Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Mitchell’s best Hawthorn team and Brereton’s top 5 Hawks
Andrew Slevison • May 4th, 2025 1:00 pm
Hawthorn’s 100-year celebrations take place at the MCG on Sunday.
The Hawks host Richmond at the MCG to mark the centenary of their first ever VFL match against the Tigers back in 1925.
To mark the day, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has spoken of the Hawks era, of the 13 premierships the club has won, that he considers to be the best.
Mitchell played in four premierships himself (2008, 2013-15) but believes the team(s) that made eight Grand Finals in nine years through the 1980s and into the early 1990s, winning five flags in that time, should be praised as the best.
“You always overvalue your own history of course,” Mitchell said on SEN’s Fireball.
“I always think back and every year you make progress. You know that if you play the same footy this year that you did last year you would get beaten.
“So any team this year would beat those teams because of the progress of the game, sports science, medical, and all those different areas.
“It would be very difficult to say the team that made the Grand Final eight years in a row. If you grabbed the best of that era in the mid-1980s, I think you’re going to have a team that is comparative to any other team of that era.
“You have to say that is going to be pretty unstoppable. Even as a non-Hawthorn person you’re going to know more than half of that team an that’s now 40 years ago.
“When you look at that it’s pretty special. Probably half of that team is in the Hall of Fame.”
Five-time premiership Hawk Dermott Brereton, who spent over a decade at the club, was one of the key figures in the era named by Mitchell.
Brereton credits the Hawthorn Football Club for giving him a great boost early in his adulthood while being the central point to his life.
“I love the Hawthorn Football Club,” Brereton said on SEN’s Dwayne’s World.
“They’ve given me a life, given me a chance, and I cannot thank them enough.
“I played two years at two others clubs (Collingwood and Sydney), which I’m eternally grateful for, and that helped round out some character flaws by kicking in a butt in those final two years.
“I kind of wish I was one a one-club player but I learnt so much going to two other clubs.
“But the pure love I have for the sport is founded on the Hawthorn footy club. Once you take family out of life’s equation, it’s been the centre point of my life. They’ve been awesome.”
Brereton also named the top 5 players, in his opinion, to pull on the brown and gold.
Derm’s top 5
1 - Leigh Matthews2 - Peter Hudson3 - Lance Franklin4 - John Platten5 - Jason Dunstall
Apology: Gary Ayres
“My favourite to watch of all-time was Cyril Rioli but I don’t know if he’s in the top 5 when you consider some of the other players,” said Brereton.
Hawthorn’s 100th anniversary celebration game against the Tigers kicks off from 3:20pm AEST on Sunday.
