Hawthorn Irishman Conor Nash has re-signed for a further five years, whilst key defender Sam Frost has extended his contract until the end of the 2025 season.
Nash, a fringe player in his first few seasons, has been a revelation since increasing his midfield minutes during Sam Mitchell's tenure. The 198cm international product is averaging 19.5 disposals per game this season andย has laid the most tackles of any Hawk, averaging 5.6 per game. A big-bodied player, Nash's physicality has become one of his best traits.
โIn the past few seasons, Conor has earned universal respect from his teammates for his toughness and physicality around the contest, as well as his willingness to perform selfless shut-down roles for the betterment of the team," Hawthorn National Recruiting & List Manager Mark McKenzie said in the club's announcement.
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Frost has been a stalwart in defence this season. Losing just 18.8% of one-on-one defensive contests and averaging 4.8 intercept possessions, Frost has much improved his reliability with ball-in-hand.
Frost said in his announcement that narrowing his focus on his role has helped him turn a corner form-wise.
"We've got a lot of offensive weapons in our back half, so [I'm] really just focusing on playing a negating, key defensive role. Just trying to be good in the contest and beat my opponent and not really having too much outside of that to worry about has helped me," he said.
Nash too has developed his consistency week-to-week in recent seasons. Initially playing as a forward in his early years, Mitchell switched Nash into the midfield during his VFL stints in 2021. As Mitchell took the helm from Alastair Clarkson in 2022, Nash was rewarded with midfield time in the Hawthorn side. It led to a career-best year in 2023, with Nash averaging 24 disposals and placing third in the Peter Crimmins Medal count.
Formerly a Giant and Demon, Frost has built upon his consistency at Waverley Park, playing all 19 games this season, and remains on track to surpass the 22 he played in 2021.
"Getting some consistency on the track through pre-season and training during the season has gone a long way," Frost said.
Frost's improvements have been a welcome sight for a Hawthorn team decimated with injuries to their backline. Before Round 1, Hawthorn had long-term injuries to James Blanck (anterior cruciate ligament), Denver Grainger-Barras (toe), Changkuoth Jiath (hamstring) and Will McCabe (back).
Since then, only Jiath has returned to the side, however Frost's lockdown performances have catapulted Hawthorn into contention for a shock finals berth.
Since Round 8, where Hawthorn went in holding a 1-6 record, the Hawks have become the best defensive team in the competition, conceding just 70.6 points per game, winning 10 of their last 12 matches.
With finals on the horizon for this year and seasons to come, Nash and Frost will remain key pillars in Hawthorn's next period of success.
