Analysis The Fab 4: Where is the Love?

[Procrastinator35]

Now that the dust has finally settled on the 2014 season & the euphoria begins to subside & wear off.... I find myself pondering the question as to the seeming lack of love/recognition/celebration/acknowledgement for our Big 4 Midfield Guns in Hodge, Burgoyne, Mitchell & Lewis by the media & Footy scribes in general.

After their 3-peat in 2001-2003 all we kept hearing about was the Brizzy Fab 4 of Voss, Black, Acker & Lappin. Then there was the much vaunted Collingwood midfield which brought home a single solitary flag & endless articles on Bartel, Johnson, Selwood & Chapman et al following the Cats third Flag in 5 years.

All 4 of our Guns are every bit as decorated & accomplished as any of these groups above....They are all triple premiership players with over 250 Games to their names, (Yes, Lewis will walk that milestone in). They are all proven Big game winners/performers & yet are continually over-looked for All-Australian honours by the usual one-season wonders, who supposedly had a slightly better year than them!

We keep hearing about who has the best midfield in the AFL, when the self-evident answer sits before all & sundry in the form of these 4 GUNS.....If they played for Carlton, we'd never hear the end of it, but they don't....They play for a modest club named Hawthorn who the media are - for the most part - loathe to recognize & acknowledge as representing true greatness in being the best engine room that has existed in the AFL since the Lions of a decade prior!

When the heat is on in the middle, in the games that matter & need to be won, it is these 4 Musketeers who Clarko always goes to, in order to bring home the bacon....And what a feast it has been.

It's time for these limp-wristed media hacks to pull their proverbial me-too fingers out of their backsides & start lauding/recognising these boys for what they have achieved & are fundamentally responsible for!

 

[Blaze Storm]

If the media reported these things relative to reality, we'd be hearing nothing but stories about how awesome hawthorn is. I'm glad the hawks don't have a million bandwagon media supporters.

I used to get really angry listening to Healy & Russell on 3AW talking rubbish about how "Sydney are unstoppable" and "Geelong can't be counted out!" only to stop-gap it with an occasional "...of course, the hawks are doing OK as well..."

But then when you look at the way a legend like Lethal goes on the radio shows and breezes over the whole subject like "You know what- I know the hawks are the best team, you know it, the supporters know it, so why would I stand here pumping up their tyres?"

We, as hawks supporters, should be more focused on being gracious in victory, draw the distinction between us and the perennially overconfident Cats supporters, the Scum zombies, Shitney bandwagon and the Black and white flogs.

We should be the team that the bottom teams look at and say, "you know what- at least they're good sports. We should support our team like that."

 

[Steven Tyler]

Now that the dust has finally settled on the 2014 season & the euphoria begins to subside & wear off.... I find myself pondering the question as to the seeming lack of love/recognition/celebration/acknowledgement for our Big 4 Midfield Guns in Hodge, Burgoyne, Mitchell & Lewis by the media & Footy scribes in general.

After their 3-peat in 2001-2003 all we kept hearing about was the Brizzy Fab 4 of Voss, Black, Acker & Lappin. Then there was the much vaunted Collingwood midfield which brought home a single solitary flag & endless articles on Bartel, Johnson, Selwood & Chapman et al following the Cats third Flag in 5 years.

All 4 of our Guns are every bit as decorated & accomplished as any of these groups above....They are all triple premiership players with over 250 Games to their names, (Yes, Lewis will walk that milestone in). They are all proven Big game winners/performers & yet are continually over-looked for All-Australian honours by the usual one-season wonders, who supposedly had a slightly better year than them!

We keep hearing about who has the best midfield in the AFL, when the self-evident answer sits before all & sundry in the form of these 4 GUNS.....If they played for Carlton, we'd never hear the end of it, but they don't....They play for a modest club named Hawthorn who the media are - for the most part - loathe to recognize & acknowledge as representing true greatness in being the best engine room that has existed in the AFL since the Lions of a decade prior!

When the heat is on in the middle, in the games that matter & need to be won, it is these 4 Musketeers who Clarko always goes to, in order to bring home the bacon....And what a feast it has been.

It's time for these limp-wristed media hacks to pull their proverbial me-too fingers out of their backsides & start lauding/recognising these boys for what they have achieved & are fundamentally responsible for!

Who cares what the media say!

 

[Dewnior]

Forget the Fab Four, we've got the Fantastic Four, super heroes only called upon in times of need.

 

[kenneje]

Lewis certainly got as much love as anyone else in the AFL (except Buddy) this year from the media.

I guess it would be nice to be spoken about a little more on the programs I watch/listen to, but the few programs after the grand final, where all the so called 'experts' had to retract statements and acknowledge how underrated we were was glorious, and more than made up for it.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Who cares what the media say!

Forgive my naive simplicity.....My consciousness is still often times awash by the notion, that the media is still somehow representative of an accurate reporting/portrayal of the true state-of-affairs with regards the world around us!.....Your capacity for ignoring their misrepresentations is duly noted!

