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For other people named Nicholas Watson, see Nicholas Watson (disambiguation).

Nicholas Watson (born 24 February 2005) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Watson grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon South[2] and was educated at Rowville Sports Academy and Caulfield Grammar.[3] A small forward, Watson in 2023 was the top goalscorer while playing for Caulfield Grammar in the APS competition. He also was the top goalkicker playing for VicMetro in the 2023 National championships.[4] He played his junior football for Montrose and East Ringwood in the Eastern Football League.

AFL career

He was the fifth selection in the 2023 AFL draft by Hawthorn.[5] Nicknamed “the Wizard” for his ability to do special things in attack, Watson is an exciting prospect.[6] He made his debut against Essendon at the MCG in the opening round of the 2024 AFL season.

He was awarded a 2024 AFL Rising Star nomination in round 19, collecting 12 disposals and kicking 3 goals during a 66 point thrashing over Collingwood.[7]

In December 2025, after 43 games in the number 34, he was awarded the number 5 guernsey number, which was previously James Worpel’s number before he was traded to Geelong.[8]

Statistics

Updated to the end of round 5, 2026.[9]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2024 Hawthorn 34 18 25 27 118 77 195 55 45 1.4 1.5 6.6 4.3 10.8 3.1 2.5 0
2025 Hawthorn 34 25 36 18 145 127 272 51 51 1.4 0.7 5.8 5.1 10.9 2.0 2.0 0
2026 Hawthorn 5 5 11 7 47 30 77 14 16 2.2 1.4 9.4 6.0 15.4 2.8 3.2
Career 48 72 52 310 234 544 120 112 1.5 1.1 6.5 4.9 11.3 2.5 2.3 0

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

References

  1. ^ “Nicholas Watson”. Hawthorn Football Club. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  2. ^ “Keen midfielder has eye on ball”. Archived from the original on 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  3. ^ “Magic touch: ‘Wizard’ on size, Boomer and talking ‘smack’“. www.afl.com.au. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  4. ^ “Hawks recruit proves doubters wrong”. 21 November 2023.
  5. ^ “Hawks secure Watson with top pick”. 20 November 2023.
  6. ^ “Off to see ‘The Wizard’: Hawks lock in new faces for R1 debuts”. 14 March 2024.
  7. ^ “Hawk for life? Wizard’s big contract statement”. Herald Sun.
  8. ^ “Macdonald To Wear Number 9”. hawthornfc.com.au. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  9. ^ “Nick Watson”. AFL Tables. Retrieved 13 April 2026.