eldorado
Thought Ninja
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Round 3
Hawthorn v West Coast Eagles
Subiaco, Saturday, 21st April, 7.30 P.M (EDT)
Last Time
Hawthorn Hawks 2.0 5.4 6.8 10.12 72
West Coast Eagles 3.4 4.9 6.10 9.11 65
Squads
Hawthorn
B: Benjamin Stratton, Josh Gibson, Brent Guerra
HB: Grant Birchall, Ryan Schoenmakers, Matt Suckling
C: Brendan Whitecross, Sam Mitchell, Shane Savage
HF: Shaun Burgoyne, Lance Franklin, Michael Osborne
F: Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Jack Gunston
Foll: David Hale, Brad Sewell, Jordan Lewis
I/C: Clinton Young, Liam Shiels, Kyle Cheney, Bradley Hill
Emg: Cameron Bruce, Jarrad Boumann, Broc McCauley
In: Bradley Hill
Out: Luke Breust (Concussion)
New: Bradley Hill (West Perth)
West Coast Eagles
B: Eric Mackenzie, Darren Glass, Adam Selwood
HB: Beau Waters, Will Schofield, Shannon Hurn
C: Andrew Gaff, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
HF: Josh Hill, Quinten Lynch, Chris Masten
F: Dean Cox, Josh Kennedy, Ashton Hams
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Scott Selwood, Daniel Kerr
I/C: Luke Shuey, Ashley Smith, Patrick McGinnity, Jack Darling
Emg: Mitch Brown, Koby Stevens, Ryan Neates
In: Darren Glass, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
Out: Mitch Brown, Bradd Dalziell (Knee), Koby Stevens
Preview courtesy of Leather Poisoning ...and 'tis a good 'un!
Formline – the year so far.
Here we are, four weeks into the season and the hawks are packing our suitcases for the first time and heading out west, where life is peaceful. This is going to prove to be the most difficult road trip of all in 2012 so any side that wants to head across to Perth needs to bring their best players, their best performance and maybe even a little dash of luck if they’re going to include 4 points in their luggage allocation for the way home.
The home side has played well this season. Really well when you look at the fact they’ve won all games by significant margins and that they’re sitting on top of the ladder. It starts to look a lot less impressive when you examine their opponents. Melbourne are awful, the Dogs are trying to rebuild a side and are currently looking for someone – anyone- to take a decent mark in their forward line, and then there’s GWS who are the worst side to ever grace a cow a paddock. But you can only beat the sides they put against you and WCE have done as expected, and probably treated the last three weeks as an extended preseason.
The hawks could not have had a greater contrast. We’ve already played the two grand finalists from last year as well as a previously undefeated Adelaide side that had delusions of launching into the top half of the ladder before we scrunched them up into a ball and threw them in the bin. The hawks have played one bad (well, downright awful) quarter out of 12 and that was enough to gift a win to the enemy. A bad quarter this weekend would almost guarantee an eagles win.
Some statistics
Hawthorn are the leading tackling side in the competition. That’s right, the side famous for the chip-chip, keepings off style (according to lazy journalists) are currently putting more pressure on their opposition than any other club in the league. Interestingly, WCE are the least tackled side in the league.
Despite the Hawks apparent weakness in the ruck we have managed to win the hit outs in every game so far. Not yet have we come up against a ruck division of the might of NicNat/Cox, but I think we’ll do better than most would assume. NicNat is a joy to watch, regardless of who you support. The man is majestic. Cox, probably more effective, less flair. Both are concerns.
I heard a statistic, but can’t find info to verify, that West Coast has struggled to win the clearance stats in the games they’ve played, despite dominating. This can often happen when a clearly superior side drops off the intensity a bit and takes advantage of skill errors from the other side – possibly a misleading stat.
Let’s analyse the coming game in a little more detail:
The West Coast forward line
The main board is already posing the question of whether the hawks defence will be shot to pieces by the tall options of West Coast. Kennedy is leading the goal kicking and Lynch, Darling, NicNat and Cox are also extremely capable in the overhead marking area. All eyes will be on the young fella Ryan Schoenmakers – a guy who has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He cops it from commentators, from supporters and from the opposition by the guy has a champion attitude. Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for a clear lack of strength which means the whole Hawthorn game style will have to shield him from being isolated.
