The 2019 Hawthorn Football Club season was the club's 95th season in the Australian Football League and 118th overall, the 20th season playing home games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 19th season playing home games at the University of Tasmania Stadium, the 15th season under head coachAlastair Clarkson,[2] and the 1st season with Ben Stratton as club captain.[3] A 19-point loss to Sydney in round 14 meant that Hawthorn could not match their 15–7 record from 2018. A 70-point win over Gold Coast meant that for a tenth-consecutive season Hawthorn won at least 10 games. Hawthorn finished the season in ninth-place with an 11–11 record, thus missing the finals for the second time in the last three seasons.
Club summary
The 2019 AFL season was the 123rd season of the VFL/AFL competition since its inception in 1897; having entered the competition in 1925, it was the 95th season contested by the Hawthorn Football Club. Tasmania and iiNet continued as the club's two major sponsors, as they have done since 2006 and 2013 respectively,[4][5] while Adidas continued to manufacture the club's on-and-off field apparel, as they have done since 2013.[6] Hawthorn continued its alignment with the Box Hill Hawks Football Club in the Victorian Football League, allowing Hawthorn-listed players to play with the Box Hill Hawks when not selected in AFL matches.
Senior personnel
On 30 August 2018, it was announced that assistant coach Brett Ratten would be joining St Kilda as an assistant coach following the conclusion of the 2018 season.[7] On 4 October 2018, it was announced that Chris Newman would be elevated from coach of Victorian Football League affiliate Box Hill Hawks to an assistant coach. Max Bailey was appointed as coach of Box Hill.[8] On 6 October 2018, it was announced that coach Alastair Clarkson had signed a 3-year contract extension, keeping Clarkson at the club until the end of the 2022 season.[9] On 8 October 2018, it was confirmed that Director of High Performance Andrew Russell would be departing the club after fourteen seasons, having accepted a position at Carlton.[10] On 19 October 2018, it was announced that former player and 2008 AFL premiership captainSam Mitchell would return to the club as an assistant coach, having been an assistant coach at West Coast and helping the club win the 2018 AFL Grand Final.[11] On 3 November 2018, Torin Baker was announced as the new development coach, filling the role previously held by Max Bailey.[12] On 27 November 2018, it was announced that Jarryd Roughead would not continue on as captain in 2019.[13]Ben Stratton would be named as Roughead's successor on 28 February 2019.[3]