturday, 30 May (1:45 pm)	Gold Coast	14.9 (93)	6.4 (40)	Won by 53 points	Aurora Stadium (H)	5–4	Report
10	Sunday, 7 June (4:40 pm)	St Kilda	10.9 (69)	20.12 (132)	Won by 63 points	Etihad Stadium (A)	6–4	Report
11	Bye
12	Thursday, 18 June (7:20 pm)	Adelaide	12.13 (85)	17.12 (114)	Won by 29 points	Adelaide Oval (A)	7–4	Report
13	Saturday, 27 June (2:10 pm)	Essendon	16.18 (114)	11.10 (76)	Won by 38 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	8–4	Report
14	Friday, July 3 (7:50 pm)	Collingwood	12.19 (91)	15.11 (101)	Won by 10 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (A)	9–4	Report
15	Sunday, 12 July (3:20 pm)	Fremantle	17.13 (115)	6.7 (43)	Won by 72 points	Aurora Stadium (H)	10–4	Report
16	Saturday, 18 July (7:20 pm)	Sydney	7.15 (57)	23.8 (146)	Won by 89 points	ANZ Stadium (A)	11–4	Report
17	Friday, 24 July (7:50 pm)	Carlton	4.11 (35)	27.11 (173)	Won by 138 points	Etihad Stadium (A)	12–4	Report
18	Friday, 31 July (7:50 pm)	Richmond	7.11 (53)	10.11 (71)	Lost by 18 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	12–5	Report
19	Saturday, 8 August (5:40 pm)	West Coast	11.8 (74)	13.10 (88)	Won by 14 points	Domain Stadium (A)	13–5	Report
20	Saturday, 15 August (7:20 pm)	Geelong	12.13 (85)	19.7 (121)	Won by 36 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (A)	14–5	Report
21	Friday, 21 August (7:50 pm)	Port Adelaide	13.8 (86)	16.12 (108)	Lost by 22 points	Etihad Stadium (H)	14–6	Report
22	Saturday, 29 August (2:10 pm)	Brisbane Lions	21.8 (134)	9.8 (62)	Won by 72 points	Aurora Stadium (H)	15–6	Report
23	Saturday, 5 September (4:40 pm)	Carlton	17.11 (113)	8.8 (56)	Won by 57 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	16–6	Report
Source

Ladder

2015 AFL ladder

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts
1	Fremantle	22	17	5	0	1857	1564	118.7	68	Finals series
2	West Coast	22	16	5	1	2330	1572	148.2	66
3	Hawthorn (P)	22	16	6	0	2452	1548	158.4	64
4	Sydney	22	16	6	0	2006	1578	127.1	64
5	Richmond	22	15	7	0	1930	1568	123.1	60
6	Western Bulldogs	22	14	8	0	2101	1825	115.1	56
7	Adelaide	21	13	8	0	2107	1821	115.7	54[a]
8	North Melbourne	22	13	9	0	2062	1937	106.5	52
9	Port Adelaide	22	12	10	0	2002	1874	106.8	48
10	Geelong	21	11	9	1	1853	1833	101.1	48[a]
11	Greater Western Sydney	22	11	11	0	1872	1891	99.0	44
12	Collingwood	22	10	12	0	1972	1856	106.3	40
13	Melbourne	22	7	15	0	1573	2044	77.0	28
14	St Kilda	22	6	15	1	1695	2162	78.4	26
15	Essendon	22	6	16	0	1580	2134	74.0	24
16	Gold Coast	22	4	17	1	1633	2240	72.9	18
17	Brisbane Lions	22	4	18	0	1557	2306	67.5	16
18	Carlton	22	4	18	0	1525	2354	64.8	16

Source: ^[14]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers
Notes:

1. The round 14 match between Adelaide and Geelong was cancelled due to the death of Adelaide coach Phil Walsh, and both teams were awarded two premiership points each.

Finals

See also: 2015 AFL finals series

Rd	Date and local time	Opponent	Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold)			Venue	Report
			Home	Away	Result
Qualifying final	Friday, 11 September (6:20 pm)	West Coast	14.12 (96)	9.10 (64)	Lost by 32 points	Domain Stadium (A)	Report
Semi-final	Friday, 18 September (7:50 pm)	Adelaide	21.9 (135)	8.13 (61)	Won by 74 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	Report
Preliminary final	Friday, 25 September (6:20 pm)	Fremantle	10.7 (67)	15.4 (94)	Won by 27 points	Domain Stadium (A)	Report
Grand Final	Saturday, 3 October (2:30 pm)	West Coast	16.11 (107)	8.13 (61)	Won by 46 points	Melbourne Cricket Ground (H)	Report

Awards, Records & Milestones

Awards

• 2015 All-Australian team selection: Josh Gibson, Sam Mitchell, Cyril Rioli
• Norm Smith Medallist: Cyril Rioli

Records

• Round 1: Sam Mitchell kicked Hawthorn's 170,000th point in the VFL/AFL
• Round 17: Hawthorn inflicted Carlton's heaviest AFL defeat, winning by 138 points. The Hawks' score of 27.11 (173) was also the highest score posted during the AFL season.

