| Club: | Hawthorn Football Club |
| Season: | 2017 |
| President: | Richard Garvey |
| Coach: | Alastair Clarkson |
| Captain: | Jarryd Roughead |
| Home Ground: | Melbourne Cricket Ground University of Tasmania Stadium |
| Regularseason Comp: | AFL season |
| Regularseason Result: | 10–11–1 (12th) |
| Finals Series: | Finals series |
| Finals Result: | Did not qualify |
| Club B&Amp;F: | Best and Fairest |
| Best And Fairest: | Tom Mitchell |
| Leading Goalscorer: | Jarryd Roughead (38) |
| Highest Attendance: | 62,360 (Round 4 vs.) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 10,553 (Round 8 vs.) |
| Average Attendance: | 33,257 |
| Prevseason: | 2016 |
| Nextseason: | 2018 |
The 2017 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 93rd season in the Australian Football League and 116th overall, the 18th season playing home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 17th season playing home games at the newly named University of Tasmania Stadium, the 13th season under head coach Alastair Clarkson, and the 1st season with Jarryd Roughead as club captain. This was the first time since 2013 that Hawthorn didn't enter the season as the defending premiers.
Hawthorn started the season 0–4 for the first time since 1998. Hawthorn failed to match their 17–5 record from 2016, finishing in 12th with a record. With Hawthorn's 7 point loss to in round 22, they were eliminated from finals contention for this first time since 2009. This was also the first time since 2005, Hawthorn were defeated by Carlton. This was also the first time under Clarkson that no player kicked 50 goals for the season.
The 2017 AFL season is the 121st season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; having entered the competition in 1925, it was the 93rd season contested by the Hawthorn Football Club. Tasmania and iiNet continued as the club's two major sponsors, as they had done since 2006 and 2013 respectively,[1] [2] while Adidas continued to manufacture the club's on-and-off field apparel, as they had done since 2013.[3] Hawthorn continued its alignment with the Box Hill Hawks Football Club in the Victorian Football League, allowing Hawthorn-listed players to play with the Box Hill Hawks when not selected in AFL matches.
Alastair Clarkson continued as the club's head coach for the thirteenth consecutive season. In a surprise announcement, Jarryd Roughead replaced Luke Hodge as the club's captain on 20 January 2017 after the latter had led the club since 2011.[4]
It was announced in December 2016 that Stuart Fox would leave his position as the club's Chief Executive Officer to take up the same position with the Melbourne Cricket Club at the end of February 2017.[5] On 1 May, Tracey Gaudry was appointed the club's new CEO.[6]
The following lists all player changes between the conclusion of the 2016 season and the beginning of the 2017 season.
| 13 October 2016 | To Pick 23, 2016 AFL draft | To Bradley Hill | [7] | |
| 14 October 2016 | To Pick 52, 2016 AFL draft Pick 70, 2016 AFL draft Pick 88, 2016 AFL draft | To Sam Mitchell Pick 54, 2016 AFL draft Pick 72, 2016 AFL draft | [8] | |
| 14 October 2016 | To Tom Mitchell Pick 57, 2016 AFL draft | To Pick 14, 2016 AFL draft Pick 52, 2016 AFL draft | [9] | |
| 14 October 2016 | To Pick 10, 2016 AFL draft Pick 68, 2016 AFL draft | To Pick 23, 2016 AFL draft Pick 36, 2016 AFL draft 1st round pick, 2017 AFL draft | [10] | |
| 18 October 2016 | To Pick 48, 2016 AFL draft Pick 66, 2016 AFL draft | To Jordan Lewis Pick 57, 2016 AFL draft Pick 68, 2016 AFL draft | [11] | |
| 20 October 2016 | To 2nd round pick, 2017 AFL draft (via) | To Pick 48, 2016 AFL draft Pick 66, 2016 AFL draft Pick 70, 2016 AFL draft | [12] | |
| 20 October 2016 | To Jaeger O'Meara | To Pick 10, 2016 AFL draft 2nd round pick, 2017 AFL draft |
| Date | Player | Type | 2016 team | Deal | Compensation | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 October 2016 | Ty Vickery | Signed 2-year deal | 2nd round pick, 2016 AFL draft | [13] | |||
| 30 October 2016 | Conor Nash | N/A | Meath GAA | N/A | N/A | [14] | |
| 8 November 2016 | Ricky Henderson | N/A | None | [15] |
See also: 2016 AFL draft.
