| Club: | Hawthorn Football Club |
| Season: | 1972 |
| President: | Phil J. Ryan |
| Coach: | John Kennedy, Sr. |
| Captain: | David Parkin |
| Home Ground: | Glenferrie Oval |
| Regularseason Comp: | VFL season |
| Regularseason Result: | 13–9 (6th) |
| Finals Series: | Finals series |
| Finals Result: | Did not qualify |
| Club B&Amp;F: | Best and Fairest |
| Best And Fairest: | Leigh Matthews |
| Leading Goalscorer: | Peter Knights (46) |
| Highest Attendance: | 38,861 (Round 20 vs.) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 8,206 (Round 13 vs.) |
| Average Attendance: | 19,797 |
| Prevseason: | 1971 |
| Nextseason: | 1973 |
The 1972 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 48th season in the Victorian Football League and 71st overall. Hawthorn entered the season as the defending VFL Premiers.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Record | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||
| 1 | Saturday, 1 April (2:10 pm) | 15.14 (104) | 10.15 (75) | Won by 29 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 21,513 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | 11.10 (76) | 19.24 (138) | Won by 62 points | Arden Street Oval (A) | 10,200 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Saturday, 15 April (2:10 pm) | 9.11 (65) | 15.17 (107) | Won by 42 points | VFL Park (A) | 16,431 | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | Saturday, 22 April (2:10 pm) | 11.17 (83) | 9.10 (64) | Lost by 19 points | Junction Oval (A) | 16,397 | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | Saturday, 29 April (2:10 pm) | 14.20 (104) | 11.10 (76) | Won by 28 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 15,440 | 4–1 | ||
| 6 | Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | 14.12 (96) | 15.11 (101) | Won by 5 points | Victoria Park (A) | 29,885 | 5–1 | ||
| 7 | Saturday, 13 May (2:10 pm) | 13.14 (92) | 9.20 (74) | Won by 18 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 13,727 | 6–1 | ||
| 8 | Saturday, 20 May (2:10 pm) | 11.25 (91) | 13.6 (84) | Lost by 7 points | VFL Park (A) | 25,661 | 6–2 | ||
| 9 | Saturday, 27 May (2:10 pm) | 15.17 (107) | 14.21 (105) | Lost by 2 points | Windy Hill (A) | 28,187 | 6–3 | ||
| 10 | Saturday, 3 June (2:10 pm) | 11.22 (88) | 13.7 (85) | Won by 3 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 26,585 | 7–3 | ||
| 11 | Saturday, 10 June (2:10 pm) | 17.8 (110) | 7.14 (56) | Lost by 54 points | Moorabbin Oval (A) | 27,313 | 7–4 | ||
| 12 | Saturday, 17 June (2:10 pm) | 11.10 (76) | 11.9 (75) | Lost by 1 point | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 31,314 | 7–5 | ||
| 13 | Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | 21.14 (140) | 10.16 (76) | Won by 64 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 8,206 | 8–5 | ||
| 14 | Saturday, 8 July (2:10 pm) | 19.19 (133) | 12.8 (80) | Won by 53 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 12,375 | 9–5 | ||
| 15 | Saturday, 15 July (2:10 pm) | 19.14 (128) | 15.8 (98) | Won by 30 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 16,844 | 10–5 | ||
| 16 | Saturday, 22 July (2:10 pm) | 13.11 (89) | 19.16 (130) | Won by 41 points | Western Oval (A) | 18,400 | 11–5 | ||
| 17 | Saturday, 29 July (2:10 pm) | 11.16 (82) | 19.13 (127) | Lost by 45 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 24,132 | 11–6 | ||
| 18 | Saturday, 5 August (2:10 pm) | 13.11 (89) | 23.10 (148) | Won by 59 points | Lake Oval (A) | 9,207 | 12–6 | ||
| 19 | Saturday, 12 August (2:10 pm) | 15.12 (102) | 17.11 (113) | Lost by 11 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 18,834 | 12–7 | ||
| 20 | Saturday, 19 August (2:10 pm) | 15.16 (106) | 12.15 (87) | Won by 19 points | VFL Park (H) | 36,861 | 13–7 | ||
| 21 | Saturday, 26 August (2:10 pm) | 24.12 (156) | 11.22 (88) | Lost by 68 points | Princes Park (A) | 32,048 | 13–8 | ||
| 22 | Saturday, 2 September (2:10 pm) | 15.12 (102) | 18.13 (121) | Lost by 19 points | Glenferrie Oval (H) | 22,923 | 13–9 | ||
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