The Wizard delivers: Nick Watson stakes his claim when Hawthorn need him most
Nick Watson is making the strongest case in football as the AFL's best small forward, and he has timed it for Hawthorn's finals run.
That is the assessment in analysis published on 16 September 2026, just as the Hawks push deep into September when small forwards often decide tight games The Guardian.
A small forward is the sharp-end attacker. Shorter and quicker than the key forwards, he lives close to goal, chases, pressures and snaps the chances others spill.
Fremantle knew the danger a fortnight ago. For the qualifying final, a playoff that decides who gets the easier path through the finals, the Dockers recalled Brandon Walker for his speed after he had not played since early March, specifically to try to contain Watson The Guardian.
Watson has a habit of answering in finals. In the September 2024 semi-final against Port Adelaide, he kicked two goals in two minutes to put Hawthorn in front for the first time since the opening minute. A year later, in the 2025 first semi-final against Adelaide, he split the big posts with an exquisite drop punt, the standard straight kick used for most shots at goal.
They call him the Wizard. Hawthorn held firm at the draft to select him with Pick 5 in the 2023 National Draft, the league's main intake of teenage talent Hawthorn FC.
Coach Sam Mitchell spotted it early. Watson trained with Hawthorn in the pre-season before he was drafted and impressed Mitchell immediately.
Mitchell judges young prospects on simple tests. Can they handball cleanly with both hands. Do they fumble balls below their knees. Can they turn on a dime The Guardian.
The start was rocky. Until June 2024 Watson battled injuries, wayward goalkicking and stints in the VFL, the state second tier where AFL-listed players go to find form. Hawthorn lost six of its first seven games early in 2024 while he was sidelined.
Then came a glimpse. In Dustin Martin's 300th game in June 2024, Watson collected a spilling ball at full speed halfway through the first quarter, took a bounce, swept around the boundary line and kicked to teammate Dylan Moore.
He built from there. Watson was the Round 19 Telstra AFL Rising Star nominee in 2024, the weekly award for the league's best young player, after flourishing through 2025 to earn a famous club number for 2026.
This season has been his most consistent. He kicked an equal-career-best five goals in Hawthorn's 16-point win over North Melbourne at UTAS Stadium in round 21 to keep the Hawks in the hunt for a top-two spot AFL.com.au. He added three against the Suns to reach 36 goals for 2026, form that had Mitchell hailing his maturity as Coleman Medal contention loomed, the award for the league's leading goalkicker AFL.com.au.
Hawthorn has locked him in. Watson extended his contract to remain at the club until 2029 Hawthorn FC.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Young forwards often fade in September when space shrinks and hits get harder. Watson is going the other way.
