Autopsy Round 13, 2026: Hawks get leashed

[Atch]

Hindsights 20/20 but to much energy spent in the Argy bargy! Got hook line and sinkered by them. Smash them in play with big hits in the air and big tackles.

 

[Back Pocket Rocket]

I’d be happy if this season was Sicily’s last as captain. Been feeling that way for a few seasons though. We’ve now got some obvious replacements. One of a few hard calls Sam has to make, though it really shouldn’t be that difficult after last night. Surely the last straw.

Inaugural Tassie captain?

 

[Matilda05]

Lots of comments on here about Sicily's carry on. I reckon it has merrit, but for those that have played football at a higher level than me (so literally everyone) is it actually an issue inside the four walls of a football club?

 

[SSSSSS]

Lots of comments on here about Sicily's carry on. I reckon it has merrit, but for those that have played football at a higher level than me (so literally everyone) is it actually an issue inside the four walls of a football club?

It's a bad look but I doubt it will be focused much by the playing or coaching group. Blown out of proportion here and the media.

That being said, when you've lost momentum you need a leader who can provide some calm and composure. Sicily was anything but calm and composed.

 

[thehardway]

Yes, we kicked badly for goal and were undisciplined, but what concerned me in the 2nd half was the constant bombing into the forward line where we were outnumbered. We rely heavily on our transition game and if sides can slow our ball movement and then flood our forward line, we struggle to counter this. The Collingwood game followed a similar pattern. Flood our forward line and then get us on the slingshot.

On a positive note, we'll have Gunners, Barrass and Nash back after the bye. Barrass has been a huge loss as he's such a rock in our backline. A few players struggling so the bye a good opportunity to reset. I really liked Bmacs game and hope Nairn retains his spot as he has a huge upside.

And what to do with our rucks? Lots of criticism of Meek here but there were some green shoots I thought. Yes, he kicked badly for goal (he wasn't alone in this) but at least he clunked a few marks and thought his CB contest was OK. IMO he was better than Reeves last night who looks incredibly slow and cumbersome around the ground. My view is to go with Meek as the solo ruck and with Gunners back Chol can provide ruck back up. It worked the last two years.

So looking in the crystal ball:

IN: Gunners TB Nash
OUT: Perez Ryan Reeves

 

[TheFourPillars]

you mean lots of people did and negative reacted to it. but look what happened. Heaven forbid you don't submit to group think on this forum.

Mate the only one that was fit was Barrass. The other two didn't train. Gunston not at all and Nash in rehab. If u consider the season and not one game then anyone with any common sense would say that the selections were warranted.

I know ure going to say but if it was a final they would have played. Finals and grand finals are what the whole season is about loading up with injured players can burn u in a home and away game.

The season is a marathon you dont spend all ure tickets on game against the Bulldogs in June

 

[drewand]

Inaugural Tassie captain?

Hope not for the Devils sake. He's not a leader, especially with a new club full of young players

 

[Hawkas1988]

I will say I watched Lewis on Sicily closely. All night he was niggling him and punching him and into him. Just didn't really stop.

Problem is Sicily reacts too much. As frustrating as it is to have someone at you all night you need to keep your cool better for a Captain.

He still played a pretty solid match though and won some crucial balls. Ridiculous some calls saying he should be dropped or should be his last season. Typical over the top dramatic posters.

Clubs know how important Sicily is to us and they know he reacts. It's why he gets so targeted. He really needs to work on this aspect.

All clubs would love if Sicily was missing in any games for us.

 

[chippie]

Read Ben Crowes book, the change from Hokball to now is simple, EXPECTATION. There was none during that period, now we have placed high standards to achieve and it is draining. The team needs to be released again.

Came here to say something similar. I woke up thinking we aren’t handling the weight of expectation this year. So many of those goals we missed in the last quarter we NEEDED to kick, and we failed every time. There is time to turn it around, I think so much of it is mental. The bye has hopefully come at the right time.

 

[hardway]

Amon looked pretty slow. Watched a few games up close over the years where he'd get the touch on the goal line etc. But not confident in that now.

Looks our most likely player to retire next. Slow and soft efforts are not great!

 

[BobHawk]

Thought JD's commentary was very good last night. He seems to have ironed out the cranky negativity of the past and was pretty much spot on from the get go. Dominated the first quarter but failed to capitalise, once the Dogs took our possession game away the team seemed lost, no idea or creativity kicking to the forward line, poor skills by many players and of course, the abhorrent kicking for goal.

