Some positives...

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Lots of negative stuff at the moment but we do have some positives.

01. Sicily is becoming an out and out star. I looked at him compared to Rampe, who is rated by many as one of the best third tall defenders and Siss has him covered.

02. Morrison is coming along nicely. Unlike a top ten pick he isn't averaging 20+ a game, but he is building and showing he will continue developing.

03. Mitchell is a star. Was hoping Howe would get in and help clear his tag, but Tommy is having Bronwlow games every two.

04. Hardwick belongs. Has had a few average moments but flies the flag and for a kid in a young defence, is doing very well.

05. Bruest is delivering.

06. Issie Smith is having a great year too.

07. Hendo is a surprise packet. Has got a lot of the ball and using it well.

08. We are giving some kids some exposure... Worps, Cuz, Glass...

09. The Box Hill Boys are developing and showing something... JOR, Lewis, Pitt, Nash...

Hang in there Hawkers !!

 

[Hawks1994]

I for one wasn't expecting us to be sitting in the top 4 after 8 rounds (depending on remaining games)
We are still 100% on the rebuild path, so ups and downs in form are going to come more frequently than a full list of seasoned players

Most of the players with less than 50 games of experience have shown that they've got enough to work with, to be able to have a good career
Couple that with the fact we've lost some key/experienced players already so those younger blokes have had to step just like last year

Lots of improvement left in this side but certainly some positives to hang onto. I'd be giving us an easy pass mark thus far

 

[SA HAWK]

You forgot the Imp.

Nice pickup.

 

[RobHawk]

I would add Impey being one of the recruits of the year. Explosive,speedy and gutsy with a bit of x factor.

 

[FisherHawk]

Three more positives. Puopolo, Rioli and Birchall to return.

 

[jive]

Burton has so much more improvement in him. He will bust a game open soon.

Rioli, Poppy, Impey and Bruest will be absolute force when it's on the park and will an asset to midfield rotations. Very versatile.

 

[thejockey]

I think a lot of the negativity comes from expectation mostly unrealistic expectation

I know sometimes I’ll be getting frustrated watching a game and I’ve got to remind myself it’s Hawthorn 2018 not 2012-2015

We are tracking better then I expected this season and to be honest the turnaround from this time last year is pretty remarkable . Some teams take years to get back in finals contention , we’ve done it in 20 games

- experienced players in general back performing well
- core group inexperienced players developing nicely and I think well underrated outside HFC
- shrewd recruit in Impey
- quality still to come back . Birchall, Poppy, Rioli
- decent development at BHH as far as depth goes

That’s all pretty positive to me

 

[threesixpio]

There are definitely positives. Christ if the Pies win we are still in the top four.

It’s a long year and who knows how it will pan out. We were really close to wining the other night in spite of a whole lot going wrong.

We should temper our expectations a bit. I rewind to the start of the year and what would I have wanted?

JOM to stay on the park - tick
Forwardline being more functional- tick
At least one or two young new players coming in - half tick for Harry M

Trust Clarko

 

[TylerDurden]

There are a ton of positives. The frustration amongst fans surrounds the same 2-3 players that get picked each week regardless of how badly they play.

I don’t reckon the fans would care if they were kids you could tell had a future.

 

[Hawk_francais]

Some more positives:

Shiels has quietly found form. He's a great tackler and competitor we know, but he looks at his best delivering inside 50 - he knows our forwards so well.

Burton is climbing out from the hole game-by-game, was one of the better ones today.

Hardwick lives up to his name. Ferocious player with great skills.

Frawley showing that as a back shoulder defender, he is still very good. When he's in good position, our whole defence just works. We conceded 75 points against the hot eagles forward-line who were averaging well over 100.

O'Meara didn't drop his head after that stupid miss. Won 5 clearances and kicked 3 goals. Big tick, big future for us.

Impey was great. Once Poppy settles in a bit more and Cyril is back it will completely change our forward half.

We have been famous recently for having great kicks in our side, but Sicily already has a claim as the best - he kicks move like bloody missiles.

Our coach knows exactly where we're at.

We can beat Port next week.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

I for one wasn't expecting us to be sitting in the top 4 after 8 rounds (depending on remaining games)
We are still 100% on the rebuild path, so ups and downs in form are going to come more frequently than a full list of seasoned players

Most of the players with less than 50 games of experience have shown that they've got enough to work with, to be able to have a good career
Couple that with the fact we've lost some key/experienced players already so those younger blokes have had to step just like last year

Lots of improvement left in this side but certainly some positives to hang onto. I'd be giving us an easy pass mark thus far

No the 22 we have played through 10 rounds has been the oldest and most experienced in the competition.

I won't be giving us a pass mark unless we play finals due to us having an experienced team.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

No the 22 we have played through 10 rounds has been the oldest and most experienced in the competition.

I won't be giving us a pass mark unless we play finals due to us having an experienced team.

This is concerning... although Burgers is like 85 years old, so does push things up a bit !!

 

[Flag08]

A positive is that our boring style of play where every player on the ground is packed into a shoebox has pushed along the discussion around the parlous state of the game.

 

[TheFourPillars]

A positive is that our boring style of play where every player on the ground is packed into a shoebox has pushed along the discussion around the parlous state of the game.

This is not exclusive to Hawthorn or any other side. Everyone does it at some stage in the game.

