2021 What went right, What went wrong?

On Topic

Team Captain
Jan 7, 2018
560
1,311
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Backline has been excellent. Jiath, Day, Scrimshaw, Impey and Hardwick all playing excellent footy. Hartigan and Frost have been serviceable. Hartley was good too when he came in.

Midfield has been hit and miss. O’Meara and Mitchell have been really good together but if one of them fails to impact for a period we fall apart a bit. Wingard has also been quite good. Shiels is doing ok without being great. Worps has a bit to go to get back into form. Defensively, our midfield has struggled. Phillips is average, Morrison in in career best form.

Two ruck combo just isn’t working. I don’t mind both McEvoy and Ceglar playing in the side but it means Kozi, O’Brien or Lewis comes out if that’s the case. Have one ruck with someone else doing the back up.

Forward line is really inexperienced, isn’t capitalising on some good opportunities but also aren’t getting a lot of them. I like Brockman and Moore so far this season.

We have improved from last year but still have a way to go. I’m hoping to see Wingard lift to another level, Worps to get back to his best and for us to settle on our ruck/key forward combo.

The inclusion of Gunston is so important for our forward line. Really curious to what we do with Jiath, Day and Scrimshaw when Sicily returns next season. Do we find a new position for one of those or does Sicily go forward? Pretty exciting stuff!
 
Good: We've added some speed.
Bad: It's all in the backline and nowhere else.

Good: CJ and sometimes Scrimshaw are trying to move the ball quickly from the back half.
Bad: They have no running targets to kick it to up the ground.

Good: Reeves is showing a lot of promise.
Bad: Probably won't see him until mid-2022 while McEvoy ages rapidly and Ceglar regresses rapidly.

Good: The gameplan is faultless
Bad: That's only true if you're living in a fantasy world.
 
May 13, 2008
36,308
57,842
Melbourne
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Problem is it’s not really a young side but the same side with 2 or 3 kids where is Reeves,Downie,Maginness,Jeka etc.

Hawthorn are a young side. There were 6 blokes under 25 games experience yesterday and the guys who were rested/suspended (Brockman, Hartley, Lewis) are in the same boat.

And pretty much all of the most inexperienced players in the side are forwards - Koschitzke, Lewis, Brockman, Nash, Moore, Hanrahan, Cousins, Morrison.

Hawthorn are playing pretty good footy. They are simply inexperienced in the forward half and that is making it hard to put up winning scores.
 

burner1

Premiership Player
Nov 3, 2005
3,611
4,420
victoria
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
hawks
Hawthorn are a young side. There were 6 blokes under 25 games experience yesterday and the guys who were rested/suspended (Brockman, Hartley, Lewis) are in the same boat.

And pretty much all of the most inexperienced players in the side are forwards - Koschitzke, Lewis, Brockman, Nash, Moore, Hanrahan, Cousins, Morrison.

Hawthorn are playing pretty good footy. They are simply inexperienced in the forward half and that is making it hard to put up winning scores.
Melbourne had the same. So are dees a young side?
Look at what a lot other sides are putting out - no way are we young when compared to the other rebuilding teams.
 
Aug 31, 2008
23,265
46,446
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Nuggets
Hawthorn are a young side. There were 6 blokes under 25 games experience yesterday and the guys who were rested/suspended (Brockman, Hartley, Lewis) are in the same boat.

And pretty much all of the most inexperienced players in the side are forwards - Koschitzke, Lewis, Brockman, Nash, Moore, Hanrahan, Cousins, Morrison.

Hawthorn are playing pretty good footy. They are simply inexperienced in the forward half and that is making it hard to put up winning scores.

Cousins hasn't played a game as yet (this year) and Hartley is not a young and inexperienced player.

We had Moore, Kosi, Nash, Hanrahan, Morrison, CJ, Scrimshaw and Worpel as the young guys on the weekend. Of that lot, Worpel and Scrimshaw are experienced established first team players. Lewis comes straight back in. Nash will surely be dropped for Lewis or Brockman. It's not a bad group of youngsters there all told.

One of the problems is that we are playing less youngsters than the other rebuilding teams and are holding on to guys like TOB, Ceglar, Howe and Burgoyne, when others should be trialled in their place. Hopefully Greaves, Reeves, Jeka, Downie and Finn get a go in the coming weeks.
 

Crawfthorn

Debutant
Feb 24, 2009
68
17
Amsterdam
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Dan Howe is a player that we need a hell of a lot more from. I've been quick to jump on Mitchell, Worpel, O'Meara and Sheils when we get out gunned in the midfield, but the reality is they aren't always in their as a quartet. Where is the support coming from guys like Dan Howe? He played his 72nd game on the weekend, at 25 years old is physical mature enough and is blessed with some height as a mid at 191cm.

Tackling numbers are a crude but often fair indication of a player's commitment to the contest and level of intensity. Howe has laid 4 (TOTAL) in 5 games this season. 4. Comparatively Wingard has laid 10, Burgoyne 11, Morrison 13, Mitchell 17, O'Meara 21, Shiels 22.

You could argue his role is different, he swings back/mid/high half forward. All positions require more defensive intensity and Howe simply doesn't put the opposition under any pressure. It used to be a feature of his game.

