Ahead of Hawthorn's 1983 premiership reunion next week, we've taken a look back at that year that resulted in the ultimate success. 

We'll be telling the story across four instalments - to begin here's how the opening five rounds of the 1983 home and away season unfolded for the Hawks. 

After finishing third in 1982, and with several comfortable practice match wins behind them, including against reigning Premier Carlton, the Hawks entered the 1983 season with considerable confidence.

There was one significant new recruit, the 25-year-old Ken Judge from East Fremantle, who had shown outstanding form in the practice matches and it was certainly a relief when his clearance came through in time for Round 1. On the other side of the ledger, Geoff Ablett was still on the Hawthorn list, but was seeking a clearance to Richmond, which he achieved by Round 7.

Judge was the only new player in Round 1, but there were significant absentees with both Leigh Matthews and Peter Knights unavailable through injury for the clash with Fitzroy at the Junction Oval. A crowd of 15,626 saw Hawthorn skip away to a 29-point quarter time lead, retaining a healthy margin for most of the game, before the Lions scored a flurry of late goals to cut the final margin to 19 points - 20.11.131 to 16.16.112.

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Michael Moncrieff kicked seven goals and debutant Judge three. As well as Moncrieff at full-forward, the other outstanding player was full-back Kelvin Moore, although, interestingly, neither of them ended playing in the Premiership at the end of the season. Moore was Hawthorn’s leading possession getter with 25 disposals, also pulling in 13 marks, while others in the best players included Gary Ayres, Rodney Eade and John Kennedy. The Social Notes in the Football Record encouraged fans to head back to the Social Club after the game and try out ‘the new Joyces Bistro’, an aspect of the Social Club which quickly became an institution.

Round 2 was played on the Easter weekend with Hawthorn being in one of three games on the Monday, one of only two games in Hawthorn’s entire 1983 season which was not played on a Saturday afternoon. There was one change to the team with skipper Matthews returning at the expense of Scott Wade. In overcast and damp conditions at Princes Park, Hawthorn won a scrappy game against Sydney by 25 points – 9.16.70 to 5.15.45, in front of a crowd of 16,295. Moncrieff showed incredible efficiency kicking five goals from just five kicks, while Michael Tuck with 34 disposals was Hawthorn’s best player, followed by Peter Russo and Terry Wallace. The win left Hawthorn on top of the ladder as one of only two unbeaten teams (Geelong was the other) and Moncrieff was equal leading League goalkicker with 12 (with Fitzroy’s Bernie Quinlan).

Hawthorn selected an unchanged team for the Round 3 trip to Moorabbin to face the winless St Kilda. The game was remarkably one-sided with the Hawks winning 26.15.171 to 6.6.42. Matthews and Moncrieff both kicked six goals and Gary Buckenara four. Rodney Eade had 31 disposals and Terry Wallace 29, while 18-year-old Dermott Brereton’s eight marks and two goals saw him included in the best players, along with Richard Loveridge and Chris Mew. Kelvin Moore had to endure the usual antics of Mark Jackson who had moved to the Saints from Melbourne in the off-season.

For the second week in a row, there were no changes to the team for the Round 4 game against Footscray at Princes Park. The day got off to a good start for Hawks’ fans as the Football Record had a Michael Tuck action shot on the cover and the Reserves came from behind to make it four wins from four games. However, the Seniors failed to do the same, going down to Footscray by 21 points – 17.16.118 to 12.25.97. Michael Tuck, Colin Robertson and Gary Ayres were among the best in the losing effort.

Just three days after the loss to Footscray, Hawthorn was back in action, beginning its Night Series (known as the Sterling Cup) campaign on a Tuesday night against Essendon at VFL Park. There were nine changes from the team which played the previous Saturday, but the side was still strong enough to beat Essendon 15.10.100 to 11.4.70. The one problem was that both Dermott Brereton and Colin Robertson were reported and while Robertson escaped suspension, Brereton received a two-week penalty for striking.

Having had no changes for the previous two rounds, the Round 5 team had six changes from the Round 4 team, with Brereton suspended, Rodney Eade and Michael Byrne injured, and three players omitted. The six inclusions included two debutants, Peter Curran from Canterbury and Russell Shields from Frankston, plus four previous Premierships players making their first appearances in 1983 – Peter Knights, David Polkinghorne, Robert Dipierdomenico and Michael McCarthy.

The crowd of 28,506 at Victoria Park for the game against Collingwood saw Hawthorn take took control half-way through the first quarter through two goals to Tuck and one to Matthews and retain a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game, winning by 22 points - 14.11.95 to 9.19.73. The Age match report praised defenders David Polkinghorne (on Peter Daicos) and Robert Dipiedomenico, for ‘staying close and waiting for the Collingwood forwards to make their inevitable mistakes’. Tuck finished with four goals, and the debutants, Curran and Shields both contributed two majors. The best players included Tuck, Greene, Wallace, Knights and Matthews.

So, after five rounds of the 1983 season, Hawthorn was one of four teams with 4-1 records, being second on the ladder on percentage behind Fitzroy (which had won four in a row after the opening day loss to the Hawks), and ahead of Geelong and Footscray. The other team in the Five with a 3-2 record was North Melbourne, with Essendon and Carlton out of the Five on percentage. Michael Moncrieff was equal second on the goalkicking with 19, five behind Mark Jackson who had 24.

Next up – A significant stumble – Rounds 6 to 11 of Hawthorn’s 1983 season.