Hawthorn's final pre-season tune-up ahead of its Opening Zero clash against Sydney has seen a late charge by a young father-son selection to claim a spot in the Hawks forward line.
After a strong showing this pre-season, young Hawk Will McCabe has been named in Hawthorn's 26-man squad to take on the Bulldogs in the last of the team's practice matches before the start of the premiership season.
With Mitch Lewis and Calsher Dear watching on as they recover from injury, a potential spot next to Mabior Chol opened as the Hawks look to lock down their key tall combination for the start of the season.
It appeared that fellow youngster Max Ramsden had the inside running for the vacant position after some consistent performances during match simulation, however McCabe has made a late dash for the spot.
McCabe, in his second year at the Hawks, had been pencilled in for a position in the backline as a key defender after playing defence for the Hawks' VFL affiliate Box Hill at the end of 2024.
With the Hawks' depth in the key defender ranks with new arrivals Tom Barrass and Josh Battle, as well as the form of Jack Scrimshaw and Sam Frost in 2024, the Hawthorn backline was going to be a challenge to break into this season.
The delayed start to the season for both Lewis and Dear due to injuries meant that the Hawks hadn't been able to solidify the key tall combinations, and a chance for McCabe appeared.
The 197cm key tall, who had starred as a key defender in the South Australian under-18 team in his draft year, had also plied his trade as a forward in his junior years, and a potential switch to the forward line was flirted with.
During the Hawks training camp at Torquay in late January, McCabe had his first opportunity as a forward and showed promising signs, with his leading patterns and ability to read the ball off the boot standing out.
The following fortnight, at Hawthorn's match simulation at Bunjil Bagora, McCabe dazzled, kicking two goals in a 10-minute patch, including a superb individual effort where he wrong-footed an opponent before snapping a major.
Throughout his short stint as a forward, in both intra-club simulations and also match the practice match against the Cats at GMHBA Stadium, he has shown plenty of confidence and forward craft in the role as a forward, calling upon his earlier experiences in his junior years to assist him.
After an injury-interrupted 2024 stopped him from being able to pressure for senior selection, McCabe is ready to show why the Hawks were keen to draft him.
Selected with Pick 19 in the 2023 AFL draft after Hawthorn matched a bid and selected him as a father-son selection, McCabe showed positive signs in the pre-season last year before he suffered an unfortunate stress fracture in his back that put him on the shelf for 16 weeks.
After completing a small training block, he made his return to the park, debuting in the VFL for Box Hill in Round 15.
He featured in seven games at the back end of the VFL season, where his intercept marking and decision-making stood out.
The loss of Dear, who is another father-son selection at the Hawks, to a stress fracture in his back has left the door ajar for McCabe to put his name in lights as a potential forward option.
Hawks fans will be watching on intently during the club's final hitout of the pre-season to see if McCabe can have a similar impact to Dear in the Hawthorn forward line.
For McCabe, a strong performance against the Bulldogs in Launceston will put his name well and truly in the minds of the selectors to partner with Mabior Chol as the key pillars in attack.
Hawthorn's 2025 premiership tilt begins in Opening Zero against last year's grand finalists the Swans at the SCG on Friday, March 7.
