In this episode of The Bottom Line, Sevan Tuna speaks with Hawthorn footballer Karl Amon about resilience, finding confidence and building an environment where people want to improve.
For Karl, the journey to AFL football began with a childhood interrupted by illness. His experiences, from spending a year in a wheelchair to establishing himself at Port Adelaide and returning to Melbourne to join Hawthorn, have shaped the way he approaches challenges and opportunities.
The conversation explores how Hawthorn reviews performance, why players need to take ownership of team standards, and how to move forward after a mistake. Karl also shares the importance of connecting with his Indigenous culture and the interests he is exploring beyond football.
Building Resilience from an Early Age
Some of Karl’s earliest memories involve kicking a football with his parents outside their home. A power pole and a nearby tree served as the goals.
At five years old, that routine changed when he was diagnosed with Perthes disease.
Karl recalls undergoing five operations on his hip and spending a year in a wheelchair. While other children were playing football at school, he faced a lengthy period of treatment and restrictions on the sports he could play.
He credits his family with helping him through that experience. His mother would stay overnight at the hospital so he would not have to sleep there alone.
Looking back, Karl believes those early challenges helped build his resilience.
Once he was cleared to return to football, he embraced the opportunity, progressing through junior and school football towards the possibility of an AFL career.
Finding Confidence Through Experience
Karl describes himself as a good young footballer, but not necessarily the best.
The possibility of playing professionally became more tangible when he began receiving invitations to talent programs, followed by letters from managers and AFL clubs.
Even then, draft night brought uncertainty.
After a club he knew was interested passed on him, Karl wondered whether his opportunity had gone. Port Adelaide selected him a few picks later at pick 68.
Being drafted was an important step, but feeling comfortable at AFL level took longer.
Karl says it took around 50 senior games before he felt that he belonged. His account offers a useful perspective on development. Securing an opportunity and building confidence within it can happen at very different speeds.
An earlier possibility of returning to Melbourne did not eventuate. In hindsight, he sees the additional time at Port Adelaide as valuable to his development.
When he eventually chose Hawthorn, the decision reflected both his desire to return home and the fit between his own game and Sam Mitchell’s attacking approach.
Creating an Environment Where People Can Improve
When Sevan asks about Sam Mitchell’s leadership, Karl describes someone who combines a serious commitment to football with a willingness to have fun.
Behind closed doors, that includes being one of the club’s pranksters.
For Karl, the more significant contribution is the environment Sam creates. Players can be themselves, enjoy coming to the club and focus on getting better.
That sense of belonging sits alongside the expectations of professional sport.
Karl also speaks positively about Hawthorn’s facilities and the opportunities they give players to prepare and develop. Having the resources they need supports the work, while the atmosphere encourages them to make the most of those resources.
His account highlights how the daily experience of being part of a team can influence people’s willingness to contribute and improve.
Reviewing Performance Beyond the Result
One of the clearest connections to business comes through Hawthorn’s approach to feedback.
Karl explains that the team aims to review a game consistently, whether it has won comfortably or suffered a heavy loss.
A positive result can still contain lessons that need attention.
He recalls a period when the team did not take enough learning from a win. When similar circumstances arose the following week, those missed lessons became more costly.
The review process provides an opportunity to identify what happened and bring those lessons into training.
There is also a clear point at which the team moves forward. Players can enjoy a win, but once the review is complete, attention turns to the next game.
For business owners and team leaders, the discussion raises a practical question. Does a good outcome receive the same scrutiny as a disappointing one?
Understanding what needs improvement remains useful even when the result looks positive.
Making Standards Everyone’s Responsibility
Karl describes a gradual shift in how standards are maintained at Hawthorn.
While the coach initially helped establish the values and expectations, the players have increasingly taken responsibility for driving them.
That ownership is visible in the work players put into training and the example they set for one another.
The conversation turns to the club’s early morning “7:30 club”, where players come in for extra skills practice and then share breakfast.
Karl sees it as a combination of wanting to improve and spending time together.
The extra practice serves a football purpose, but cooking eggs for one another also creates an opportunity to connect.
It is a small example of how team culture develops through everyday actions. People choose to contribute, support one another and do work beyond what is formally required.
Moving Forward After a Mistake
Football leaves little time to dwell on an error.
A missed kick or turnover can be followed almost immediately by another moment that needs a player’s full attention.
Karl says learning to move on quickly has been an important part of his development. Earlier in his career, it was easier to become caught up in what had gone wrong.
His approach now is to focus on what comes next.
Alongside the structured review process he describes, this gives mistakes a time and place. During the game, the priority is responding to the next situation. Afterwards, there is an opportunity to understand the error and learn from it.
That distinction has relevance beyond sport, particularly when one setback risks affecting the decisions that follow.
Connecting with Culture and Looking Beyond Football
Karl also reflects on how football helped him develop a deeper understanding of his Indigenous background.
He credits his involvement in Indigenous programs at Port Adelaide with creating opportunities to learn about his culture while helping deliver those programs to others.
That connection has become an important part of his life, with members of his family also working in Indigenous roles within the AFL.
He shares the experience of contributing to Hawthorn’s Indigenous guernsey, including helping bring an artist connected to his community into the design process.
The conversation also looks towards life after football.
Karl’s interest in landscape design began before his AFL career. With a father who works as a builder and his own experience with renovations, he is exploring how that interest might develop into a future career.
It provides another perspective on growth. While remaining committed to football, Karl is also making space to consider what he enjoys and where those interests could take him.