| Round | Overall pick | Player | Recruited from | ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 74 | Harry Morrison | Murray Bushrangers | [16] | |
| 5 | 76 | Mitchell Lewis | Calder Cannons |
| Round | Overall pick | Player | Recruited from | ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Oliver Hanrahan | St Kevin's College | [17] | |
| 2 | 31 | Jack Fitzpatrick | Hawthorn | ||
| 3 | 46 | James Cousins | Murray Bushrangers |
| Date | Player | 2017 team | Reason | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 March 2016 | Shem-Kalvin Tatupu | Retired | [18] | ||
| 28 October 2016 | Matt Spangher | Delisted | [19] [20] | ||
| 28 October 2016 | Angus Litherland | Delisted | |||
| 28 October 2016 | Zac Webster | Delisted | |||
| 28 October 2016 | Lachlan Langford | Delisted | |||
| 28 October 2016 | Alex Woodward | Delisted | |||
| 28 October 2016 | Jermaine Miller-Lewis | Delisted |
The club played three practice matches as part of the 2017 JLT Community Series, and will be played under modified pre-season rules, including nine-point goals.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Report | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Result | ||||||||
| 1 | align=left | Friday, 17 February (7:40 pm) | align=left | 0.15.8 (98) | 1.13.7 (94) | Won by 4 points | University of Tasmania Stadium (H) | Report | ||
| 2 | align=left | Sunday, 26 February (2:05 pm) | align=left | 0.14.11 (95) | 0.11.8 (74) | Lost by 21 points | Arden Street (A) | Report | ||
| 3 | align=left | Sunday, 12 March (12:40 pm) | align=left | 0.14.12 (96) | 1.8.11 (68) | Lost by 28 points | Hickinbotham Oval (A) | Report | ||
| Source | ||||||||||
See also: 2017 AFL season. The full fixture was announced on 27 October 2016.[21] The Melbourne Cricket Ground once again acted as Hawthorn's primary home ground, hosting six of the club's eleven home games, with four home games played at their secondary home ground, University of Tasmania Stadium, in Launceston, and one home game played at Etihad Stadium against the Western Bulldogs in round 23.[22] The club's opponents for the four games in Launceston were,, and in rounds six, eight, 16 and 21 respectively, while the club played,,, and twice during the regular season.[21]
The Hawks began the 2017 season with a 25-point loss to, which welcomed six of its banned players back from a season-long suspension which had spanned the entire 2016 season, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round one;[23] due to the weighted rule, it was the only time the clubs met during the regular season. The club's first home game came the following round, when it hosted 2016 finalists at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in round two.[21] It travelled to Adelaide twice for matches against and Adelaide (for a second time) in rounds 11 and 14 respectively, while it also travelled to the Gold Coast, Sydney and Perth once each, in rounds three, ten and eighteen respectively. Additionally, it played three Friday night matches (two against and one against the Western Bulldogs) and two Thursday night matches (both at the Adelaide Oval) during the regular season, while ten of the club's 21 matches were broadcast on free-to-air.[21]
Based on its finishing position from 2016, Hawthorn's fixture was rated the second-most difficult (only behind) by The Age; it was the fifth consecutive season in which it has been dealt either the most or second-most difficult fixture of any club.[24]
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Record | Report | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||||
| 1 | align=left | Saturday, 25 March (7:25 pm) | align=left | 17.14 (116) | 12.19 (91) | Lost by 25 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 0–1 | Report | ||
| 2 | align=left | Saturday, April 1 (1:45 pm) | align=left | 13.11 (89) | 16.17 (113) | Lost by 24 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 0–2 | Report | ||
| 3 | align=left | Sunday, April 9 (4:40 pm) | align=left | 21.13 (139) | 7.11 (53) | Lost by 86 points | Metricon Stadium (A) | 0–3 | Report | ||
