WHAT goes up must come down.
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Not only do the laws of gravity apply on planet Earth, but also in elite footy system.
The reality is that Hawthorn has bucked this trend for the best part of Alastair Clarkson's 15-year tenure at the club.
Fifteen years, 10 finals series, four flags. It's not a bad record.
Clarkson's approach and theories on list management are fascinating.
There's evidence to suggest he doesn't necessarily trust the draft.
While Hawthorn's picks haven't been disasters of late - look to James Worpel as an example - it's the Hawks' use of the trade market which underlines this concept.
Jonathon Patton, Chad Wingard, Tom Scully, Jaeger O'Meara, Jarman Impey, Sam Frost, Tom Mitchell, James Frawley and Ricky Henderson are just some of the club's pick-ups through either trades or free agency in recent years.
Pick through that list and you find a Brownlow medallist in Mitchell, an electric midfielder-forward in Wingard, and three injury-prone yet immensely talented footballers in Patton, Scully and O'Meara.
Furthermore, 10 of the Hawks' 22 players in the club's seven-point loss to Sydney on Saturday were recruited outside the draft. Another two were on the injury list.
All of the players Hawthorn has secured outside the draft have big upside but there's an obvious risk with this approach.
All of the players Hawthorn has secured outside the draft have big upside but there's an obvious risk with this approach.
Hawthorn has the third-oldest list in the competition and has the equal-most players aged above 30 in the competition with seven.
The problem is that the AFL's equalisation system doesn't want clubs to be playing finals as often as Hawthorn has managed to do without a full-scale reset and rebuild.
And when a club builds a list with a heavy focus not on youth, but on recycled players, expectations rise.
There's less development time and to an extent, clubs are theoretically getting players battle-hardened and ready to make an impact.
Clarkson insists the Hawks current plight - they're third-bottom on the AFL ladder - is nothing more than a minor slump.
But outside noise and pressure is mounting.
Clarkson has demonstrated he's willing to make tough calls on players - see Jordan Lewis and Sam Mitchell - and this might need again be considered in coming years if results don't pick up.
How long can one club stay at the top without some time to breathe, reassess its strategy and reload for another flag tilt?
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