Now, for all the faults of the players (and there are many) out there I am beginning to think that the biggest issue is the coaching because Sam doesn't seem to have any answers when teams put pressure on the team and take away their space. They just hold the ball until the pressure comes and execute with a dinky kick or handball. Turnover. Goal. There were so many instances where they just kicked the ball around giving space away because they didn't know how to go forward. This is exactly the same issue they had 3/4 years ago. Rinse and repeat.

And the midfield seems to have this idea that when the opposition wins possession in a centre clearance they peel off and run rather than put pressure on the ball. This seems quite common around the ground which is why teams can transition so fast and score easy goals. Players seem to be trying to run and find specific space while the opposition walks the ball into the forward line. Easy goal. Teams having a high conversion rate isn't fluke or just bad luck.

Back to my initial concern - I can't believe how much time and space English and co had in that second half. These are all coaching issues and have persisted for all of the season. Mitchell does not seem to have any answers and I have serious concerns with whoever the midfield coach is.

This is a fairly talented team in general and for all the issues there were many chances to win the game. Weddle missing a soda was an example. Day snapping without enough oomph etc. But unless Mitchell can fix his problems (they are now all his) then this team isn't going anywhere.

 

[Elhawko]

Hopefully everyone can take a collective breath and get the toys back in the cot.

We'll finish the round in the top four, the boys get a rest and our draw really opens up now. Yes it's crap to lose, especially when it's self inflicted. But our best is good enough. Sam's job is to make sure we're at our best when it matters, and that we can sustain it across 4 quarters.

Personally, I think we've had a great first half of the year with our only real shocker being the GWS game. We need to work out our ruck set up but everything else is in pretty good order.

I'm not despairing about the game itself. We had key players out and we won every stat pretty much except kicking for goal. Even Bevo said we should have won.

But what I and I think most others are ropable about is that we threw away a chance to consolidate top four or even top two by losing this match and drawing with the Pies when we really should have won both games reasonably comfortably.

The hope is that this is so galling for the playing group that it steels them to never perform like this again this year. If they have any genuine competitiveness in them that should be the result of this wasted opportunity.

 

[offtherails9]

We used to have a decent spread of goal kickers. Now if they arent coming from our "regular" forwards, we're screwed.

Newc pops up for a goal every 2-3 games, but Ward and Frenchie are almost allergic to the big sticks.

Ginni, Croc and Moorey have fallen off.

Amon rarely slots one. Weds has lost all confidence in front of goal.

Less said about our rucks the better.

We have become way too predictable.

Yeah 100%. You can say how good it is to have two players in the top 5 of the Coleman, but I don't think Sam would like it. Need an even spread, and yes, our mids do not kick enough goals, same with wingers and HBs. Moore used to pop up for 2-3 regularly, now he doesn't.

Came here to say something similar. I woke up thinking we aren’t handling the weight of expectation this year. So many of those goals we missed in the last quarter we NEEDED to kick, and we failed every time. There is time to turn it around, I think so much of it is mental. The bye has hopefully come at the right time.

Yeah. Even Kane asked Sam yesterday 'have you been a bit more grumpy' or something along those lines as there has been a lot of vision of him going off in the box. Mitchell said yeah I probably have been, and it's simply this isn't it - the weight of expectation. I'd love for Sam and a few of the leaders to read that book over the weekend.

Also I think Amon is clearly very injured and should not have played.

 

[FB19]

Now less drunk and angry, the main problems I have are leadership and game plan (not sure if planning or execution or both).
Our leaders let us down with some turnovers where the logic was impossible to understand. They also got involved in the false bravado and chat rather than play the game especially when we were under the pump. Sicily and Moore in particular were disappointing in that sense. That shit needs reviewing and to be taken out of our game.
The other is our game plan. Tonight we got hit with the same technique several clubs have used to outnumber back and run at us and we played right into it. We constantly kicked long to their numbers but then were either even numbered or outnumbered forward which can only speak to a lack of defensive system or effort or both.
I can’t recall being this disappointed in a result for ages. For a club that has given me more joy than I could ever hope for, that performance was not representative of Hawthorn. I hope the bye gives them the time to address that, a mostly well earned break and a much needed regroup to attack the second half of the season. Unlike my drunken post we are good enough but only when we play our way and last night was a significant deviation from that.

 

[TylerDurden]

Ginni's last kick to Moore an absolute stinker.
14 secs on the clock and he takes the short dinky option. Turnover. Game over.