It’s not just the talls that are the problem however. Despite losing LeCras and Nicoski to long term injuries the eagles have found other avenues to goal. Hams and Hill are proving to be nimble little opportunists that are worthy of some close checking.
If this doesn’t sound daunting enough – West Coast are also very good at applying forward pressure. Jack Darling is a champion of this: gentle by name, nasty by nature.
The hawks no-frills defence is gaining reputation for its skill in rebounding. Gibson, Birchall, Guerra, Suckling, Schoenmakers, Burgoyne are all highly skilled – and it has been a treat to watch them slice through defensive set ups like a samurai sword through a herd of rabbits. It would be interesting to see the stats for which sides have gone coast-to-coast the most this season. Gibson, Stratton and Schoenmakers, and in all likelihood Jarrod Roughead will share the load in trying to kill the high ball. Expect a congested West Coast forward line for most of the game.
The Hawthorn forward line
It seems to be Hawthorn’s mission to be less Franklin-conscious in 2012. Clarkson has spoken about it for years but now Buddy is getting some serious game time through the middle. The hawks have subsequently spread the load. Cyril, Hale, Lewis, Whitecross, Shiels, Gunston, Savage are all capable of kicking 3 on their day – although against quality opposition we tend to revert to old habits.
A big problem with reverting to old habits for the hawks is Darren Glass. Far too strong and clever for Buddy in contests, Buddy will need to work extremely hard for his goals. He let us down a bit last week, the big bud, he only kicked 3, had two goal assists, 4 clearances and 25 disposals. If he can play a decent game this week we might have a chance. Beyond Glass the eagles have a number of tall options, but considering the hawks have been making such good use of smaller statured goal kickers it will be about application and collective defensive efforts from WCE to quell the scoring. Hawks might have the edge in this half of the ground if we can deliver intelligently into the forward 50.
In the Guts
The midfield battle is extremely hard to pick. Roughead and Shiels returned to the hawk midfield last week and laid 17 tackles between them – that’s a LOT of additional midfield pressure at the contest, which is exactly what is needed to take on West Coast as their ruckmen have the running and clearance capacity to contribute.
Both sides bat deep in terms of the quality that can be rotated through. The hawks A team is probably Hale, Shiels, Mitchell and Sewell – with the ability to rotate Buddy, Roughead (can’t believe those two are playing midfield!) Cyril, Lewis, Burgoyne trough there with great effect. West Coast have an A team that consists of Cox, Priddis, Kerr and Shuey – which is mighty impressive. Add to that Selwood, Masten and a few others that can rotate through and it’s difficult to select the superior midfield.
Kerr must be a bit of a worry for the eagles. He’s in a lean patch of form, and Priddis is uncertain to play. Matt Rosa is another one that was out last week and is trying to get up for this match. This may tip the midfield ascendency back towards the hawks, but until the sides come out it’s going to be very tough to call.
Other considerations
Playing in Perth is a huge advantage. If this game were in Melbourne I’d confidently tip Hawthorn by 3-4 goals, but since it’s on the other side of the country puts it back in question mark territory. The hawks are coming off a second consecutive six-day break and the eagles are most likely going to bring in Glass and Priddis as high quality, well-rested additions to the team. Hairdos are also significant – and with NicNat, Priddis and Masten all looking like idiots I think the hawks side may be distracted at times. The hawks have to bring in someone for the concussed Breust. It may be the captain Hodge, who would be a great addition, but with Brad Hill’s debut already being announced the hawks might be going in with just one change.
The verdict
Everyone except West Coast supporters seem to be confident of a West Coast win this week. If I was an impartial, unbiased observer I would probably tip them too – especially with the advantage help in the eagles’ front half.
Eagles by 24 points.
