Richmond legend Jack Riewoldt has admitted he sees similarities between the 2024 Hawthorn side and the 2017 Tigers side with whom he won the first of three championships.

Riewoldt made the comments on Sunday during Hawthorn’s 38-112 win over Carlton at the MCG, while commentating on Fox Footy, and his admission caught the attention of Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne.

Hoyne wondered whether the similarities were superficial or ran deeper into the way both teams played, and he certainly understands what Riewoldt meant.

“I was really interested in what Jack Riewoldt said at half-time on Sunday when he said it was ‘very reminiscent of Richmond 2017’,” Hoyne said. SEN Sports Day.

“I thought that was a really good approach. So let’s step away and delve a little bit into what Hawthorn are doing at the moment in the last six weeks and what Richmond have done in the last six or seven weeks leading up to the 2017 finals.

“This is very similar to what is actually happening right now.”

Hoyne revealed 11 key areas where the current Hawks resemble the storied Tigers of 2017. It’s not just in the way they want to play football.

“Both were number twos in the turnover game. Both 50-pointers were top-four players in the competition. Both were top-six territory in the competition,” Hoyne said.

“Both of them marked the ball about 85 to 90 times a game. Both of them were happy to hand the ball. Both of them didn’t really get any return on the scoreboard for their work in hitting the ball from the middle – it was more what they did from a system perspective.

“Both lost to Geelong in Geelong in the last six or seven games of the season. Both played at the MCG and against other teams in the competition.

“Both sides prioritized post-clearance work over pre-clearance work.

“Both teams actually suffered losses during the season. Think of Hawthorn’s losses to GWS and Port Adelaide – Richmond suffered very similar losses during the year and learned from that.

“They both had a very similar age and gaming profile to what they have now.”

Unfortunately for Hawthorn fans, the main difference is that the Tigers finished third and won straight before the home preliminary final, enabling them to claim the championship.

In 2024, if the Hawks qualify as eighth seed, they will have to play an elimination final in the first week of play.

All seven of the last premieres have come from the top four.

“The only difference between them is that one of them will start outside the top four and the other will start inside the top four,” Hoyne said.

“We’ve seen this before, that at some point a ship runs aground.

“That’s the main difference and the significant difference, clearly. But in terms of how they both play, I think there’s some validity to what Jack said.

“What they can do from sixth, seventh or eighth, only time will tell. It will be a big challenge.”

The Hawks will be looking to maintain their place in the final when they face bottom-placed Richmond at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.