Analysis Clarko in 2019 “We’re a middle of the road team”

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Aug 31, 2008
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Had Cyril not retired, Rough not got cancer and we’d picked up 2-3 of the free agents the club had put years into and all but believed they were coming, it would have been a completely different story. Shoulda coulda of course, but Geelong were on a similar course and just happened to land Danger and a few others that had them playing in a GF last year. It didn’t work out for us, but given what we believed at the time, we would have been negligent not to have a swing.

Can you imagine what Wingard and Rioli would have done together. A true travesty. Those two mentoring Brockman too would have been special.
 

SA HAWK

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We were not belted in both finals though.

In the Tigers game they jumped us in the first kickong 4 goals to our 1 and we lost the remaining 3 quarters by a total of 8 pts.

The games were both won with bursts, and in particular the Dees final, we had Jaeger out and Tom pop an AC joint in the first 5 minutes, and yet we were still only 2 goals down halfway through the last (after kicking 6 pts straight in the 3rd), before they broke us late.
I will give you the Melbourne game as we were undermanned even though i don't think Melbourne were all that good that year.

The tigers game though they had 11 more scoring shots and 30 more inside 50's it was a smashing everywhere but the scoreboard.
 
Nov 3, 2009
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We were belted in both finals which suggested we were not that close either.

Finishing top 4 that year was the worst thing that could have happened gave Clarko a false reading of where we were at imo.

But we weren’t *that* far off, which would suggest it was not an unreasonable gamble to hold off on the full rebuild strategy at that point.

And we are seeing it now, just a couple of years later (and which might actually be handy when making drafting/list decisions, if the game is going to be played much faster in the coming years).
 
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May 10, 2007
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We were not belted in both finals though.

In the Tigers game they jumped us in the first kickong 4 goals to our 1 and we lost the remaining 3 quarters by a total of 8 pts.

The games were both won with bursts, and in particular the Dees final, we had Jaeger out and Tom pop an AC joint in the first 5 minutes, and yet we were still only 2 goals down halfway through the last (after kicking 6 pts straight in the 3rd), before they broke us late.

Sorry to be pedantic here but we actually led the tigers by a point at QT, probably should have been more with Bruest and Burgoyne missing easy shots. It was the 3rd quarter they got the majority of the separation.

Also not far off with the Dees game but it was the 2nd quarter we kicked 6 straight points, 5 of them gettable set shots from memory.
 

SA HAWK

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But we weren’t *that* far off, which would suggest it was not an unreasonable gamble to hold off on the full rebuild strategy at that point.

And we are seeing it now, just a couple of years later (and which might actually be handy when making drafting/list decisions, if the game is going to be played much faster in the coming years).
I thought the rebuild should have started at the end of 16 or end of 17 at the latest we were clearly in decline.
 

bigbuddyboy

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Oct 10, 2009
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We were not belted in both finals though.

In the Tigers game they jumped us in the first kickong 4 goals to our 1 and we lost the remaining 3 quarters by a total of 8 pts.

The games were both won with bursts, and in particular the Dees final, we had Jaeger out and Tom pop an AC joint in the first 5 minutes, and yet we were still only 2 goals down halfway through the last (after kicking 6 pts straight in the 3rd), before they broke us late.

Our 2021 gameplan!
 
Nov 3, 2009
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I thought the rebuild should have started at the end of 16 or end of 17 at the latest we were clearly in decline.

Sure, but the club thought they were a chance and they finished top 4, which suggests they weren’t wrong.

I can’t imagine anyone at the end of the 2018 H&A was thinking “oh we should really have started that rebuild last year”
 

SA HAWK

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Sure, but the club thought they were a chance and they finished top 4, which suggests they weren’t wrong.

I can’t imagine anyone at the end of the 2018 H&A was thinking “oh we should really have started that rebuild last year”
If we had won a final i could see why we took the direction we did.

It was an unconvincing top 4 and straight sets finals exit.
 
Jul 13, 2015
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No I don't think playing in the VFL is an issue for them.

The issue for me last year was that there was no VFL at all - so where better for guys like Finn, Greaves, CJ, etc to develop than in the seniors? Especially when we kept playing, and losing, with the same average players that we know aren't good enough. It was a year of compromised development.

This season is different. We are giving CJ, Moore, Morrison and Brockman consistent games and they have repaid the faith. The first three in particular have surely exceeded everyone's expectations so far. And whilst it had bewilderingly taken a few weeks, Lewis and Scrimshaw were brought back into the team, which is what we want to see.

My issue is that I am just damn sick of watching TOB and Ceglar continuously get picked unreservedly. They continuously underperform and they are keeping younger players out.

I don't care if there isn't a like-for-like replacement for them. The onus would be on Clarko to tweak things and work it out. If everyone can see that they are both just plainly not up to it, and that playing Ceglar in particular forces us to be so slow, then why can't Clarko? We need skill and pace. We have that waiting in the reserves. Replacing them for Kosi/Jeka and any of the others is not going to hurt our results

To a lesser extent I'm not particularly interested in watching Howe play either, as admirable as he's been so far, he's just not going to be part of the future.

Burgoyne is another matter. I'd rather see Greaves play than him, though we know Clarko is going pick him so he gets to 400 regardless of his form. That doesn't help the development of a potentially good young player in Greaves though, and he could end up forcing someone like him to look elsewhere come the end of the season.

23 players. Having 1 of them get to 400 games does far more for the club, the players, the fans than giving the 11th best young player a go and leaving a champion who has given everything over 12 years on 392 games.
 
Jul 13, 2015
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Can I put it this way.

In my humble opinion, should AC commit to a rebuild, commit to an accountability, I would extend his contract to 2024 in an absolute heartbeat.

I would first check what S Mitchell wants to do.

Id hate to have him go to Carlton or Geelong in 2023 because Hawthorn couldnt give him a succession plan.
 
Sep 14, 2018
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No, it's why I was desperate for a trade or 2 at the end of last season to require more picks etc.

I'd be surprised if Gunston, Bruest and Shiels play in a finals winning team at hawthorn again let alone a Premiership.

That’s a fair comment. The club needs to weigh their trade value against their value in teaching and shielding the next wave of players.
 
I would first check what S Mitchell wants to do.

Id hate to have him go to Carlton or Geelong in 2023 because Hawthorn couldnt give him a succession plan.
I’m sure he would be involved in the discussion
I can’t see a professional club like Hawthorn extending the coaches contract without thinking about the future
 
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