Hawthorn officials say the club’s dominant midfield depth could be all that’s keeping Colac export Cooper Stephens from debuting with the Hawks.
The 22-year-old former Geelong footballer, who played seven games in a breakout season with the Cats last year, crossed to Hawthorn last year in a deal that sent Tom Mitchell to Collingwood and Ollie Henry to Geelong.
After batting to squeeze into Geelong’s star-studded engine room in three years with the Cats, football followers expected Stephens’ shift to Waverley would lead to more game time.
Stephens has averaged 20 disposals, 3.4 tackles and 3.6 marks in five games with Hawthorn’s VFL affiliate Box Hill, but is yet to crack into the Hawks’ senior side after eight rounds.
Hawthorn development coach and Box Hill coach Zane Littlejohn said Stephens was progressing nicely at the club, but played the one position that made it hard to earn a call-up.
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Where To Buy“First of all he’s just looking for a bit of continuity, he had some really good form early and then missed with a corked calf a few weeks ago,” he said.
“But arguably Hawthorn’s best players, Jai Newcombe, James Worpel and Will Day, are all playing the same position that Coops is pushing for.
“But the good thing is that we know he’s played at that level, so when he’s required we know he can compete.”
Littlejohn, who spent the past six years at the Brisbane Lions both as a development coach and head coach of the Lions Academy, said he was rapt to hear that Stephens was joining the Hawks in the off-season.
“I actually got firsthand experience last year when he was still at Geelong,” he said.
“I coached at Brisbane last year, and when we played Geelong in the VFL at Geelong, Cooper absolutely tore us apart, he played a really good game.
“So when I got the job at Hawthorn and saw he got traded in, I was pretty excited to get him.
“He’s a great talent and I was excited to work with him.”
Littlejohn said Stephens, who Geelong selected with pick 16 in the 2019 national draft, was quick to make an impression in his first pre-season with
Hawthorn, training alongside his former Geelong Falcons premiership teammate James Worpel.
“The first thing I noticed was how tough he was, coming up against (Jai) Newcombe and Worpel and (Will) Day and matching it with them,” Littlejohn said.
“They breed them tough down (in Colac),” he said.
“But he’s super tough, he impressed me with his ability to win his own ball inside, embrace pressure, disposal of the ball.”
Stephens averaged 19.5 disposals in his first two Box Hill games before an injury setback.
He returned with a 24-disposals performance against Coburg, and had a season-best 26 touches and a goal in a win over the Northern Bullants on the weekend.
“He’s been really promising,” Littlejohn said.
“At the moment he’s working on his outside game, and he’s starting to work more on his forward craft, which has been promising,” he said.
Littlejohn said he was uncertain how far off an AFL call-up was for Stephens.
“I don’t really know,” he said.
“He’s in the conversations each week about AFL selection.
“The issues we’ve got at Hawthorn at the moment, although we’re not winning a lot of games, we’ve got some guys playing really good footy.
“You can’t fit 30 players into 23 spots each week, we’re trying to find the best balance.
“But I’m sure Coops isn’t far away if he keeps ticking all the boxes and playing consistent footy.”