Training 2026 Off-Season & Preseason reports and discussion

[bigmaxi]

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God barracks for Hawthorn, he makes sure we get what we need and dodge the ones we don’t, he’s got crystal balls.

 

[Hodginator]

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Could have been Ratugolea and Ben McKay a year earlier.

Everything always works out for the Hawks.

 

[To the Hawk]

Average 19 touches the first 7 games of last year, one of our better players before injury and then form issues.

C-Mac, Mackenzie, Weddle to a lesser extent Whiz exposure on the ball this year. The Merrett situation will be a blessing for their growth and i think we will look at it differently at season's end.

Amon could be back on a wing for rotations this year, time and growth is the only thing stopping this midfield.

We have 2 timelines, a developing list that will see us contend for years. And the now.

Coming off a prelim, the best backline in the competition and a top 4 forward line. We need to try and capitalise now.

Time and growth of those mentioned isn't a luxury in 2026. We need them to deliver because midfield is the only area holding us back from the last day in September.

Mackenzie in particular needs to grow from a kid and become a consistent contributor. Unlike the others he's played and trained as a mid since arriving at the club. He's 4 preseasons and nearly 50 games in now.

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

Could have been Ratugolea and Ben McKay a year earlier.

Everything always works out for the Hawks.

We might have won the flag with those two...

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Could have been Ratugolea and Ben McKay a year earlier.

Everything always works out for the Hawks.

Ive watched Ben McKay a bit these last couple of years and by the gods that guy is a very, very limited footballer. His only attribute seems to be that he is kinda big I guess?

I still say his manager needs to be in the player manager hall of fame for getting a VFL quality Backman a 6 year $1 million dollar a year deal.
Crazy as well the lack of attention he gets from the media for spudding it up whilst on that kind of money.

 

[CHUBBSS]

Their looking smooth

 

[bigmaxi]

Ive watched Ben McKay a bit these last couple of years and by the gods that guy is a very, very limited footballer. His only attribute seems to be that he is kinda big I guess?

I still say his manager needs to be in the player manager hall of fame for getting a VFL quality Backman a 6 year $1 million dollar a year deal.
Crazy as well the lack of attention he gets from the media for spudding it up whilst on that kind of money.

This! Is it a Lessington thing?? The amount of scrutiny that is the AFL media scrum and there is donuts!!!????

 

[Simon Crawshay]

This! Is it a Lessington thing?? The amount of scrutiny that is the AFL media scrum and there is donuts!!!????

It’s crazy to think about how much heat Sic got from the media last year for his form slump given he was still playing some pretty decent footy at times (not at his absolute best but still decent).

And then there is McKay last year who is playing like a VFL development player earning $500k more a year than Sic and absolute crickets from the media about it!

Maybe it’s a case that everyone just expects mediocracy from the Scum so it’s not really news when their highest paid player is spudding it up?

 

[Dewnior]

Ive watched Ben McKay a bit these last couple of years and by the gods that guy is a very, very limited footballer. His only attribute seems to be that he is kinda big I guess?

I still say his manager needs to be in the player manager hall of fame for getting a VFL quality Backman a 6 year $1 million dollar a year deal.
Crazy as well the lack of attention he gets from the media for spudding it up whilst on that kind of money.

To be fair we did offer him a contract close to a mill so we saw something. Who knows what may have been under our development programme. Nonetheless it would likely have meant no Battle/Barrass who have delivered more than we could have hoped for as a duo

 

[Simon Crawshay]

To be fair we did offer him a contract close to a mill so we saw something. Who knows what may have been under our development programme. Nonetheless it would likely have meant no Battle/Barrass who have delivered more than we could have hoped for as a duo

I doubt he would have been that much better, he seems to struggle with the fundamentals of footy (kicking, handballing, game sense, etc) to an alarming extent for a guy getting $1m+ a year.

Just does not look like a natural footballer to me as apposed to someone like Sicily who lets the game come to him.

Honestly I think we just saw he was 200cm and 100kg and assumed we could turn him into a player (always a risky proposition).

Battle and Barrass are so much more talented players, it’s not even a fair comparison.

 

[TylerDurden]

 

[Dewnior]

I doubt he would have been that much better, he seems to struggle with the fundamentals of footy (kicking, handballing, game sense, etc) to an alarming extent for a guy getting $1m+ a year.

Just does not look like a natural footballer to me as apposed to someone like Sicily who lets the game come to him.

Honestly I think we just saw he was 200cm and 100kg and assumed we could turn him into a player (always a risky proposition).

