Coach Sam Mitchell's direction for the club and 2025 news

[Faraway Hawk]

The fact that we're sitting inside the so called 'premiership window' and we're no even playing that well shows you the massive scope for improvement the Hawks still have.

I would assume that once we get Dear back soon and then Lewis + hopefully Day later in the season then we'll sit just above where Geelong sit in the graph below.

In a perfect world we really just want our season to peak right as we're rolling into finals.

View attachment 2299032

As long as we are doing enough to secure ourselves couple of home finals it won't matter how we are getting there or what the stats say. O.K, so we are not blowing away sides as the media pundits expected and there's all sort of analysis on how Barass and Battle are below what they produced at their old clubs. The truth is even with our losses this year if maybe couple of our seniors had played at least 50% of what they are capable of we would have won. The only column that matter now is the "Win-Loss" column and we need to keep adding to that positively.

 

[Oisin_the_Goat]

Last time you beat us in a GF was 63 years ago with us winning the last 2. We hate you guys but sure as hell respect you. Best rivalry in the game hands down.

hahaha likewise. Great rivalry.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Essentially saying teams have "gone to school" on us. But then saying we're missing Day, Dear, etc.

Make up your mind!

Every single team would have been doing homework on us over the off season. Teams had to as Mitchell and his coaching group brought in a new, exciting and effective gameplan, one which caught plenty of sides out.

Coaches will want to emulate parts of it and learn what Port did to stifle us in the Semi Final.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

I'm so sick of this.

As if last year teams were just turning up on the day and going "oh wow, we're playing the hawks this week! No wonder we didn't prepare or look at the team at all!"

The idea of teams "going to school" on high performing opposition is rooted in 80s and 90s approach to playing football

 

[Mercy Seat]

I'm so sick of this.

As if last year teams were just turning up on the day and going "oh wow, we're playing the hawks this week! No wonder we didn't prepare or look at the team at all!"

The idea of teams "going to school" on high performing opposition is rooted in 80s and 90s approach to playing football

Disagree. You can see each week the way clubs are setting up at stoppages and when we have the ball is different to last year. Often blocking the corridor and setting up an extra player behind the mark when we have the ball. None of this was really done well last year because we kinda came from nowhere.

It’s not that easy to train your team to suit an opposition side in the few days you have before you play them. It sometimes takes an off season to train particular running patterns and strategies into your squad.

 

[bigmaxi]

Blah Blah, Blah. If a team is playing good footy and winning, every coach worth his salt is paying attention. Whether its AFL or eastern diversion 3rds under 12's!!!
Talking heads on the telly.

 

[CaptainWorpedo]

Of cause clubs paid attention to us last year, but they had a small time frame to adjust and make a game plan to stop us.

This year we have become the hunted as we were one of the successful clubs that was hard to stop.

It’s reasonable to think the top 8 teams get more work put into pulling their game plans apart.

 

[The Chad and I]

At this point we just need to keep winning games and work to unlock a game plan that counters whatever the opposition is doing to suppress our strengths.

Unless you are supremely talented and peaking in age profile, like we were 2012-2015, there's just zero point in being at your best right now. We were clearly the the team to beat back then and our good form was too good for all but 1-2 teams in each of those seasons. Our best was clearly above them all.

This team is still working things out.

Not bad when you still have Day, Dear, and Lewis to come into the team.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[Brant]

"You're boring me!"

Feels like Sam might be posting on BigFooty Game Day Threads pretty soon!

 

[Roddy]

Our side has an absolute GEM coaching it. Whip-smart, motivational, savvy, wily. Knows what success is and how to achieve it. Will finish his career in 15 years with at least 6 flags to his name as player and coach. We are lucky.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

"You're boring me!"

Feels like Sam might be posting on BigFooty Game Day Threads pretty soon!

Quite sure that he once did.

 

[Brant]

Quite sure that he once did.

Are you saying that Sam Mitchell is in fact Mitchell Madness

 

[wahawk]

Are you saying that Sam Mitchell is in fact Mitchell Madness

I’ve seen Sam Mitchell on his phone 5min in to the game posting ‘that’s it, we’ll lose this’
Or something along those lines

 

[Brant]

I’ve seen Sam Mitchell on his phone 5min in to the game posting ‘that’s it, we’ll lose this’
Or something along those lines

Sam sure does hate umpires

 

[wahawk]

Sam sure does hate umpires

Not much of a sis fan lately either.

He’s a very negative poster when it comes to Game Day & Autopsy threads

Actually, I take that back.

Very negative all the time

 

[TONYC3163]

PS: Sam, if our system is so good why not keep players in their correct positions and get beaten because the 5 worse players aren't up up to it, instead of wrecking everyone in the process of working out whose not up to it ?

You're out of form coach !

Bulldust by name, bulldust comments.

 

[play2win]

I do have one question over Sam’s coaching. Does he plan and play against the other top sides with a view to winning in September (clarko was great at this), or is he solely coaching to win in the moment? Can only be answered in time but I am hoping he is still playing the long game.

 

[Bulldust12]

Bulldust by name, bulldust comments.

I've never had a fan before.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

I do have one question over Sam’s coaching. Does he plan and play against the other top sides with a view to winning in September (clarko was great at this), or is he solely coaching to win in the moment? Can only be answered in time but I am hoping he is still playing the long game.

Given how strange some of the moves were I have to assume he's playing the long game

 

[Roddy]

I'm hoping this is our mid-season form slump. I'm hoping it's a case of banking some wins early, form dip in the middle, and Sammy's going to taper our form up later in the season.

Hoping....

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

I'm hoping this is our mid-season form slump. I'm hoping it's a case of banking some wins early, form dip in the middle, and Sammy's going to taper our form up later in the season.

Hoping....

The reality is Sam is going to have to make some tough decisions on team selection as there has been nothing smooth about our season to date.

I trust in his abilities, but a coach can only do so much without the players executing. The smash of the KFC sign on Saturday tells me he is frustrated like the rest of us.

 

[Titch3Votes0MooreAA]

Not sure where to post this, but I feel this is pertinent to the club's state at the moment.

I have to question at this point whether we have made the wrong decision to bring in both Barrass and Battle. Scrimshaw was playing perfectly last year as a key defender with the ability to intercept, compete at ground level, dispose of the ball elite by foot, set up plays from defence, and hold his own in physical one-on-ones. But right now, we look as if we are lacking all that with Barrass and Battle in town, especially Barrass.

I fear we may have gone too tall and made one signing too many that it is now hurting what made us so good last year defensively.

 

[HawthornHawk]

Not sure where to post this, but I feel this is pertinent to the club's state at the moment.

I have to question at this point whether we have made the wrong decision to bring in both Barrass and Battle. Scrimshaw was playing perfectly last year as a key defender with the ability to intercept, compete at ground level, dispose of the ball elite by foot, set up plays from defence, and hold his own in physical one-on-ones. But right now, we look as if we are lacking all that with Barrass and Battle in town, especially Barrass.

I fear we may have gone too tall and made one signing too many that it is now hurting what made us so good last year defensively.

It's a good point.

What was the vision with those two additions? You can't tell me they planned to consistently play with 5 tall backs. That's what we have now and it's hurting us.

Why haven't any of them been moved forward permanently?

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

Why haven't any of them been moved forward permanently?

Battle doesn't want to play forward. Barrass can't play forward.

Scrim and Sis are probably the best options imo