Autopsy Round 2, 2026: Hawks pluck Swans

[Mitchell Madness]

Sam Butler - 14 disposals 66% game time
Cam Mackenzie - 17 disposals 64% game time

The only two with less time on ground were Meeky and Reeves.

I know someone has to be on the bench, but im curious why these guys get less time than others.
Is it simply because thats where they are in the pecking order?

Neither have a secondary position at half back. With the way the first half went, half-back was where they were needed

 

[Atch]

Only thing better than winning Thursday night,is winning on Thursday night with my man Mitchy Lewis finally getting some reward for effort.Big fella was like a old pack Draft horse, just did not stop working all night. Great win! Bring on the cats

He was like an old pack of darts, came through when ya needed him!

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Gunston loves playing on Rampe.

 

[kazzooka]

I feel like that might be Mitch's role in 2026. Just work his ass off up and down the ground and provide a contest up forward and on the wing. He's got a huge tank for a guy his size.

I'll take a 17 disposals, 9 mark and one goal game every day of the week, especially when we have gunners and Chol as stay at home forwards.

He had a number of really good plays in the last. Running to pressure on the wing in a 2 on 1 and slowing I think it was Mills down enough that Weddle could come in and smother the next possession. There was the goal, and setup of gunstons goal. He also had a really good spoil out of bounds when we rushed a kick out to the wing to a sea of swans, instead of it coming back in D50 we get a boundary throw in.

 

[humid hawk]

Apparently Watto was complaining about Swans supporters piffing full cans and bottles of soft drink at hawks players? Gunston was pretty pissed off too by the looks of it. Can anyone confirm?

Sydney supporters are a bunch of ****ing grubs

 

[SA HAWK]

 

[hawkinoz]

Ward played hard in Q4 when the game was on . Maybe 10 possessions in that quarter. Great sign after the handball mistake in Q3.

I would not term that exactly as a mistake, he was expecting Impey to be steaming ahead and so handballed it fwd. For some reason Impey was lot slower and still not on his bike. Impey would likely have still been caught if handball was perfect as he didn't have speed still.

 

[peetoo]

Just heard fox recap discussing Barass

‘Meat tray’s worth more than a Tv these days’

 

[ahhhhhh]

Apparently Watto was complaining about Swans supporters piffing full cans and bottles of soft drink at hawks players? Gunston was pretty pissed off too by the looks of it. Can anyone confirm?

Sydney supporters are a bunch of ****ing grubs

 

[Crankyhawk]

its odd, I see the bottle fly but don't see if land ? added in
will go back and watch replay at some stage and keep an eye for it (not going to be too much of a trial to watch it lol)

 

[Paul Kersey]

Did the club have a past players function last night? 76/86? Certain I saw Matthews there.

 

[Atch]

Review the footage and instant life ban.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Every time Chad Warner gets the ball I can't help thinking "I didn't know Sid from Toy Story played AFL."

He's got an extremely punchable head but he's a bloody good player.

 

[SA HAWK]

 

[cryptor]

Swans cracking the shits and throwing COLA

 

[cryptor]

View attachment 2556425

Wingardium Leviosa!

 

[Atch]

He's got an extremely punchable head but he's a bloody good player.

Absolute tank.

 

[DearJai]

Also I hope the coaches make Mackenzie watch that sequence in the first quarter where he scored his goal and followed it up shortly after by slicing the Swans apart and feeding Chol for his goal on repeat. Believe in yourself, kid and assert yourself on the game. The glimpses are great but turn that into larger passages of the game and you’ll be formidable.

Those most pleasing thing about his game, is that the sideways movement has been reduced around 80 percent from what it was when he was floundering.

He's back to doing what he was in his junior days – winning the ball in tight and bringing it out from the front or side of a stoppage. His tank looked a lot better also last night, though I didn't see his TOG percentage.

 

[Blackhawk42]

It's actually a bit of a freak occurrence, and one that might turn in our favour soon enough, but our opponents accuracy in front of goal has been RARE this year.

19.8
13.5
13.4

This, historically, isn't sustainable.
Soon enough a side against us is going to go at around 50%, and considering our potency up forward, that's the game we make a statement.

PLEASE be Easter Monday.

 

[DearJai]

It's astounding to think that a midseason draft pick can have a 30+ possession game with 9 clearances and a goal, and we are all a bit "yeah good game".

It's a bloody steep curve, and he's become a victim of it.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Newcombe was awesome last night and showed what a A-Grader his becoming if not already is, he carried the team to a victory.

Shows how much we need another Gun midfielder to help him out but, we also need to get more accurate in front of goal two weeks in a row we could have really put a side to the sword, last week could have been closer to 100 this week could have been a 6/ 7. Goal win game

Absolutely, but 20 classy Mackenzie touches and 27 workmanlike Ward touches every week to accompany Jai will be MASSIVE if it becomes the norm.

 

[Atch]

It's actually a bit of a freak occurrence, and one that might turn in our favour soon enough, but our opponents accuracy in front of goal has been RARE this year.

19.8
13.5
13.4

This, historically, isn't sustainable.
Soon enough a side against us is going to go at around 50%, and considering our potency up forward, that's the game we make a statement.

PLEASE be Easter Monday.

That's got alot to do with our opponents getting alot of Joe the goose goals, like last night.

 

[Atch]

It's a bloody steep curve, and he's become a victim of it.

That's why he's the skipper!

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Frenchys next step is to find the composure at clearances and identify the time and space that he has around him.

He is still prone to grabbing the ball and dumping it around his body quickly at clearance, even when he has a couple of metres on an opponent.

Once he starts doing this he’s going to be a weapon because he’s a very good disposer of the ball.

 

[DearJai]

He’s not “quick” but he’s definitely explosive and he’s said himself he’s focused on shredding down a bit so he can use his power on the outside.

Everyone knows how strong he is inside, his handskills and toughness. But his vice like hands, super skills and power and explosiveness make him a genuine freak. He’s only getting better.

Yep, that insane aerobic ability, explosiveness (and leap when he gets a run at it), and league's best hardness in the contest are almost invisible now his ball winning ability and kicking/marking are getting attention.

He's noticeably slimmer this year, almost like he's not going near the weights.

I guess you expect it of a guy who looked like Leigh Matthews for the modern era after his first few Box Hill games. It's been an insane ascension to his A-grade mid and leader throne.

If Butler keeps it up with his strength in the contest, and Mackenzie becomes what it looked like he might when drafted, then Newcombe is going to get even better., faster.

They're all big boys too.