Reports on Monday night that Hawthorn's Travis Tuck was treated for a drug overdose over the weekend after being found unconscious in a street takes much of the gloss off the club's barnstorming run into the finals.

By virtue of his name alone, he is a favourite son of the club. Michael Tuck played 426 games for the Hawks - the most by any AFL player - was a member of seven premiership sides and captain of five.

They named a grandstand after him at Glenferrie Oval, but after a few hurt feelings when he was forced to retire after the 1991 flag, Hawthorn has worked hard to keep the faith with the Tuck family.

But it is now a sad time for family and club.

The second generation of the Tuck family could both play footy as well. Shane played reserves footy for the Hawks a decade ago but couldn't crack it for a berth in the senior side. It was felt at the time that the family name might have been a burden for him at Hawthorn and in subsequent interviews, father and son both admitted he didn't find real football happiness until he went first to West Adelaide in the SANFL and then to Richmond.

For many old-timers around Hawthorn, it was unforgivable to see a Tuck playing well for a rival AFL club and when it emerged that Travis Tuck was just as promising, perhaps even more than his older brother, the Hawks moved quickly to make sure he wouldn't escape the nest. Tuck was selected as a father-son pick at the 2005 national draft with the promise he would be given all the time he needed to go better than his brother and to try and follow in his father's footsteps.

He made his debut in 2007 and played 20 games in three seasons. He was a terrific and sometimes maniacal extractor of the ball at centre clearances and stoppages, but not so polished once he got the ball. It's a tough midfield to break into at Hawthorn, but Tuck did receive a show of faith at the end of last year when the club chose to offload a fellow midfielder from a famous Hawthorn family - Josh Kennedy - to Sydney in the belief that the pacier, silkier Tuck might have something more to offer.

Sadly, it turned out not to be the case. Tuck continued to battle injuries, didn't play any senior AFL footy this year and the near-tragic events of last Friday night were reportedly triggered by news that he had missed selection in Box Hill's team for Sunday's VFL elimination final against the Bendigo Bombers.

Hawthorn likes to call itself 'The Family Club'. As antiquated and trite as that moniker might be, this is the time the deeds need to match the words, because a great Hawthorn family is hurting.