Battle and Barrass are so much more talented players, it’s not even a fair comparison.

That's pretty much a slap in the face to Mitch and our talent identification team who wanted him. A bit disrespectful I would have thought.

 

[GinniAndTonic]

Goes to show the club is heading in the right direction!

 

[Simon Crawshay]

That's pretty much a slap in the face to Mitch and our talent identification team who wanted him. A bit disrespectful I would have thought.

No one gets its right with recruiting/talent identification 100% of the time, not even Mitch and our recruitment team (who have a very good record over the last 4 years).

Our guys aren’t miracle workers, you have to have something to work with and from what I have seen of McKay since he’s been at the Scum their isn’t a whole heck of a lot there.

What strikes me just as much as his lack of ability is his terrible body language. He really looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than playing AFL footy which is a little bit alarming for your highest paid player.

And if you think I am being harsh you should go to the Essendon board and read what they have to say about him!

 

[Dewnior]

What strikes me just as much as his lack of ability is his terrible body language. He really looks like he’d rather be anywhere else than playing AFL footy which is a little bit alarming for your highest paid player.

And if you think I am being harsh you should go to the Essendon board and read what they have to say about him!

That says more about their shite culture than anything else.

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Their looking smooth

Who was no. 43 in that footage - Perez?

 

[ReturningHawk]

Who was no. 43 in that footage - Perez?

Certainly is, looks smooth

 

[Ka Norkers]

Ive watched Ben McKay a bit these last couple of years and by the gods that guy is a very, very limited footballer. His only attribute seems to be that he is kinda big I guess?

I still say his manager needs to be in the player manager hall of fame for getting a VFL quality Backman a 6 year $1 million dollar a year deal.
Crazy as well the lack of attention he gets from the media for spudding it up whilst on that kind of money.

AFL media are basically a bunch of peanuts, bottom of the barrel in journalism. Bias is worse than ever, and unsurprisingly, you'll get little criticism any thing Geelong or Essendon. That is just fact. Heaven help us if Stengle was a Hawk.

The latest from the peanut gallery comes from, in my opinion, the second biggest peanut of them all, Liam Pickering, in his assessment of AFL "A" graders.

He gives out a total of 64 A graders across the AFL. (almost three times the number that make the AA team)

In assessing Collingwood, he says Pendelbury and Sidebottom are not A graders, as their performance in 2025 didn't warrant it. His assessments going into 2026 are largely based on 2025.
Fair enough.

So then you get to Hawthorn, where the two 2025 AA Hawks are NOT A graders in his opinion lols lols
So, they can make the AFL top 23 but not the Peanutering top 64.
Including a bloke who was second in the Coleman, and didn't even play the first round.
He doesn't rate the Hawks, I simply cannot wait for Easter Monday when a giant, and I mean really really BIG, Karma bus will be waiting for him at the end of the game.

 

[peetoo]

Apparently the cats are using Deakin facilities for training as cat park is being resurfaced

Funny I thought they had a dedicated training facility elsewhere

 

[TazHawk15]

Apparently the cats are using Deakin facilities for training as cat park is being resurfaced

Funny I thought they had a dedicated training facility elsewhere

They have.

It’s in Andrew Dillons office.

 

[Noel Gallagher]

That's pretty much a slap in the face to Mitch and our talent identification team who wanted him. A bit disrespectful I would have thought.

Slap in the face??? They simply got it wrong and we dodged a massive bullet. KP free agents pretty much always get overvalued and at the time it was a massive hole on our list we were desperate to fill

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Slap in the face??? They simply got it wrong and we dodged a massive bullet. KP free agents pretty much always get overvalued and at the time it was a massive hole on our list we were desperate to fill

Wouldn't matter if he played at the Hawks or the Bunyip Bulldogs the guy is just a very limited footballer.

We should never discount the role luck plays in our lifes (even the smartest and most well prepared of us such as Sam).

We had a massive stroke of luck in missing McKay, by missing him it indirectly lead to picking up Battle and Barrass (two excellent players and clubmen) but also hitched a massive albatross to the necks of the EFC.

Imagine the discontent in their playing group over the last two years knowing they are paying this dude over $1 million a year!

 

[QuietB]

What "new-found" status?

 

[Millsie69]

What "new-found" status?

Free-agent status.

 

[Buttonsticher]

Someone mentioned luck has a part to play in recruitment. How true, plenty of players show promise but for whatever reason/s don't develop. We've had our share over the years. Won't name any because they were all heart regardless of their prowess.