TRIPLE premiership Hawks Ben Stratton and Paul Puopolo will be farewelled this weekend after making the call to retire at season's end.
The pair will play their final match against Gold Coast on Sunday at Adelaide Oval and be celebrated as members of the Hawks' 2013-15 three-peat.
The decision from Stratton, Hawthorn's skipper for the past two seasons, will force a captaincy change at the Hawks from next year.
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"Stratts and Poppy are exceptional examples of Hawthorn people, each with an incredible work ethic and each highly respected among our playing group and within our club," coach Alastair Clarkson said.
"Stratts is the sort of guy you want beside you when you go into battle. He is relentless, selfless and will never stop competing.
"He never fails to take a teammates-first approach and it is these qualities that make him so highly valued amongst his peers and also the broader footy world."
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Stratton, 31, was drafted out of East Perth as a 20-year-old at No.46 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft and quickly established himself as one of the competition's best one-on-one defenders.
After missing the past two matches with an ankle complaint, Sunday will mark his 202nd and final AFL match.
He is one of only 37 players in Hawthorn history to play more than 200 games.
Puopolo was taken at pick No.66 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft as a 23-year-old small defender out of Norwood in the SANFL.
Shifting into attack, Puopolo's forward pressure alongside Cyril Rioli proved a vital factor in the Hawks' premiership run.
The 32-year-old will play his 195th and final AFL match on Sunday.
"Poppy is an incredibly resilient player and person. He came to us as a defender and leaves the game a master of the pressure forward role.
"For most of his career, Poppy was always the first name selected in the side each week because you could never doubt the intensity, energy and pressure he would bring to the game.
"Poppy is an amazing example of how far hard work and perseverance can take you in your career.
"Both Stratts and Poppy were drafted to the club as mature age recruits and are fantastic role models for what you can achieve if you have belief and determination.
"As a coach, they are both players you love to have in your side. They never give in and they will put absolutely everything on the line for their teammates and the club.
"I'm thrilled that we will have the opportunity to see them pull on the boots one last time on Sunday and I know their teammates and our members are excited for the chance to farewell them.
"On behalf of the club I would like to thank Stratts and his fiancé Laura, and Poppy and his wife Carmel and daughter Giselle for the sacrifices and contributions they have made to our club.
"They will always be a part of the Hawthorn family and will forever be welcome at our club."
The call for both to retire, and the re-signing of Shaun Burgoyne on Saturday, leaves Isaac Smith, James Frawley and Ricky Henderson as key veterans out of contract.
Contenders for the Hawks' captaincy next season will likely come from the current leadership group that includes Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'Meara (co-vice captains), Smith, Liam Shiels, Ben McEvoy and Jack Gunston.