| 4 | align=left | Monday, April 17 (3:20 pm) | align=left | 6.12 (48) | 20.14 (134) | Lost by 86 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 0–4 | Report | ||
| 5 | align=left | Sunday, 23 April (4:40 pm) | align=left | 19.11 (125) | 11.8 (74) | Won by 51 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 1–4 | Report | ||
| 6 | align=left | Saturday, April 29 (1:45 pm) | align=left | 8.7 (55) | 19.16 (130) | Lost by 75 points | University of Tasmania Stadium (H) | 1–5 | Report | ||
| 7 | align=left | Sunday, 7 May (3:20 pm) | align=left | 14.7 (91) | 14.10 (94) | Won by 3 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 2–5 | Report | ||
| 8 | align=left | Saturday, 13 May (1:45 pm) | align=left | 17.11 (113) | 11.9 (75) | Won by 38 points | University of Tasmania Stadium (H) | 3–5 | Report | ||
| 9 | align=left | Saturday, 20 May (7:25 pm) | align=left | 13.12 (90) | 11.6 (72) | Lost by 18 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 3–6 | Report | ||
| 10 | align=left | Friday, 26 May (7:50 pm) | align=left | 11.9 (75) | 12.9 (81) | Won by 6 points | Sydney Cricket Ground (A) | 4–6 | Report | ||
| 11 | align=left | Thursday, 1 June (7:20 pm) | align=left | 13.20 (98) | 7.5 (47) | Lost by 51 points | Adelaide Oval (A) | 4–7 | Report | ||
| 12 | align=left | Saturday, 10 June (1:45 pm) | align=left | 12.7 (79) | 13.17 (95) | Lost by 16 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 4–8 | Report | ||
| 13 | Bye | ||||||||||
| 14 | align=left | Thursday, 22 June (7:20 pm) | align=left | 12.10 (82) | 14.12 (96) | Won by 14 points | Adelaide Oval (A) | 5–8 | Report | ||
| 15 | align=left | Sunday, 2 July (3:20 pm) | align=left | 18.10 (118) | 14.10 (94) | Won by 24 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 6–8 | Report | ||
| 16 | align=left | Saturday, 8 July (1:45 pm) | align=left | 14.13 (97) | 15.7 (97) | Draw | University of Tasmania Stadium (H) | 6–8–1 | Report | ||
| 17 | align=left | Saturday, 15 July (1:45 pm) | align=left | 13.10 (88) | 12.13 (85) | Lost by 3 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 6–9–1 | Report | ||
| 18 | align=left | Saturday, 22 July (5:40 pm) | align=left | 7.6 (48) | 15.10 (100) | Won by 52 points | Domain Stadium (A) | 7–9–1 | Report | ||
| 19 | align=left | Friday, 28 July (7:50 pm) | align=left | 10.12 (72) | 9.12 (66) | Won by 6 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (H) | 8–9–1 | Report | ||
| 20 | align=left | Sunday, 6 August (3:20 pm) | align=left | 13.15 (93) | 9.10 (64) | Lost by 29 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 8–10–1 | Report | ||
| 21 | align=left | Sunday, 13 August (3:20 pm) | align=left | 18.8 (116) | 14.5 (89) | Won by 27 points | University of Tasmania Stadium (H) | 9–10–1 | Report | ||
| 22 | align=left | Saturday, 19 August (7:25 pm) | align=left | 12.5 (77) | 10.10 (70) | Lost by 7 points | Etihad Stadium (A) | 9–11–1 | Report | ||
| 23 | align=left | Friday, 25 August (7:50 pm) | align=left | 15.9 (99) | 13.12 (90) | Won by 9 points | Etihad Stadium (H) | 10–11–1 | Report | ||
| Source | |||||||||||
See also: 2017 Brownlow Medal.
| Player | 1 vote games | 2 vote games | 3 vote games | Total votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 6 | 25 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 11 | 7 | 12 | 61 |
| Player | Round | Charge category | Verdict | Result | Victim | Club | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Striking | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 4 | Rough conduct | Not Guilty | Cleared | |||||
| 5 | Striking | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 8 | Striking | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 10 | Rough conduct | Not Guilty | Cleared | |||||
| 11 | Rough conduct | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 12 | Striking | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 16 | Rough conduct | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 19 | Striking | Guilty | 1 week | [25] | ||||
| 22 | Striking | Guilty | Fine | |||||
| 23 | Rough conduct | Not Guilty | Cleared |