 

[Noel Gallagher]

Biggest positive for me by a country mile is that Clarkson now has a clear picture of who can and can’t play. The illusion that we could make top four and challenge for the flag this year has been well and truly de bunked

Expect a massive clean out this year a la 2004 and wright looking to bring in an extra first or second round pick. We have a good nucleus of young talented players that we can build a side from.

Several players have had their names stamped and hopefully one or two more players can step up by the end of the year.

We desperately need two more quality mids and two kpp players at either end.

 

[Mr Lizard]

This is concerning... although Burgers is like 85 years old, so does push things up a bit !!

Swap Silk for a twenty-four-year-old and our average age goes down by 6 months.

 

[hk89]

No the 22 we have played through 10 rounds has been the oldest and most experienced in the competition.

That's true, and largely the result of a large number of 150+ gamers. However if you look at the number of sub-50 gamers we are fielding some weeks, we have a profile in that game range that isn't that dissimilar to the younger teams. Last week for example we had the same number of sub-50 gamers as Brisbane. We also had 1 more sub-10 gamer than them. 5 versus 4, with those under 10 games being Morrison, Lewis, Worpel, Cousins and Mirra (year he's no spring chicken, but their's included a 28 year old and a 23 year old too).

Went with a more experienced team against Eagles though, so no excuses available there.

I won't be giving us a pass mark unless we play finals due to us having an experienced team.

Yup, our top end experience still has some very good players and should be able to drag us into finals. If we keep fielding teams with so many sub 10 gamers in the games we should be able to win , it is going to be difficult though. I think our second half of the year draw is slightly easier than the first half's so if Clarko wants to concentrate more on wins and less on development I think we can still make it, especially if Cyril and Birchall get back and show some form, and we don't have anyone else important go down.

 

[Nugett]

Positives after the past 3 rounds: we get to save money, as we no longer need lube!

Sis is still a major positive. Although at the Gabba I did notice that when things aren’t going his way he drops the head. If he can get that out of his game, then he has the potential to be an A+ defender rather than an A-. So still lots of room for improvement. Impey has shown great glimpses of what he can do. We are getting more experience into the “Kids”

 

[RIOLINWITPUNCHS]

Us supporters searching for positives:

 

[hk89]

Just looking at the ladder as it stands right now, based on ladder position alone, we've really only had one super disappointing game and that is Brisbane.

7 of our 10 games so far have been against top 8 teams. We lost narrowly to 1st , 2nd, and 4th and thumped third. We beat 6th and 8th, and our only bad loss against the top 8 was against Roos, with Adelaide still to play (at the MCG).

Looking at that, I don't think we are too far off being a team that could play finals. Furthermore, including this weekend, 9 of our last 12 games are against teams currently outside the 8. That is a pretty cosy run home if form doesn't shift too much in the second half of the year. My main concern is that some of the teams that have been shit may be on the improve by the time we play them. Essendon have been decent since their loss to Carlton, and GWS are largely only shit because of their injury list. If we can get even one win out of our remaining top 8 matchups (Geelong, Sydney, Adelaide) we could easily fight our way back into the 8 with that draw. Rioli back will be huge. Is Birchall still progressing? Was worried about him not being mentioned in the latest BUPA report , and still listed as indefinite. Looking forward to seeing the drive we get out of our defensive 50 with both Sicily and Birchall in the same side (not to mention Burton appears to be getting some touch back).

 

[MasterSamurai]

We’re in a state right now, where if we were to play Carlton this week, we’d lose. Subjectively, I have lost so much confidence when I watch us play.

 

[Hawk_francais]

We’re in a state right now, where if we were to play Carlton this week, we’d lose. Subjectively, I have lost so much confidence when I watch us play.

It's funny, I'd never have guessed that from your other posts on our board.

 

[Hawk_francais]

Just looking at the ladder as it stands right now, based on ladder position alone, we've really only had one super disappointing game and that is Brisbane.

7 of our 10 games so far have been against top 8 teams. We lost narrowly to 1st , 2nd, and 4th and thumped third. We beat 6th and 8th, and our only bad loss against the top 8 was against Roos, with Adelaide still to play (at the MCG).

Looking at that, I don't think we are too far off being a team that could play finals. Furthermore, including this weekend, 9 of our last 12 games are against teams currently outside the 8. That is a pretty cosy run home if form doesn't shift too much in the second half of the year. My main concern is that some of the teams that have been shit may be on the improve by the time we play them. Essendon have been decent since their loss to Carlton, and GWS are largely only shit because of their injury list. If we can get even one win out of our remaining top 8 matchups (Geelong, Sydney, Adelaide) we could easily fight our way back into the 8 with that draw. Rioli back will be huge. Is Birchall still progressing? Was worried about him not being mentioned in the latest BUPA report , and still listed as indefinite. Looking forward to seeing the drive we get out of our defensive 50 with both Sicily and Birchall in the same side (not to mention Burton appears to be getting some touch back).

Everyone can say what they want but we finished 12th last year. Making the eight would be a really good outcome for us this year, anything else a huge bonus.

 

[MasterSamurai]

It's funny, I'd never have guessed that from your other posts on our board.

Confidence comes and goes in swings and roundabouts, right now we seem on a really low ebb but my feeling is that our second half of the year will be exciting. There’s way too much talent and experience in this side to just slide away into oblivion. Our last three weeks have confused me no end, whereas the first month of football was fantastic.
Maybe we are the Jekyll and Hyde of the competition.

 

[grumbleguts]

One positive we all need to consider: We are not St Kilda.

Underrated state of affairs.