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Find your Sport Nation frequencyThe young Hawk who caught Tim Watson’s eye in first practice match
Andrew Slevison • February 19th, 2025 12:14 pm
V/AFL legend Tim Watson was taken by what he saw from a talented young Hawthorn player in the club’s practice match against Geelong on Monday.
The youngster in question is midfielder Cam Mackenzie who did some things against the Cats that impressed Watson.
Mackenzie was Pick 7 in the 2022 draft and has already played 34 AFL games in brown and gold across two seasons so has a solid grounding from which to launch his career.
While the 21-year-old may not yet be a frontliner in Watson’s eyes, he possesses the attributes to become a key component of Hawthorn’s quality midfield unit.
“There was one kid that caught my eye when watching the Hawthorn game and that is Mackenzie,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
“He looks like he’s going to be a real player. He’s got speed, he’s got really good sideways movement, he’s got energy.
“I don’t know whether he’s ready for a frontline midfield role for them yet, but he wouldn’t be that far away.
“You’ve got two hard nuts in (Jai) Newcombe and (James) Worpel, you’ve got (Will) Day who is a bit of both (inside and outside), you’ve got (Conor) Nash who is still a really good, underrated player at AFL level.”
Apart from Mackenzie’s impressive showing, the practice match loss to the Cats saw the brilliant return of Will Day.
The 2023 best and fairest missed last year’s finals series with a collarbone issue but was back with a bang in the first real hit-out of 2025.
Garry Lyon expects Hawks fans to be totally buoyed by what Day produced ahead of a season in which they are expected to genuinely contend.
“Last year we did the segment at this time of year of taking the lid off,” said Lyon.
“Don’t even think about that this as not important - Will Day for a Brownlow Medal.
“That’s how Hawthorn fans would be seeing that, the way he started that game. He’s an incredible talent.”
The Hawks will next take on the Western Bulldogs in the AAMI Community Series in Launceston on February 27 ahead of their 2025 season opener against Sydney at the SCG in Opening Round on March 7.