He worked his arse off, but a lot of his disposal killed us.

 

[BlueWaterHawk]

Hindsights 20/20 but to much energy spent in the Argy bargy! Got hook line and sinkered by them. Smash them in play with big hits in the air and big tackles.

Yeah this is where teams like Geelong are just more mature than our group. I can't remember them falling for this shit, they just appeal for free kicks and move on.

 

[Hawkas1988]

Ginni's last kick to Moore an absolute stinker.
14 secs on the clock and he takes the short dinky option. Turnover. Game over.

He worked his arse off, but a lot of his disposal killed us.

Was a shocking decision, unfortunately he made them all night.

Usually one of our best inside 50 kicks. Last night every kick he had felt like it was from a totally different footballer. Was very strange

 

[HairyO]

Gunners isn't exactly shooting the lights out either though.

He's 35:21 for the season. Ben King is 34:8!

Ben King is like Warwick Capper. Never more than 20m from goal.

He is a one trick pony and if he doesnt kick 3 or 4 goals he is a net negative.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Now less drunk and angry, the main problems I have are leadership and game plan (not sure if planning or execution or both).
Our leaders let us down with some turnovers where the logic was impossible to understand. They also got involved in the false bravado and chat rather than play the game especially when we were under the pump. Sicily and Moore in particular were disappointing in that sense. That shit needs reviewing and to be taken out of our game.
The other is our game plan. Tonight we got hit with the same technique several clubs have used to outnumber back and run at us and we played right into it. We constantly kicked long to their numbers but then were either even numbered or outnumbered forward which can only speak to a lack of defensive system or effort or both.
I can’t recall being this disappointed in a result for ages. For a club that has given me more joy than I could ever hope for, that performance was not representative of Hawthorn. I hope the bye gives them the time to address that, a mostly well earned break and a much needed regroup to attack the second half of the season. Unlike my drunken post we are good enough but only when we play our way and last night was a significant deviation from that.

Mistakes happen. Leadership in this game isnt about that.
Leadership is being able to direct traffic. There wasnt 1 leader who tried to help the forwards. There was no telling players to clear out. Gunston has gotten the haul the last 2 years that he has because he is pushing players further up the field (leadership)

Every poor miss, i never saw one player get to the kick taker and give them the "its all good"

Then theres sicily. Everyone is wringing about Watson's half time comments, but you condone the actions you walk past, and sicily is a serial offender. Mouths off, punches, pushes etc.

 

[westhawk]

Amon really stood out tonight in terms of avoiding all physical contact, not good enough from a senior player.

Always avoids physical contact, has done so for the past few years.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

+17 inside 50’s.
+77 disposals
+14 contested possessions
+77 uncontested possessions
+41 marks
+5 marks inside 50
+5 contested marks
-1 centre clearances(even)

1.11 in a half. That’s the game.

 

[CobberRodgers]

Hopefully Max Beattie goes well today. Still think we need a pressure small to partner with the Wiz. The Wiz is dangerous, but we need someone else down there making opposition defenders uncomfortable.

Cholly has some pressure, but as a whole it’s not a super high intensity pressure forward line needed in today’s football.

 

[H00t]

Individually if you look at the statistics our mids played well. But we got smashed out of the centre after quarter time and the amount of space their mids got forward of the ball was alarming.

Our mids didn’t want to work hard enough defensively. To give up 51 points from clearances is just not good enough

 

[Billyc]

Was a shocking decision, unfortunately he made them all night.

Usually one of our best inside 50 kicks. Last night every kick he had felt like it was from a totally different footballer. Was very strange

Ginni was poor and error prone and is battling form at the moment. But he did at least work tirelessly to get the ball and to try and make something happen. Last night there were players who worked hard, got the ball in dangerous places but made chronic mistakes that were very costly (Ginnivan, Meek). There were also players who were just anonymous (Moore, Reeves). Some mixed brilliance with disappointing immaturity (Wiz, Sicily). The bye comes at a good time to reset and rethink some team structures and hopefully get some players back to form

 

[H00t]

+17 inside 50’s.
+77 disposals
+14 contested possessions
+77 uncontested possessions
+41 marks
+5 marks inside 50
+5 contested marks

1.11 in a half. That’s the game.

A massive yikes in regards to how we played is the fact they got most of their shots directly in front. The one place you can’t let them get a shot on goal.

Whereas almost all of our shots were out wide.