Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn : Pick 7, Cam MacKenzie, extends to 2026!

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[QuietB]

Always look at the stat sheet after a game and am surprised by how few possessions Cam has had, speaks volumes of his impact when he does get the pill

Worth noting that Hawthorn has never been big on cheapies around the back.

 

[QuietB]

His kicking inside 50 chef's kiss

Is getting used to the game now, finding space and not rushing. Loved his goal on the weekend.

The Sam Mitchell clone...

I reckon he has a metre or two on Sammie.

I still remember the start of Mitchell's career. I swear he was getting paid by the umpires department to hand the ball back to them at every single stoppage.

 

[SammyC]

He will get fitter and smarter, which will help him get the ball more. Sam himself went from 100% extractor to getting his share of easy ball.

Mackenzie getting 30 touches will add a lot.

 

[The hands of stone]

Got the Hoyne 'keep an eye on' tonight on sports day ......normally high praise on a player going somewhere

 

[nelk boys]

Got the Hoyne 'keep an eye on' tonight on sports day ......normally high praise on a player going somewhere

If everything comes together, he will be our best mid.

Tall goal kicking midfielder. His spacial awareness is elite.

 

[Lawsy]

If everything comes together, he will be our best mid.

Tall goal kicking midfielder. His spacial awareness is elite.

I'd love for that to be the case as it would mean we have two elite tall mids with spacial awareness. I still think Day has the higher ceiling though.

 

[toomanysquibs]

If everything comes together, he will be our best mid.

Tall goal kicking midfielder. His spacial awareness is elite.

With pace too.

We've yet to see a lot of it, but once he's fit to run out a game people are going to start noticing he's got the acceleration to compliment his sidestep and ability to drive well in heavy traffic.

 

[toomanysquibs]

I'd love for that to be the case as it would mean we have two elite tall mids with spacial awareness. I still think Day has the higher ceiling though.

Day has come a long way from his early days, no reason why Mackenzie won't develop a whole lot more also over the next few years.

That said, Day is absolute doing some Fyfe like things here and there this year. He took a great mark playing forward at full extension this week, and kicked a great goal spinning out of traffic while being tackled against Port.

 

[threesixpio]

Day has come a long way from his early days, no reason why Mackenzie won't develop a whole lot more also over the next few years.

That said, Day is absolute doing some Fyfe like things here and there this year. He took a great mark playing forward at full extension this week, and kicked a great goal altering spinning out of traffic while being tackled against Port.

I had a Daygasm with that mark

 

[humid hawk]

Early in the 4th he went back with the flight of the ball - didn't hesitate for a second. He got crunched and stood right back up.

He has sublime skills and great footwork but his hardness is underrated I reckon.

 

[Philhawk]

I feel like I’m writing this about a new bloke every week.

He’s arrived.

My goodness be had a good game yesterday. His midfield craft is getting better and better every week.

There was one play where he flew threw a couple, got the clearance, ran into the 50 and was about to kick a gorgeous goal before being caught.

Next time, he nails that.

 

[The hands of stone]

Was a bit surprised to see his stats , was damaging and influential I thought .

Once he starts clicking over 20 plus a game look out .
And consistently kicking goals now .

Is a beauty.

 

[dermott]

Was a bit surprised to see his stats , was damaging and influential I thought .

Once he starts clicking over 20 plus a game look out .
And consistently kicking goals now .

Is a beauty.

Yep. I love watching Cam and Day step through heavy traffic. In today’s footy jargon their spatial awareness and lateral movement is elite.
He also looks confident kicking for goal which unfortunately can’t be said for Day. Goal kicking is possibly the only weakness in Will’s armoury.

 

[BobHawk]

Cam looks to be looking to kick goals now. He got 2 but I thought his burst out of the middle running into F50 was a sight. He got nailed on the periphery (just) but I think it was very exciting for the future.

 

[Iceman!]

Surprised at how quickly he seems to be improving, it was only 6-8 weeks ago it felt he was struggling to get involved at all, now it already feels like he is super super impactful. Think he will finish the year strongly and we could see a huge breakout in 2025.

 

[daniel23]

Star

 

[tommyk72]

Was a bit surprised to see his stats , was damaging and influential I thought .

Once he starts clicking over 20 plus a game look out .
And consistently kicking goals now .

Is a beauty.

Gave away multiple frees. Thats why his fantasy score was so low (have had him in my team all year waiting for him to explode!).

 

[MrPremiership]

That two-handed ball hold out in front when he's running and scanning for options, blimey its a Sam Mitchell clone

Growing in confidence, only played 27 games.
Going to be special

 

[CHUBBSS]

Theirs glimpses now where I worry what the competition will do when he hits 100 games his going to be so ****ing good we will cop hate

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Media sleeping on how good this kid is going to be.

 

[lyger]

That two-handed ball hold out in front when he's running and scanning for options, blimey its a Sam Mitchell clone

Growing in confidence, only played 27 games.
Going to be special

We all have been raving about Weddle and rightly so, but Frenchie is also going to be something special and will be a mainstay of our midfield along with Day for a long time to come.

 

[toomanysquibs]

The chinks in his armor are getting smaller. Was still influential late in the game, kicked both those goals in Q4.

His speed is starting to show also: moved sideways out of congestion at a center bounce, then the jets came on and he was running forward.

Previously that was a release to someone else.

Next will come the endurance to allow him not get run down crossing 50. But either way he's influencing so many contests now he's becoming part of the Day, Worpel, Newcombe Nash ensemble.

 

[Hawkspot]

I saw on the weekend he spent a lot of time on the wing, whenever CJ or Mass were off he would be there. Haven’t been to a game for a while so it surprised how much time he spent running a wing.

Along with 8 cba’s and a chunk of midfield minutes, 80% time on ground is incredible.

 

[Titch3Votes0MooreAA]

He was fantastic on the weekend, particularly in the second half. I know I'm biased because he's my favourite player, but I really do think Cam Mackenzie can be right there with Will Day (time will tell whether Weddle moves to the midfield and dominates) as our best player in a multiple-time Premiership-winning side. The emergence of his ability to hit the scoreboard and have an effect on the game forward of center, which he has shown on several occasions now, is undoubtedly going to make him a top midfielder and player in this league if his smooth-moving, cleanilness, poise, decision-making, tenacity, and elite stoppage craft don't already.

I really do hope Sam Mitchell will now permanently play him in that forward/midfield (with greater CBAs) role instead of playing him on the wing or at halfback because we are at our best as a team with Cam winning clearances or getting forward of centre, hitting the scoreboard, and creating scoring opportunities. And if that means reducing the CBAs of Day, Newcombe, etc. and playing them up forward (as Sam partly did on the weekend) to get Cam (as well as Moore and Ward when he returns) more midfield time, I think it's worth it.

 

[Sixpence]

He's coming on in leaps and bounds. Looking a better prospect than Pou, who some were bemoaning we should have taken. (Though, I do think Pou will still be decent)