Autopsy Round 11: Hawks audition for top 4 draft pick, v Freo

[The Spirit of Cricket]

Bang on. Clarko, what else you got mate??

Our attempts at ball movement were much better this game compared to the earlier stretch I thought, and even though we repeatedly ****ed it up we absolutely tried to take the game on off half-back and through the corridor way more often than we did previously. In fact, most of our turnovers by hand ocurred when players looked to go to the middle instead of using the space on the ground. If even a couple of our rebound 50s didn't come unstuck we are probably nearly winning that game even while being flogged around the ball.

It's already hard enough to change a gameplan mid-season in a normal year, let alone one where you're constantly moving grounds, having irregular training sessions, no reserves etc. All you can do is incrementally edge towards something more positive, which is what we have done if you compare that game to those vs Collingwood, GWS etc.

We got smashed, it happens, but I don't think it's fair to suggest last night's game was the same issue we saw when we refused to go through the middle or use the ball creatively through half back. Spacing, awful handball decision-making/execution, poor connection between mid + fwd, and simply losing at the contest were the main issues I thought

 

[Bremner20]

This.

Just hard to see how this gets better. The worrying thing is it is in the middle, where on paper we have our best players, that we are getting slaughtered. TOM is trying hard but was atrocious tonight - a number of terrible turnovers. JOM is trying to take the game on but is consistently butchering the ball. And there's just no cohesion/spark.

This game, more than any others has me worried for our future.

Dont worry too much mate if 2020 has done one thing it’s decreased my heart rate watching the hawks by putting the game into perspective. Yeah we’re s**t and a long way off being dominant again but as long as we keep bringing in young hungry players we’ll get back up there . I know every club does but the hawks culture is unique have faith . IMO it’s not the physical abilities that a player loses when they’ve won GFs like Frawley , like McEvoy , like Stratton, Puopolo they lose the hunger They need to retire or move on just occupying a spot on the list . Imagine if we had another 3or 4 top draft picks with the enthusiasm and talent of Will Day in the team even if we did lose for a couple of seasons better than watching the likes of Frawley McEvoy and Scully just picking up their pay week in week out .

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Jordan Lewis, Shane Crawford, Leigh Matthews and now Luke Hodge are saying we stink, hopefully Clarko wakes up this time

Just as well, Clarko would never had worked out why we weren’t getting the 4pts otherwise.

 

[ScottMaginness]

It's a legacy of how the game is played. Way too much emphasis on everything else, goals are no longer a priority, but merely a bi-product. When a team is not playing well, it makes scoring almost impossible. When a team is playing well, they get a few goals along the way, almost as a bonus. Personally I'd like to see more emphasis on a winning style of football with an attitude towards outscoring the opposition, but sadly coaches don't see it that way in 2020, and probably never will in future.

At half-time I was thinking this was like watching a game of soccer where the ball just ping-pongs between the defensive lines without the goals being really threatened, and the only scoring comes about because of a bad mistake and turnover or a penalty. Then with about 8 minutes left and the scoreline reading 3-1, the team behind actually comes to life and tries to score.

 

[Davo-27]

Just as well, Clarko would never had worked out why we weren’t getting the 4pts otherwise.

He is so stubborn, you'd be surprised... he probably still thinks there's a lever he can pull to win a premiership.

 

[Mappa]

O'Brien tackles though and yes he drops a lot of marks that he should take but he contests which brings the balls to ground in most occasions which is better than the opposition floating around taking uncontested marks. If it is a floating ball in the forward half you go hard and should be a 50/50 contest. He has the leap and I understand your frustration cause if he only held some of his marks would be the next Peter Knights.. He is somewhat of an enigma I agree but he is the least of our problems I think.

I totally agree. If our forwardline had been as open as Freo's last night, all the forwards including TOB would have had a much better night. Our problems stem from two key areas

a) first hands on the ball. We simply aren't getting it
b) getting away from the pack if we do. We are slow around the ball, and slow to get away. We rely on little handballs which get us into more trouble and then any chance of free ball movement is gone.

