Hawthorn great Brad Sewell has challenged the Hawks' ageing stars to aim up after anointing Greater Western Sydney as the 2017 AFL flag favourites.
While Sewell expects the youthful Giants to revel in their newfound status as the team to beat, the dual premiership winner admits he's unsure if the Hawks have reached an end of a golden era following the side's week-two finals exit in 2016.
"We really don't know," he told AAP on Wednesday as the Hawks look to also recover from the defection of former captain and Brownlow Medallist Sam Mitchell to West Coast and fellow influential midfielder Jordan Lewis to Melbourne.
"There's so much unknown in this side for probably for the first time in almost a decade in that they've lost a couple of their stars.
"But at the same time they've brought in some genuine talent that has the potential to really catapult the side and get them rebounding off losing a couple of their stars."
Sewell is excited by the arrival of Tom Mitchell from Sydney, especially after the young gun's outstanding season for the Swans, and Jaeger O'Meara from Gold Coast.
"The concerns will be, as they have been for the last three or four years, is that it is an ageing side," he said.
"But the exciting thing is that Clarko (coach Alistair Clarkson) has always been able to regenerate the talent within the team.
"There's great depth and we all know the side's always had a fantastic culture.
"The two guys they've brought in are both, if not genuine A graders, then very close to it and will play for the next 10 years for the club."
Sewell, who retired at just 30 after Hawthorn's triumphant 2014 season - the second of the club's three straight premierships - suspects Hawthorn's veterans will be stinging after having their grand final streak broken this year.
But he has a word of warning too.
"They're such a proud club of course," he said.
"And because there is such internal competition within the team - and there has been for a number of years - it just means that these young guys are going to keep pushing up.
"If the older boys aren't pulling their weight and playing to their level, they'll get spat out."
Sewell believes the Giants, who fell a goal shy of a grand final berth in 2016, are deserving new title favourites after Hawthorn's long run as perennial pre-season flag fancies.
"I mean, to play as well as they did last year and they're still so young and they're still so young in their list," he said.
"Their potential for the next couple of years is huge.
"I get the impression they're the type of side that are going to enjoy being the hunted. They're a young, brash team that seem to enjoy the confrontation and like the attention."
Share
