“I love the adrenaline it gives”: Match-winning prospect on consistency, injury setbacks and more
When asked to name the fellow draft prospect he would most want the ball in the hands of to take a set shot after the siren to win the match, favoured number one AFL Draft pick Willem Duursma did not hesitate.
“Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves. Who else?” he said.
In a year where he’s overcome adversity and been faced with question marks over his game, the one attribute that has never been questioned is Hibbins-Hargreaves’ ability to seize moments late in games.
As a bottom-aged player, Hibbins-Hargreaves scored 11.2 in fourth quarters in the Coates League.
He kicked a red-time match-winner at Coates League level to give him a confidence-booster entering the U18s National Championships after an injury-interrupted start to the year.
Most notably, he kicked back-to-back goals late in the last quarter for Vic Country against Western Australia to give his side the lead.
A Black Swans goal after the siren denied his team the win, but those two tough shots proved his ticker down the stretch in the highest stakes environment of talent pathway footy.
“I love the adrenaline it gives,” Hibbins-Hargreaves said of his clutch moments.
“I have an inner confidence as well, so it comes with taking responsibility – I like having the ball at that stage of the game.
“It’s what you dream of as a kid. You think about kicking the winning goal so doing it in games brings back good memories.
“It’s the footy high.
“I have presence in the last quarter where I feel like I can hurt my defender and they might get a bit scared.
“I think the confidence comes from putting the work in.
“I put myself in a lot of fatigue and high pressure situations at training so at the end of training when you’re doing set shots, that comes into play, it’s like the end of a game, you’re really fatigued but still need to be able to hit long shots where everything stays consistent.”
Despite those sugar hits, the Stingrays co-captain admits it was an up-and-down 2025 campaign, which has resulted in his draft range widening, having entered the year as a fringe top-10 prospect.
A courageous-marking, agile and polished half forward/winger with X-factor, Hibbins-Hargreaves suffered injuries at two frustrating times of 2025.
His first injury was an AC shoulder sprain which prevented him from playing against two state-league opposition for the AFL Academy, while his second setback was a concussion, which occurred the week before he was set for a stint playing for Richmond’s VFL side.
To cap off the season, Hibbins-Hargreaves had whooping cough and influenza which kept him from attending the AFL Draft National Combine.
The first two were devastating setbacks for the confident teenager, who was desperate to prove his lean body could succeed against bigger bodies.
He thrived in a pair of senior games for local side Mornington in 2024, kicking four goals on debut and was keen for the opportunity to do likewise in the VFL.
Those injury setbacks limited his continuity, but Hibbins-Hargreaves speaks with a similar confidence to what he shows in big moments on-field when discussing the level of concern he has about his consistency.
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“I sort of don’t understand it and I definitely don’t see it as an issue,” Hibbins-Hargreaves said of his perceived inconsistency.
“There has been reasons for my little setbacks and inconsistencies and I don’t listen to the outside noise of people saying that – I listen to my coaches and what they are saying and when they think I’m ready to be back.
“With my body type on a (small) oval like Shepley, I might be on a bigger body and the ball gets put on my head.
“There’s no excuses there, it definitely comes with me having to work it out a bit more, take initiative and work a player off their feet or use my strengths but I don’t see inconsistency as an issue.
“Before the injuries I’ve always been a consistent player and it’s something I take pride in.”
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Mornington’s home ground, Alexandra Park, is at the top of the town’s Main street, a strip saturated with memories for Hibbins-Hargreaves, who lives a couple of kilometres north of the town centre.
It springs to life as a central hub and meeting place for people across the peninsula, with particularly boisterous crowds on Friday and Saturday nights, and a weekly Wednesday market providing a snapshot of the otherwise peaceful beachside getaway.
This interview takes place five days before the start of the draft, with several friends and acquaintances stopping Hibbins-Hargreaves on the walk to the coffee shop to wish him luck.
He takes pride and joy in his connection to the community and he’s the community’s pride and joy.
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“It was fun pulling on the Mornington colours in seniors because community and family is really important to me so playing in front of a community that really supports me was great,” the 18-year-old said.
“Mornington’s a good place to be.
“I’m pretty privileged. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, I love it down here, I love the environment.
“I’ve been on Main Street so many times so there are a lot of memories I hold here, my grandparents on both the Haynes and Hibbins side are here as well and everyone knows everyone here so it’s really good.”
Hibbins-Hargreaves’ step-dad, whom he refers to as Dad, having grown up with two father figures, is former Eastern Ranges and Subiaco player Mark Haynes.
Rookie-listed at Hawthorn for a year, Haynes played his best footy out west, which has given the family connections in the state both within and outside of footy – a handy asset given Perth looks the only possible interstate destination for Hibbins-Hargreaves.
Haynes coached Hibbins-Hargreaves for several years through juniors, playing him off half-back for his early teenage days to improve his decision-making and ball-use which has proven a masterstroke.
“He was able to use his experiences to steer me away from certain things so it’s been important for me to have that experience in my life,” Hibbins-Hargreaves said.
“If I didn’t I would just be going through the motions and would not have gotten to where I am today and that will be stressed on draft night as well.
“I’ve still got a lot more to learn off field but the learning was around the sacrifices you have to make with your mates; even thinking about the amount of friends you have and let in your life.
“I have a close circle so I have sacrificed outside noise which has benefitted me. I know when I’m bludging and he knows it and he’ll pick me up all the time and I’m obviously a leaner type so it’s important for me to be strong in other ways with clean groundballs and being a smart player.
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“As much as I will put on size in the system, I’ve still got to work on some things, so that’s been the grind which he’s helped with.”
Hibbins-Hargreaves succeeded Harvey Langford – and Cooper Hynes – as co-captain of the Stingrays and is a leader who drives high standards.
A week of pre-season training at Melbourne as part of the AFL Academy program reinforced the importance of diligent preparation.
Langford, a fellow Mornington Peninsula boy, drove him in on those days and has kept in close touch with his fellow Stingray across 2025.
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“When I trained at Melbourne, there was a reason the best players were the best players,” the Joel Freijah-like talent recalled.
“Even the guys who may not have the physical attributes or talent, a guy like (Kade) Chandler gets games at Melbourne purely off his work rate.
“He’s an unbelievable worker, does all the little things at training, he and Jack Viney are probably the hardest workers.”
Fremantle, Essendon, Hawthorn and West Coast are among the clubs to have shown the strongest interest in Hibbins-Hargreaves.
Wherever he lands, he stresses loyalty and professionalism as two character strengths he’ll bring to the club.
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“If a club drafts me, they’re getting someone who will put in work and will be privileged, not complacent,” Hibbins-Hargreaves said.
“They’re getting a versatile player – I can play halfback, wing, forward line and can develop into a midfield later.
“I think I’m a very dynamic hard matchup forward so that would be my number one and I like playing wing as well because it allows me to get the ball off halfback and hit forwards.
“I’m going to have to learn to cook and clean a little bit more but I would embrace the opportunity.
“I see it as an opportunity rather than someone taking me away from home, it would be a really good experience and wherever I go, I think it’s meant to be. I don’t want to be a hop around person either, I want to be true to one club if I can do that.”
