UP to five first-grade Hawthorn-Monash University Cricket Club cricketers could be made "redundant" in the wake of a non-finals finish in 2007-08.

Hawks president Glenn Jones last week spoke of wholesale changes to the senior list for the club's 150th season in 2008-09.

He said the firsts' loss to the battling Northcote proved costly at season's end after the first XI finished one point short of playing finals and pointed to "character and attitude" problems in the side.

"There will be redundancies. Several of our top 25 players have had four or five years of opportunities and haven't been able to sustain their performance.

"Four or five players have been rotated [in the first XI] through the year in the search for performance. We know that a team's best performance comes when there is some stability in the team."

The forecasted shake-up follows the club's recent dumping of its 5th XI and women's cricket sides, both lowly performing in Jones' eyes.

As a top priority, the Hawks will be on the lookout for two pacemen to bolster their thin bowling stocks.

Jones said captain Simon Dart had become frustrated by the team's lack of bowling options, notwithstanding the stunning returns from fast bowler Sam Miller late in the season.

Miller tore apart minor premiers Footscray with a six-wicket spell in the final round, but with work commitments and a back injury had only been able to play five games in the past two seasons.

Jones pointed to some promising pacemen, Michael Topp, 15, and Chris Jones, 14, in the junior ranks, though they are several seasons away from Premier Cricket standard.

He also enthused about youngsters Matthew Hewat, whose spin-bowling yielded 34 wickets; Darren Dewar, who scored a ton as opener against Richmond; and hard-hitting Dale Tormey.

The return of Matthew Cox from a two-year exile will also bolster the team's opening bat stocks. Cox, who was one of the side's two professional players in 2004-05 before jumping ship, was welcomed back to the fold for 2008-09 last week.