 

[Mappa]

Did a bit of digging on the O’Meara deal to see who the picks we traded out ended up being.
I hope I’m correct but the players were Hunter Clark, Ben Long and Josh Battle.
At the moment I think we are losing that trade quite badly. None of those guys would be world beaters and to be honest chances are we wouldn’t have even drafted them ourselves, but gee it stings when O’Meara can send anything but a pitching wedge inside 50.

In his defense, what other options does he have ? It's like the forwardline coaches and midfield coaches have never met. On the few occasions we do have the ball on the run through the guts, there are no leading options. We are playing a gameplan devised 7 years ago and it simply doesn't work anymore

 

[Off The Couch]

Bang on. Clarko, what else you got mate??

sitting back waiting for the same posters to go after hodge in the manner they did Tazz

 

[Bedi]

Smashed by a very ordinary side. I generally see the positives in most things but have no excuses for this one. It's a bit concerning moving forward.

 

[Mercy Seat]

He'd be losing his mind watching us right now. What're the chances he's on the blower to Clarko and Mitchell about getting him in to fix a few things up?

He's all about Brisbane these days mate.

 

[ScottMaginness]

This.

And it's really hard to fathom, as on paper it's a reasonable unit, better than we've had in either of the past two years where our midfield was competitive.

This makes me wonder if part of it is structure/game plan. Most teams seem to be know exactly where to instincively handball to try to free up a player for a less rushed possession, but we seem to really struggle to do this (resulting in rushed kicks to the forward line which frustrate us all). Are we being outnumbered at the contest?Maybe we are being too rigid in our defensive structure behind the ball so missing the run coming from behind?

Without being on the ground it's really hard to know what's going wrong, but I would say we are without a doubt one of the worst in the league at quick handballing to create a free possession.

I was pleased to see us trying to take the game on a little more this week though..

This is a game I would have liked to have watched from the stands to see how we were positioned. Freo seemed much more organised around the stoppages. There always seemed to be free players on the outside of the contest.
David Mundy is 35 and was more effective than any of our mids. When we did win the ball it was usually the result of sheer grunt by JOM or Mitchell but there was a lack of support or quality disposal. Too many were hacked kicks to half-forward where our forwards were outnumbered.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

He is so stubborn, you'd be surprised... he probably still thinks there's a lever he can pull to win a premiership.

Righto mate.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

Disgusting. They had the ball 100 more times than us yet also won the tackle count by 15. That's an indictment on us, it really is.

I look at our team and I ask myself if I was an opposition coach who do you worry about? I could only come up with 4 names that are worth putting any work into if I am playing against Hawthorn. Sicily (our best player by the width of Waverley), Breust, Smith and Gunston in that order. The rest of our team do not cause the opposition to bat an eyelid.

Our midfield is one paced, Worpel, Mitchell and Shiels are all slightly different versions of the same player. None can break the lines and none are damaging with the ball. Mitchell cannot be criticised as he is the best in the AFL at what he does. Worpel is having a very average year and Shiels is now a plodder. O'Meara is supposed to be the point of difference, the elite user who is creative and smart. But it is now time to be honest, he has been a monumental disappointment from the moment he walked into the joint when you consider what we gave up for him. We got fleeced. And there is no sugar coating it. He's a B grader who heads for the hills every time we need him to step up.

Our outside mids are Isaac Smith and that is it. Scully runs a lot but doesn't hurt you with the ball, has questionable skills and is unable to tackle. Henderson is a solid player but is at the end of his career.

The rucks are disappointing. Again last night they got beaten up. McEvoy is not the player he was and Ceglar is approaching 30 and not going to take the next step. I have no idea where our next ruckman is coming from.

Our back six is in disarray. Frost tries hard but is fundamentally unskilled by foot. Frawley is coming to the end of it as is Stratton. Scrimshaw has talent and needs games. Impey does a job and Sicily carries them all and is a superstar. They do not work as a unit. For too often there are loose opposition players in our defensive 50 who are easy targets for teams to hit up on the lead. It happened several times last night.

