Hawks rapt as star AFL recruits impress

The commonly-held assumption about Hawthorn this season is that Alastair Clarkson’s four-time AFL premiers will come off the boil.

But what if big-name recruits Jaeger O’Meara, Tom Mitchell and Ty Vickery all fire?

And what if new captain Jarryd Roughead returns to top form in his comeback from cancer?

The Hawks had a glimpse of what might be possible this season in Sunday’s pre-season loss to North Melbourne at Arden St.

While ball use was an issue, there were plenty of good signs in the 0.13.17 (95) to 11.8 (74) result.

As Roughead had another solid hitout, O’Meara, Mitchell and Vickery played together for the first time – and all impressed.

O’Meara and Mitchell racked up 20-plus possessions through the midfield, while Vickery took six marks as a key forward and kicked two goals.

Former captain Luke Hodge and fellow veterans Jack Gunston and Luke Breust also played for the first time in the pre-season.

Clarkson stunned the AFL when he traded out Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis, making way for O’Meara (from Gold Coast) and Tom Mitchell (Sydney) in particular, as the Hawks also recruited Vickery from Richmond.

“It’s a good start – they were solid today,” assistant coach Cameron Bruce said of the high-profile trio.

“They still have areas we’d like them to get better at and they’re building relationships with a group of players.

“It’s very early on in the piece and thankfully we have some more time to develop those relationships.”

O’Meara, in particular, is proving an early success for Hawthorn.

The 2013 Rising Star winner did not play at all over the past two seasons as he battled to overcome knee injuries.

But he has impressed in the Hawks’ two pre-season matches.

“He’s performing well throughout the games and throughout the week,” Bruce said.

“It’s a credit to the fitness and conditioning staff to get him in a position where he’s really confident with his body – and confident he can get through solid hitouts.

“We’ll just continue with that path.”

Bruce was asked if it was his gut feel that O’Meara would play in round one against Essendon.

“At this point in time it is, but there’s still a few weeks to go,” he said.

“He’s where we expected him to be, with the program that we put in place for him.”

Meanwhile, Gold Coast Suns held on to beat Essendon by three points on Sunday in Mackay, 0.12.7 (79) to 0.12.4 (76).

Alex Sexton stood out with 25 disposals and two goals as the Suns won their second pre-season match, while the Bombers are winless from their two hitouts.

In his first game for West Coast, Sam Mitchell starred with 28 disposals as they belted Fremantle by 55 points.

New Dockers captain Nat Fyfe also returned in the 0.16.11 (107) to 0.8.4 (52) loss.

Melbourne dominated Carlton by 54 points on Saturday at Casey Fields, and Richmond beat Adelaide by 19 points on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.

St Kilda opened the second week of pre-season games with a one-point win over Port Adelaide on Thursday night, also at Etihad Stadium.

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