How many players would say they’re playing well for us right now, I wonder?”
Sam Mitchell, the coach of Hawthorn, wasn’t holding back on Saturday night. After his team’s embarrassing loss to Gold Coast at People First Stadium, he was scathing in the post-match remarks. He was filthy and had every right to be so.
The Hawks were supposed to start improving this year, following two years of development under Mitchell. However, as April approaches, the Waverley Park reconstruction project has reached a standstill.
Hawthorn is off to its worst season-opening start since 1970 at 0-5.
A fortnight after a valiant display on Easter Monday, and a week after nearly pulling off one of the season’s biggest upsets against Collingwood, Hawthorn returned from Queensland on Sunday, unsure of “where to from here” after Damien Hardwick’s midfield decimated the Hawks.
That is an entirely inappropriate manner to play. “After losing by 53 points, that’s the worst we’ve played in a long time,” Mitchell bemoaned.
Even the league’s best midfield trio—Nathan Anderson, Touk Miller, and Matt Rowell—would have been shocked by how easy they had it on Saturday night. This trio will terrorise many teams in 2024.
Although James Worpel has performed admirably thus far in the season, he struggled against the Suns, finishing with just 14 disposals. Between them, Jai Newcombe and Conor Nash only had two clearances and ten touches apiece. After only three points at halftime, Cam Mackenzie was substituted out.
The figures are striking. At the end of the game, Gold Coast had 96 more disposals than Hawthorn, with 93 more uncontested possessions, 47 more uncontested marks, 20 more inside 50s, 15 more tackles, and 10 more clearances than the Hawks at halftime.
Will Graham, a Suns Academy alum, recorded 14 tackles in just his second game. There were no more than four Hawks. Through the first five rounds, Hawthorn has not yet won this metric.
After the game, we had a discussion with the players about the standards we set for ourselves. Our preparation, the number of extras we work, the amount of time we dedicate, and the amount of tape we watch,” Mitchell stated.
“I believe we will need to step up a few things during the week, and we will probably have to accept it if one of our players gets hurt by a corkie or anything similar. We cannot expect to be competitive if we play with the same physicality as we did tonight.”
Although there is a huge void in the midfield after Will Day, the current Peter Crimmins medallist, missed a lot of last year’s games, the midfield has been very weak this year.
The Hawks are ranked dead last in the competition, nearly twice as bad as North Melbourne (-11.4 points), which is ranked No. 17. This season, the Hawks have been outscored by 20 points per game from stoppage.
Filling the void left by departing stars Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara, Newcombe last year went from being a niche mid-season recruit to a legitimate star, supporting that aspect of the rebuild. After receiving 18 Brownlow Medal votes, he not only qualified for the 44-man All-Australian squad, but also finished second in the best and fairest category for the second straight season. The inside bull has been inconsistent this year, producing less during the first five rounds.
After competing against many of the top midfielders in the caper, Nash finished third in the best and fairest, capping a career-best year in which he emerged as the best Irishman in the game. This was before his free agency season began. But the Meath product has been down even though he’s still getting his hands filthy.
Josh Ward and Cam Mackenzie were supposed to be Day’s backup options after being chosen at pick No. 7 the previous two years, but the young midfield duo hasn’t taken advantage of their chance. Both had fantastic summers, but despite Mackenzie’s strong performances, their form hasn’t quite carried over into the most important time of year yet.
After being ignored for the first two weeks of the season, Henry Hustwaite showed promise during the preseason but has been substituted in or out of the last three games.
Despite playing second fiddle, or at Box Hill, for the majority of the season, former Docker Lloyd Meek has reclaimed Ned Reeves’ position as one of the League’s most promising young ruckmen in recent weeks.
After Gold Coast gave them a lesson, the Hawks, who are ranked No. 18 in the AFL for clearances and centre clearances after round eight, will need to show up for work this week.
Mitchell has been dealt a rough hand this year after leading Hawthorn to seven victories the previous year and eight in his first season as head coach. Day, Changkuoth Jiath, and James Blanck are three of his most important players that the team lost in the preseason.
However, injuries occur in every club. Take a look at Essendon, Carlton, and Richmond at the moment. Hawthorn must answer, and they will do so at Marvel Stadium on Sunday when they play North Melbourne. Everyone on the team is now on notice. The front line is understaffed and not on the firing line. But the middle is where games are won or lost.
Throughout this rebuild, Hawthorn has encouraged patience. It’s getting difficult to be so patient.
Leave a Reply