Milestones

• Round 1: James Frawley – first AFL game for Hawthorn (previously with Melbourne)
• Round 2:
  • James Sicily – AFL debut
  • Jonathan O'Rourke – first AFL game for Hawthorn (previously with Greater Western Sydney)
• Round 3:
  • Jarryd Roughead – 450th AFL goal
• Round 7:
  • Grant Birchall – 200th AFL game
• Round 8:
  • Ben Stratton – 100th AFL game
• Round 9:
  • Luke Breust– 100th AFL game
  • Daniel Howe – AFL debut
• Round 10:
  • Taylor Duryea – 50th AFL game
  • Alastair Clarkson – 150th win as head coach
• Round 14:
  • Luke Breust – 200th AFL goal
• Round 15:
  • Luke Hodge – 100th AFL game as Hawthorn captain
  • Paul Puopolo – 100th AFL game
• Round 16:
  • Isaac Smith – 100th AFL game
  • Cyril Rioli – 200th AFL goal
• Round 17:
  • Jack Gunston – 200th AFL goal
• Round 18:
  • Alastair Clarkson – 250th AFL game as head coach
• Round 19:
  • Cyril Rioli – 150th AFL game
• Round 21:
  • Hawthorn's 1,900th game of VFL/AFL football.
• Round 22:
  • Jack Gunston – 100th AFL game
• Semi Final:
  • Matt Suckling – 100th AFL game
• Preliminary Final:
  • Brian Lake – 250th AFL game

Brownlow Medal

See also: 2015 Brownlow Medal

Results

Round	1 vote	2 votes	3 votes
1	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)	Luke Breust (Hawthorn)	Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)
2	Dyson Heppell (Essendon)	Michael Hurley (Essendon)	Jobe Watson (Essendon)
3	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)	Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)	Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
4	Isaac Smith (Hawthorn)	Alipate Carlile (Port Adelaide)	Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
5	Jack Gunston (Hawthorn)	Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
6	Isaac Smith (Hawthorn)	Jeremy Cameron (Greater Western Sydney)	Callan Ward (Greater Western Sydney)
7	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)	Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)	Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
8	Luke Parker (Sydney)	Dan Hannebery (Sydney)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
9	Isaac Smith (Hawthorn)	Bradley Hill (Hawthorn)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
10	Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)	Jack Steven (St Kilda)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
11	Bye
12	Rory Sloane (Adelaide)	Liam Shiels (Hawthorn)	Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
13	Liam Shiels (Hawthorn)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)	Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
14	Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)	Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)	Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
15	Luke Breust (Hawthorn)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)	Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
16	Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)	Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)	Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
17	Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)	Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)	Jack Gunston (Hawthorn)
18	Ivan Maric (Richmond)	Dustin Martin (Richmond)	Anthony Miles (Richmond)
19	Andrew Gaff (West Coast)	Matt Priddis (West Coast)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
20	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)	Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)	Cyril Rioli (Hawthorn)
21	Sam Gray (Port Adelaide)	Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide)	Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
22	Tom Rockliff (Brisbane Lions)	Liam Shiels (Hawthorn)	Jack Gunston (Hawthorn)
23	Josh Gibson (Hawthorn)	Bradley Hill (Hawthorn)	Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)

Brownlow Medal tally

Player	1 vote games	2 vote games	3 vote games	Total votes
Sam Mitchell	4	2	6	26
Luke Hodge	2	1	3	13
Jarryd Roughead	1	1	2	9
Jordan Lewis	1	2	1	8
Jack Gunston	1	0	2	7
Cyril Rioli	0	2	1	7
Liam Shiels	1	2	0	5
Bradley Hill	0	2	0	4
Luke Breust	1	1	0	3
Isaac Smith	3	0	0	3
Shaun Burgoyne	0	1	0	2
Josh Gibson	1	0	0	1
Total	15	14	15	88

• italics denotes ineligible player

Tribunal cases

Player	Round	Charge category	Verdict	Result	Victim	Club	Ref(s)
Luke Hodge	5	Striking	Guilty	Three-match suspension	Andrew Swallow	North Melbourne	[15][16]
Jordan Lewis	5	Striking	Guilty	Two-match suspension	Todd Goldstein	North Melbourne	[15]
Sam Mitchell	8	Striking	Guilty	$1,000 fine	Tom Mitchell	Sydney
Ben Stratton	12	Striking	Guilty	$1,000 fine	Eddie Betts	Adelaide
Josh Gibson	12	Striking	Guilty	$1,000 fine	Charlie Cameron	Adelaide
Sam Mitchell	15	Misconduct	Guilty	$1,000 fine	Nat Fyfe	Fremantle
Josh Gibson	17	Striking	Guilty	$1,500 fine	Blaine Boekhorst	Carlton
Brian Lake	18	Rough conduct	Not Guilty	Cleared at tribunal	Ty Vickery	Richmond
Luke Hodge	21	Rough conduct	Guilty	Two-match suspension	Chad Wingard	Port Adelaide
Jordan Lewis	23	Tripping	Guilty	$1,000 fine	Andrew Carrazzo	Carlton