Mick stated Essendope would win the flag in 2022. Anything he says is garbageAFL news 2022: Hawthorn v North Melbourne, Mick Malthouse preview, why it’s a blockbuster, Round 1
It’s the non-blockbuster that has as much intrigue and excitement as a genuine
blockbuster. Hawthorn versus North Melbourne.
A first-year coach taking on a second-year coach, with personalities that appear to be miles apart, and I suspect, coaching philosophies that are just as different.
David Noble has four wins, 17 losses and a draw to his name so far. North Melbourne lost the first eight games of last season before, to his credit, Noble dropped the notion that his team had to play like the Brisbane Lions and changed the game style to better suit the Kangaroos’ strengths.
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It worked, and their first win came against Hawthorn in a tight tussle in Tasmania, before a competitive second half of the year.
Noble will further need to nurture his team for a while, to turn genuine potential into progress and eventually, success.
Sam Mitchell, 39, will most likely coach the way he played.
The second-year coach in David Noble v the first-year coach in Sam Mitchell.
He was a ball hunter, an extremely talented and gifted deliverer of the ball by hand and foot. He played the majority of his career in the middle, and some would argue he had little appreciation for the defensive side of his game.
Outside of being awarded Hawthorn’s best and fairest six times, he captained the club in the 2008 premiership, also in 2009 and 2010. Remarkably, even as a highly decorated player he was replaced by Luke Hodge as captain in 2011.
So the interest comes today in how both coaches’ strategies and techniques stack up against each other.
Hawthorn v North - who wins in round 1?
Pre-season form hasn’t revealed a lot about either club. Though what is of note, is the recruiting that has and hasn’t taken place at both North and Hawthorn.
North Melbourne lost Robbie Tarrant through free agency to Richmond but drafted Jason Horne-Francis who is a reputed superstar in the making. It also picked up Callum Coleman-Jones from Richmond and Hugh Greenwood from Gold Coast.
Top draft pick Jason Horne-Francis is all ready a hit at Arden St. Picture: Getty Images
It was well documented that Mitchell wanted a big run at the draft and the only way that could transpire was to offer up key players of value for trade.
Best and fairest Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara, and Chad Wingard were all offered up with Jack Gunston and Luke Breust.
Nothing came off, so how the ramifications of this plays out over the journey will be interesting.
Shaun Burgoyne retired, Jonathon Ceglar went to Geelong, and Tim O’Brien to the Western Bulldogs, with Max Lynch joining the Hawks from Collingwood.
It appears that Mitchell wanted as big a change as possible from the Alastair Clarkson era, perhaps making a statement that he doesn’t believe the current team can win a premiership.
Both teams will start this season working from the bottom up.
While the Hawks will need their older, more experienced players to perform to make any headwind, there are some really promising signs for North with their younger players.
As exciting as number one draft pick Jason Horne-Francis is, he could do without a ton of pressure because very rarely does a first-round draftee have any bearing on where his club finishes in his first year, simply by not having the capacity to change the course of the season.
Chris Judd and Matthew Pavlich are perhaps two players to have had a small influence on where their clubs finished in their first year of playing.
It’s the old versus the new, with both Hawthorn and North Melbourne led by real gladiators in Ben McEvoy and Jack Ziebell, who leave nothing on the field every time they play. Each is having less current effect on outcomes, but they are still trusted and proven leaders.
Nick Larkey’s 42 goals last year adds class to North’s forward line, while I am very impressed in Tarryn Thomas who is an absolute cracker of a player.
Best and fairest Jy Simpkin, Jack Mahony, Luke Davies-Uniacke, Will Phillips, Todd Goldstein, and Ben McKay — who will fill Tarrant’s leadership role and become the key back — will all play a significant role in ensuring North is very competitive this year.
It’s taken a long time for the penny to drop for Aaron Hall, but running well off the backline, with Cameron Zurhaar, certainly adds value to the team. Because they will really miss Ben Cunnington until he returns from his cancer treatment.
North’s younger midfield will be opposed to Hawthorn’s Mitchell, O’Meara, Liam Shiels and James Worpel — vastly different in age and experience, and highly effective.
The Hawks will be strengthened by the return of James Sicily. He is a freakish player and fundamental to Hawthorn’s success.
Jacob Koschitzke and Dylan Moore’s 27 goals each from 20 games last year is a boost to the forward line which has relied heavily on Breust and Gunston in the past.
Jarman Impey is an important player having now fully recovered from a knee injury, and Changkuoth Jiath is also impressive and developing into a fine running back.
As predicted, Covid will play a negative role on this season, already affecting Hawthorn for round 1.
It’s a baptism of fire for Sam Mitchell who is already carrying the unwarranted burden of proving right Jeff Kennett’s decision to appoint him as Clarkson’s replacement and dealing with the aftermath of a messy trade period.
The Hawks’ last entrance into the eight was in 2018, just once playing finals in the last five years. For all intents and purposes, it won’t be a quick turnaround.
How will Hawthorn perform under Mitchell?
What game style is he looking for – will it be distinctly different to Clarkson’s? I can’t see it being the same.
How will hyped up Horne-Francis handle the heat?
There may be more questions after today’s game than answers, but one thing that’s certain is that if today’s game is like last year’s clash, we’re in for an incidental blockbuster.