Our forwards are being carried by Breust and Gunston. Wingard just does enough to make you think he is about to take a game by the scruff of the neck. This happens infrequently though. O'brien threatens to do the magnificent but time is running out. Patton is a statue and is a very likely bust. Mitch Lewis is a question mark. Could be great, might be terrible. All other options are ho-hum.

As for the kids, Day looks a star. Morrison is a vanilla sonofabitch with no weapons. Gets his 15-20 pointless possessions every week but you never remember any of them. Cousins can't get a game for reasons unknown. Jiath looks like he could be the black Josh Thurgood, Nash is limited, Glass even more so and both are Irish so may very well decide to head home given the current climate. I hope Finn is good. Really good. He'll need to be.

We have very few players coming through and even more approaching the end. It is difficult to see how we are not about to go through at least half a decade of real pain.

 

[vanders]

Changes I'd like us to start with

Out: O'Brien, Scully, Ceglar, Morrison
In: Greaves, CJ, Jones, Glass

Move Sicily forward, play Wingard more in the middle and let Nash give Big Boy a chop out in the ruck.

We desperarely need guys that can run and carry that have a long penetrating kick and they need to be confident that the bloke theyre kicking it to will at least make a decent contest.

 

[MillerHawk]

No midfield teamwork/cohesion.

Dimma was dragged after the HTB that resulted in a Freo goal. Did he let fly at another Hawk straight after the free was given?

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

No midfield teamwork/cohesion.

Dimma was dragged after the HTB that resulted in a Freo goal. Did he let fly at another Hawk straight after the free was given?

Probably dragged for not giving the hands

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

Our back six is in disarray. Frost tries hard but is fundamentally unskilled by foot. Frawley is coming to the end of it as is Stratton. Scrimshaw has talent and needs games. Impey does a job and Sicily carries them all and is a superstar. They do not work as a unit. For too often there are loose opposition players in our defensive 50 who are easy targets for teams to hit up on the lead. It happened several times last night.

our back six were fantastic last night and were the sole reason we stayed in the game

 

[TylerDurden]

Worpel 3rd in the comp for tackles. Mitchell 5th for disposals. Theyre having a crack, but desperate for some polish on the outside. Id move Day and Scrim to the wings and shift Jars and CJ back. Drop Scully and rest Smith.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

No midfield teamwork/cohesion.

Dimma was dragged after the HTB that resulted in a Freo goal. Did he let fly at another Hawk straight after the free was given?

nah he immediately apologised to worps when he got pinged

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

our back six were fantastic last night and were the sole reason we stayed in the game

We stayed in the game because Fremantle didn't take their chances. Our back 6 were serviceable. Mind you, I'll concede it doesn't help when our midfield are getting beaten up the way they are.

 

[Hawk88]

I don't usually agree with this philosophy but I think its time for some wholesale changes in the team. I am not saying 5-6 kids at a time but its certainly time to debut 2 kids a game from now on and try and get as much exposure into them as possible

We need to try and get some flair and dare back into the team because if we continue to roll out this current team (and game plan) we will continue to lose whilst giving no thought to the future

We are not going to make finals in a compromised year, what else is there to do but play the kids to give them some much needed exposure?

 

[MrPremiership]

 

[SA HAWK]

We only beat the good teams. Same as last year. No idea why we can beat Brisbane and Richmond but can’t beat bottom four teams

Probably because they had stinkers when we played them.

 

[Roddy]

O'brien is 26.5 (prime time for just about any player), debuted rd 1, 2014, so he's almost completed his SEVENTH season in our colours. He's averaged 10 possessions, 3 marks and .77 of a goal in that time. I reckon he'd average double the number of dropped marks than he takes, if such stats were kept. As far as the less tangible KPIs are concerned, I also reckon he's positively impacted maybe 5 games, at a stretch, in 7 seasons. Someone else said 'time is running out'. I think his time has RUN OUT. Telling yourself 'he works hard and gets to contests' in an attempt to convince yourself is no longer cutting the mustard.

At this point in 2020, do we have anything to lose by dumping Timmy and bringing Jeka in and giving him a crack? Any reports on his progress?

 

[TylerDurden]

Very keen to see Jeka now.