[live]ce26c34443[/live]
Hawthorn v West Coast Eagles
Subiaco, Saturday, 21st April, 7.30 P.M (EDT)
Last Time
Hawthorn Hawks 2.0 5.4 6.8 10.12 72
West Coast Eagles 3.4 4.9 6.10 9.11 65
Squads
Hawthorn
B: Benjamin Stratton, Josh Gibson, Brent Guerra
HB: Grant Birchall, Ryan Schoenmakers, Matt Suckling
C: Brendan Whitecross, Sam Mitchell, Shane Savage
HF: Shaun Burgoyne, Lance Franklin, Michael Osborne
F: Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Jack Gunston
Foll: David Hale, Brad Sewell, Jordan Lewis
I/C: Clinton Young, Liam Shiels, Kyle Cheney, Bradley Hill
Emg: Cameron Bruce, Jarrad Boumann, Broc McCauley
In: Bradley Hill
Out: Luke Breust (Concussion)
New: Bradley Hill (West Perth)
West Coast Eagles
B: Eric Mackenzie, Darren Glass, Adam Selwood
HB: Beau Waters, Will Schofield, Shannon Hurn
C: Andrew Gaff, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
HF: Josh Hill, Quinten Lynch, Chris Masten
F: Dean Cox, Josh Kennedy, Ashton Hams
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Scott Selwood, Daniel Kerr
I/C: Luke Shuey, Ashley Smith, Patrick McGinnity, Jack Darling
Emg: Mitch Brown, Koby Stevens, Ryan Neates
In: Darren Glass, Matthew Priddis, Matthew Rosa
Out: Mitch Brown, Bradd Dalziell (Knee), Koby Stevens
Preview courtesy of Leather Poisoning ...and 'tis a good 'un!
Formline – the year so far.
Here we are, four weeks into the season and the hawks are packing our suitcases for the first time and heading out west, where life is peaceful. This is going to prove to be the most difficult road trip of all in 2012 so any side that wants to head across to Perth needs to bring their best players, their best performance and maybe even a little dash of luck if they’re going to include 4 points in their luggage allocation for the way home.
The home side has played well this season. Really well when you look at the fact they’ve won all games by significant margins and that they’re sitting on top of the ladder. It starts to look a lot less impressive when you examine their opponents. Melbourne are awful, the Dogs are trying to rebuild a side and are currently looking for someone – anyone- to take a decent mark in their forward line, and then there’s GWS who are the worst side to ever grace a cow a paddock. But you can only beat the sides they put against you and WCE have done as expected, and probably treated the last three weeks as an extended preseason.
The hawks could not have had a greater contrast. We’ve already played the two grand finalists from last year as well as a previously undefeated Adelaide side that had delusions of launching into the top half of the ladder before we scrunched them up into a ball and threw them in the bin. The hawks have played one bad (well, downright awful) quarter out of 12 and that was enough to gift a win to the enemy. A bad quarter this weekend would almost guarantee an eagles win.
Some statistics
Hawthorn are the leading tackling side in the competition. That’s right, the side famous for the chip-chip, keepings off style (according to lazy journalists) are currently putting more pressure on their opposition than any other club in the league. Interestingly, WCE are the least tackled side in the league.
Despite the Hawks apparent weakness in the ruck we have managed to win the hit outs in every game so far. Not yet have we come up against a ruck division of the might of NicNat/Cox, but I think we’ll do better than most would assume. NicNat is a joy to watch, regardless of who you support. The man is majestic. Cox, probably more effective, less flair. Both are concerns.
I heard a statistic, but can’t find info to verify, that West Coast has struggled to win the clearance stats in the games they’ve played, despite dominating. This can often happen when a clearly superior side drops off the intensity a bit and takes advantage of skill errors from the other side – possibly a misleading stat.
Let’s analyse the coming game in a little more detail:
The West Coast forward line
The main board is already posing the question of whether the hawks defence will be shot to pieces by the tall options of West Coast. Kennedy is leading the goal kicking and Lynch, Darling, NicNat and Cox are also extremely capable in the overhead marking area. All eyes will be on the young fella Ryan Schoenmakers – a guy who has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He cops it from commentators, from supporters and from the opposition by the guy has a champion attitude. Unfortunately that doesn’t make up for a clear lack of strength which means the whole Hawthorn game style will have to shield him from being isolated.
