The 19 point win over Carlton in round 19 clinched a finals series appearance for the 7th consecutive season.
Hawthorn became the 6th team since the introduction of the AFL final eight system to be eliminated in straight-sets, joining Port Adelaide (2001), West Coast (2007), Geelong and Fremantle (2014), and Sydney (2015).
[7] On 2 February 2016, Andrew Newbold stepped down as the club's president, and was replaced in the role by vice-captain Richard Garvey.
They finished the NAB Challenge with a record of 2–1, defeating Carlton and North Melbourne on either side of a heavy loss to Richmond.
[13] The club's four games at Aurora Stadium were against St Kilda, Fremantle, Gold Coast and Carlton in rounds 4, 8, 14 and 19 respectively,[13] while the club played the West Coast Eagles, North Melbourne, Sydney, Richmond and Melbourne twice during the regular season.
[16] Its first home game came the following round, when they faced the West Coast Eagles at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the 2015 AFL Grand Final rematch.