Hawthorn, the real thing or one month wonders?

[hawkfan5]

Well we all know what the Magpies did last year winning the first five before crumbling to lose the next 9 but so is Hawthorn going to stand up and be consistent for the whole season or are they going to crumble like the Magpies. I really think we do have the talent to keep up our good form and last year I thought the Magpies were just running on high emotions for the first five games and after one loss they lost their confidence completely. So what are everyone's opinions?

------------------
Rob's Unofficial Hawthorn Hawks
http://robshawks.virtualave.net

 

[QT]

I hope yous fall apart and rot in hell

------------------
"I came here to win, I am a winner" - Denzel Washington , Remember The Titans ; 2000

 

[vanders]

Hopefully we will continue our good form throughout the season but you never know, they could still lose the next 18 games, hopefully they wont though!!

 

[Stealth bomber]

I thought we might see an Essendon-Hawthorn grand final before the season started. I still think that will happen.

 

[dunstall19]

all the way!!! but injuries play their part, and if blesses with a good run hawthorn will have an awesome year!!!!!!!!!!!!

#19 save to file/ ref.9993993999939

 

[BIG POPPA PUMP]

The real thing.

 

[Grendel]

They are on the right road to becoming the "real thing" however they are not there yet.

As stated a month of (very pleasing) wins doesnt make a season. However the structure is very solid and there is now a core of good quality footballers that (from my viewpoint) have a real desire and commitment to not only the Clubs success but also their own individual and most important (as shown so well by the Dons last season) each others successes.

Its all well and good to have great players and an imposing list, but unless those players are united in a quest to succeed then the chances are they are not going to reach the pinnacle.

I will look to two teams that most people before the start of last season most experts belived to have the best on-field talent, Essendon and Brisbane.

What united the Dons was a belief that they had been robbed of a flag (rightly or wrongly) in 99. They had the talent but their application when needed at the most desperate time (one quarter of football) was not what they believed themselves to be capable of. Brisbane by the same token seemed to think of themselves more as unlucky (re injury) and still learning with their finals fade out.

Fast forward a year and look at the results. One team through the sheer determination to prove not only to the football public but also to themselves had the statisically (no way Dan am i calling them the greatest, forget it. This is praise enough) finest season ever produced. The other team loafed through the season, seemingly waiting for themselves to 'produce' form when they so desired (seem so far this season to be going through the same predicament).

Now after that long winded speil i will get back to my point about the Hawks.

Touted as 'good things' after a fairly promising finals series. They could have gone (and still may, though i dont think they will) either way with their approach to this season.
One that making the finals last year was now confirmation that they were deserving of a finals spot, so naturally they would be there when the H&A games were finished. If they thought this way i think they would be in for a rude awakening.

Or two, they could see that good things are achieved by matching talent with dedication and a common goal to be the best you can be and settle for nothing less than the fact that every game you play you give your all.

So far, they have managed to avoid for settling for the easy option.

The Real Deal? Maybe, just maybe.

Right now, im very pleased with what im seeing, but until they achieve what i believe them capable of, well lets (to borrow from the great man Jeansy) look to the next four points first.

Cheers.

 

[BIG POPPA PUMP]

They won't keep going the way they are and win every match but they should still finish fairly highly in the 8. Had a bet with a friend that they'd finish in the top 4 at the start of the yr so hopefully they can sneak in...

I reckon between 3rd and 6th

 

[meg]

I agree with whoever said it will be a hawthorn v essendon grand final. I thought that from the start of the year.

It will be interesting when Hawthorn plays Essendon - then everyone will see how they measure up.

 

[Tom FC]

The real thing. No one other than Essendon has the same level of depth in every area of the ground.

 

[RogerC]

I think the most pleasing aspect of Hawthorn's wins this year is the attitude of the players at the final siren. Whereas in the past the players went into ecstacies, jumping around and hugging each other after every win (even on one forgettable occasion at half time, in a game we eventually lost), there's very little emotion from the fellas now. They just team up and jog off, as if they know that each win is only a step on the way to the ultimate goal, and the job is in no way finished yet.

I think the attitude is right this year. I don't expect much in the way of a slump (we'll lose some games, obviously) and I don't expect us to lose too many winnable games. We're playing within ourselves right now - there have been calls that we are an ordinary side after two of the wins, which is probably good for the players' egos.

But it is a long season. Injuries could hurt us, form is fickle, and there are so many intangibles at this stage of the season that I'm not prepared to stick my neck out. But I like the way the team is shaping up.