It’s not just the talls that are the problem however. Despite losing LeCras and Nicoski to long term injuries the eagles have found other avenues to goal. Hams and Hill are proving to be nimble little opportunists that are worthy of some close checking.
If this doesn’t sound daunting enough – West Coast are also very good at applying forward pressure. Jack Darling is a champion of this: gentle by name, nasty by nature.
The hawks no-frills defence is gaining reputation for its skill in rebounding. Gibson, Birchall, Guerra, Suckling, Schoenmakers, Burgoyne are all highly skilled – and it has been a treat to watch them slice through defensive set ups like a samurai sword through a herd of rabbits. It would be interesting to see the stats for which sides have gone coast-to-coast the most this season. Gibson, Stratton and Schoenmakers, and in all likelihood Jarrod Roughead will share the load in trying to kill the high ball. Expect a congested West Coast forward line for most of the game.
The Hawthorn forward line
It seems to be Hawthorn’s mission to be less Franklin-conscious in 2012. Clarkson has spoken about it for years but now Buddy is getting some serious game time through the middle. The hawks have subsequently spread the load. Cyril, Hale, Lewis, Whitecross, Shiels, Gunston, Savage are all capable of kicking 3 on their day – although against quality opposition we tend to revert to old habits.
A big problem with reverting to old habits for the hawks is Darren Glass. Far too strong and clever for Buddy in contests, Buddy will need to work extremely hard for his goals. He let us down a bit last week, the big bud, he only kicked 3, had two goal assists, 4 clearances and 25 disposals. If he can play a decent game this week we might have a chance. Beyond Glass the eagles have a number of tall options, but considering the hawks have been making such good use of smaller statured goal kickers it will be about application and collective defensive efforts from WCE to quell the scoring. Hawks might have the edge in this half of the ground if we can deliver intelligently into the forward 50.
In the Guts
The midfield battle is extremely hard to pick. Roughead and Shiels returned to the hawk midfield last week and laid 17 tackles between them – that’s a LOT of additional midfield pressure at the contest, which is exactly what is needed to take on West Coast as their ruckmen have the running and clearance capacity to contribute.
Both sides bat deep in terms of the quality that can be rotated through. The hawks A team is probably Hale, Shiels, Mitchell and Sewell – with the ability to rotate Buddy, Roughead (can’t believe those two are playing midfield!) Cyril, Lewis, Burgoyne trough there with great effect. West Coast have an A team that consists of Cox, Priddis, Kerr and Shuey – which is mighty impressive. Add to that Selwood, Masten and a few others that can rotate through and it’s difficult to select the superior midfield.
Kerr must be a bit of a worry for the eagles. He’s in a lean patch of form, and Priddis is uncertain to play. Matt Rosa is another one that was out last week and is trying to get up for this match. This may tip the midfield ascendency back towards the hawks, but until the sides come out it’s going to be very tough to call.
Other considerations
Playing in Perth is a huge advantage. If this game were in Melbourne I’d confidently tip Hawthorn by 3-4 goals, but since it’s on the other side of the country puts it back in question mark territory. The hawks are coming off a second consecutive six-day break and the eagles are most likely going to bring in Glass and Priddis as high quality, well-rested additions to the team. Hairdos are also significant – and with NicNat, Priddis and Masten all looking like idiots I think the hawks side may be distracted at times. The hawks have to bring in someone for the concussed Breust. It may be the captain Hodge, who would be a great addition, but with Brad Hill’s debut already being announced the hawks might be going in with just one change.
The verdict
Everyone except West Coast supporters seem to be confident of a West Coast win this week. If I was an impartial, unbiased observer I would probably tip them too – especially with the advantage help in the eagles’ front half.
Eagles by 24 points.
[live]ce26c34443[/live]