Its most disappointing to see as we are desperately crying out for a) tall versatile mid to impose himself on the contest and b) a player in his age bracket that can step up and show something. He has been blessed with opportunities and development and so far this year, its not counting for much.
 
Aug 31, 2008
23,265
46,446
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Nuggets
Dan Howe is a player that we need a hell of a lot more from. I've been quick to jump on Mitchell, Worpel, O'Meara and Sheils when we get out gunned in the midfield, but the reality is they aren't always in their as a quartet. Where is the support coming from guys like Dan Howe? He played his 72nd game on the weekend, at 25 years old is physical mature enough and is blessed with some height as a mid at 191cm.

Tackling numbers are a crude but often fair indication of a player's commitment to the contest and level of intensity. Howe has laid 4 (TOTAL) in 5 games this season. 4. Comparatively Wingard has laid 10, Burgoyne 11, Morrison 13, Mitchell 17, O'Meara 21, Shiels 22.

You could argue his role is different, he swings back/mid/high half forward. All positions require more defensive intensity and Howe simply doesn't put the opposition under any pressure. It used to be a feature of his game.

Its most disappointing to see as we are desperately crying out for a) tall versatile mid to impose himself on the contest and b) a player in his age bracket that can step up and show something. He has been blessed with opportunities and development and so far this year, its not counting for much.

Clarko is playing a slow tagging midfielder as a wingman. It's pretty baffling.
 
Jul 13, 2015
36,294
40,453
AFL Club
Hawthorn
My simple answer:
We havent played 4 good quarters of football in a game yet.
3 was enough against Dons, but wasnt enough against Freo Geelong or Richmond.
And wont be enough against Melbourne.

If Clarko can work out how to get 4 quarters we will win a bunch of games this year.

Seems I was pretty close.

Within a goal 5 min in to the 4th then blown away.
 

Realist

Senior List
Feb 13, 2007
274
283
Melbourne
AFL Club
Hawthorn
What about the fact that rather than giving the captaincy to the club’s best player they again give it to a player who is on the decline? McEvoy has enough to worry about with his own form without having to worry about captaining a bottom four team.
First Rough, then Stratton now McEvoy. All great players for the club but couldn’t have been given the captaincy at a worse time as they face football mortality.
To make things worse they gave big boy a contract extension at the start of the year to justify the captaincy when in reality he should be thinking of ganging up the boots. He’s never been tall for a ruckman but used his athleticism to get by but that is leaving him pretty quickly.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
Sep 13, 2020
6,166
16,630
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Cousins hasn't played a game as yet (this year) and Hartley is not a young and inexperienced player.

We had Moore, Kosi, Nash, Hanrahan, Morrison, CJ, Scrimshaw and Worpel as the young guys on the weekend. Of that lot, Worpel and Scrimshaw are experienced established first team players. Lewis comes straight back in. Nash will surely be dropped for Lewis or Brockman. It's not a bad group of youngsters there all told.

One of the problems is that we are playing less youngsters than the other rebuilding teams and are holding on to guys like TOB, Ceglar, Howe and Burgoyne, when others should be trialled in their place. Hopefully Greaves, Reeves, Jeka, Downie and Finn get a go in the coming weeks.
We dont want to play kids just because they are kids or because team A is playing x amount so we should too.
Or we want our average age down .

For example with Downie , I like what ive seen and reckon we have a player with him.
But if playing 15-20 VFL games this season and a few seniors is best for his development Im happy with that .

I would say by end of this season those guys youve mentioned will have had a go in the side.
 

Simon Crawshay

Premiership Player
Jun 4, 2016
4,806
13,069
AFL Club
Hawthorn
I thought of a good golf analogy about how we are going this year.

It is like we are teeing off every hole with a 7 iron to just play the percentages and hit the middle of the fairway instead of pulling out the one wood.

The coaching panel doesn't seem to have confidence in the team to match it in the ability stakes (rightly / wrongly not sure to be honest) so we are playing a very defensive risk free brand of football (kicking to packs down the boundary line, chipping sideways, bombing it long to the forward pocket, etc, etc)

And we will get the odd win doing this when we come up across teams that aren't switched on / not up for the fight.

But we will never really progress with this style as how many pro golfers do you see teeing off at Augusta with a 7 iron? They trust in their ability to smash that one wood 250+ meters straight down the middle.

I just hope that at some stage this year Clarko lets the brakes off and we can see how this team does playing an attacking brand of footy (we may get smashed to be honest but I want to see how it goes)
 

TylerDurden

Mischief. Mayhem. Soap
Mar 5, 2007
25,219
90,367
Lou's Tavern
AFL Club
Hawthorn
What about the fact that rather than giving the captaincy to the club’s best player they again give it to a player who is on the decline? McEvoy has enough to worry about with his own form without having to worry about captaining a bottom four team.
First Rough, then Stratton now McEvoy. All great players for the club but couldn’t have been given the captaincy at a worse time as they face football mortality.
To make things worse they gave big boy a contract extension at the start of the year to justify the captaincy when in reality he should be thinking of ganging up the boots. He’s never been tall for a ruckman but used his athleticism to get by but that is leaving him pretty quickly.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
Can't argue with this. He already looks cooked.
 
Back