Hawthorn livewire Nick Watson says players have Port Adelaide clash circled

He might only be entering his second year in the AFL, but Hawthorn livewire Nick Watson is ready enough to call out the fact he and his teammates want “revenge” against Port Adelaide and coach Ken Hinkley for their part in the unfavourable end to their 2024 campaign.

As Watson, 19, confirmed there would be some “rescheduling” after he and enigmatic teammate Jack Ginnivan left a host of young fans high and dry by the last-minute cancellation of a post-season clinic, he said the clash with Port during Gather Round was well and truly circled on his calendar.

Watson and Ginnivan copped significant criticism for skipping the clinic, which some 80 kids and their parents had paid $65 to attend and was scheduled the day after the club’s best and fairest award.

The clinic wasn’t club sanctioned, the players’ manager apologised and Watson confirmed on Wednesday that it would happen “some time soon”.

“I’m not going to go into too much detail about that, but there’s definitely rescheduling and hopefully we can do it some time soon,” he said, while helping unveil a family Christmas activation at Marvel Stadium.

It will come before Watson and the brash young Hawks begin their 2025 campaign still stinging from the way this season ended, a three-point loss to Port and some sledging from Hinkley to Ginnivan on Adelaide Oval after the siren.

Hawthorn captain James Sicily was then caught in an exchange with the Port coach who was fined $20,000 by the AFL for “conduct unbecoming”.

It sets the scene for a fiery rematch in April, one of a suite of prime-time matches given to the Hawks in 2025 after making a huge surge in 2024.

“Definitely a couple of the early games, and that Gather Round clash against Port will be pretty good,” Watson said.

“Just because of what they did to us last year, I think everyone’s pretty keen to get their revenge back.”

Watson said the return of the players to pre-season training showed an incredible hunger to not just replicate the efforts of 2024, which included an elimination final win over the Western Bulldogs, but go even better under coach Sam Mitchell.

“The (hunger’s) definitely there and it’s just good to see everyone’s faces back (at pre-season training) and smiling,” Watson said.

“We’ve got two big recruits in Battle and Barrass to (supplement) our backline.

“We had a strong year last year, but we’re not satisfied yet. We’ve all got that hunger and desire to go one better, and that all starts from now really.”

Watson, who overcame some early “hiccups” to post 25 goals from 18 games, including seven in two finals as a key figure in the Hawks’ so-called “rascal pack”, is also looking to make a bigger impact.

“I obviously had a few hiccups during my first season, but (I just want) to improve off that,” Watson said.

“It’s my second year now, so hopefully I can go a bit better than last year.”