Nick "The Wizard" Watson was at his spell-casting and spellbinding best on Saturday, notching five majors as his Hawks held off North Melbourne in Tasmania.

Watson's five goals were crucial for a side who registered 14 for the day, and his trademark pace and creativity were features of a contest closer than many predicted.

The Kangaroos held two selections inside the top five of the 2023 National Draft, infamously selecting Colby McKercher and Zane Duursma with Watson still waiting in the wings. Hawthorn swooped on the mercurial match-winner with the fifth pick of a draft class quickly pleading its case as one of the best in recent memory, in a savvy move the Kangaroos may rue for years to come.

In kicking his bag on Saturday, Watson moved to 50 for the campaign, and within five of leading Swan Charlie Curnow in the race for the Coleman Medal.

He is the first player under 170cm tall to kick 50 majors in a season since Syd Dyer and the legendary Lou Richards achieved the feat in 1946.

Should Watson usurp Curnow and claim the Coleman, he would be the first true small forward of the modern era to claim the gong, and the shortest player to lead the league's goalkicking since "Lethal" Leigh Matthews held that distinction in 1975, at 178cm tall.

Even if he cannot knock off "King Charles", or a bevy of other talls (colleague Jack Gunston included) to win the Coleman, Watson is only seven majors away from having the outright most goals in a season for a player 170cms or shorter, per @football_roos, on X.

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Watson's form this season has led pundits like Kane Cornes to sing his praises, with the shock jock labelling a potential Coleman victory as the "greatest individual achievement this century," risking his left buttock in the process.

Three-time Coleman Medallist Matthew Lloyd likened the uber-watchable Hawk to one of the greatest and most creative players the code has seen in Peter Daicos, when dissecting his most recent performance.

It may prove futile to compare the 21-year-old talisman to any player to lace them up before, such is the skill, grit and watchability of one of the game's shortest players. His coach, Sam Mitchell, admires his work ethic just as much as his ability to kick special goals.

"I think when you're a small forward, it's a game of opportunities," Mitchell said.

"He's playing on a much bigger, stronger opponent and he's got to find a way to combat that through the game.

"Every week he gets a match-up and a fair bit of attention and for a player so young, I think he works his way through it pretty well.

"It's very difficult position to be consistent."

Away from the Coleman Medal race, Watson's Hawks sit half a game behind Curnow's Sydney Swans in the race for second place on the ladder, and the home-field advantage that comes with it.

The Hawks face Brisbane (A), Collingwood (H) and West Coast (A) in their run home, while the Swans must account for Port Adelaide (H), Essendon (A) and North Melbourne (H) should they wish to lock up second position.

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