 

[TyHawk]

Forgive my naive simplicity.....My consciousness is still often times awash by the notion, that the media is still somehow representative of an accurate reporting/portrayal of the true state-of-affairs with regards the world around us!.....Your capacity for ignoring their misrepresentations is duly noted!

It's funny isn't it..if the Media come at Hawthorn with vitriol and rotten articles then the same people would make a note of it. And yes off course the Big four of Lewis , Burgoyne , Hodge and Mitchell could all be playing for four different teams and would be the 'Stars' of their team yet, we have all four in the one team! Going by that B2B isn't nowhere near enough!

 

[Argy]

These guys are super important, but each time I watch the GF I become more aware of how each and every player trusted his team-mates to be in the right place and do the right thing. The decision making was instantaneous and the execution laser-like. They honoured anyone in the brown and gold, regardless of who they were or what their reputation was, and expected them to do the right thing.

 

[seysearles]

Now that the dust has finally settled on the 2014 season & the euphoria begins to subside & wear off.... I find myself pondering the question as to the seeming lack of love/recognition/celebration/acknowledgement for our Big 4 Midfield Guns in Hodge, Burgoyne, Mitchell & Lewis by the media & Footy scribes in general.

After their 3-peat in 2001-2003 all we kept hearing about was the Brizzy Fab 4 of Voss, Black, Acker & Lappin. Then there was the much vaunted Collingwood midfield which brought home a single solitary flag & endless articles on Bartel, Johnson, Selwood & Chapman et al following the Cats third Flag in 5 years.

All 4 of our Guns are every bit as decorated & accomplished as any of these groups above....They are all triple premiership players with over 250 Games to their names, (Yes, Lewis will walk that milestone in). They are all proven Big game winners/performers & yet are continually over-looked for All-Australian honours by the usual one-season wonders, who supposedly had a slightly better year than them!

We keep hearing about who has the best midfield in the AFL, when the self-evident answer sits before all & sundry in the form of these 4 GUNS.....If they played for Carlton, we'd never hear the end of it, but they don't....They play for a modest club named Hawthorn who the media are - for the most part - loathe to recognize & acknowledge as representing true greatness in being the best engine room that has existed in the AFL since the Lions of a decade prior!

When the heat is on in the middle, in the games that matter & need to be won, it is these 4 Musketeers who Clarko always goes to, in order to bring home the bacon....And what a feast it has been.

It's time for these limp-wristed media hacks to pull their proverbial me-too fingers out of their backsides & start lauding/recognising these boys for what they have achieved & are fundamentally responsible for!

Well considering 3 of your fab-four play in the backline i'm not surprised that they're not being compared to Voss, Black, Akermanis and Lappin who were all bonafide midfielders during the Brisbane 3-peat. The truth is that we succeed with a pretty modest midfield. Lewis, Shiels, Hill, Smith and more recently Langford have been the key midfielders in the back to back triumphs. I suppose you would have to put Mitchell in there also despite the fact that he has spent most of 2014 on the half backline. Hodge and Burgoyne play almost exclusively as defenders and despite playing through the midfield in bursts I don't think many people think of them as midfielders these days.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Well considering 3 of your fab-four play in the backline i'm not surprised that they're not being compared to Voss, Black, Akermanis and Lappin who were all bonafide midfielders during the Brisbane 3-peat. The truth is that we succeed with a pretty modest midfield. Lewis, Shiels, Hill, Smith and more recently Langford have been the key midfielders in the back to back triumphs. I suppose you would have to put Mitchell in there also despite the fact that he has spent most of 2014 on the half backline. Hodge and Burgoyne play almost exclusively as defenders and despite playing through the midfield in bursts I don't think many people think of them as midfielders these days.

True.... all of Burgers, Hodge & Mitch do play in defense for alot of our games, but if you had read my post thoroughly (Most particularly the second last paragraph) then you'll have noticed my stipulation that when things are at a crisis point, it is almost always the case that 3 of these lads will be in the middle, to do the thing they do best when the heat is on.....I.E Win us the game!....That is why Clarko rests them in defense, so that he can call upon them & save them for when he needs them most to step up, which they inevitably do. Our past 4 Seasons of an 80% win ratio lies testament to such a policy!

Also, If you had of being paying attention in the Finals, then you'll have noticed all 4 playing significantly more time in the Midfield!

The point being: Blind Freddy knows it is these 4 fellas that get the job done & are our 4 Musketeers....Yet the media remain either indifferent or completely clueless!....Hence the Fred!

 

[Steven Tyler]

Forgive my naive simplicity.....My consciousness is still often times awash by the notion, that the media is still somehow representative of an accurate reporting/portrayal of the true state-of-affairs with regards the world around us!.....Your capacity for ignoring their misrepresentations is duly noted!

The more you cop a suspension the more agitated and angry you are upon your arrival back P35!
You are talking about sports journalism here
Anyone who follows football knows how incredible the 4 Hawks you have mentioned have been for us over a sustained period
Most AFL media articles are written to cause debate at the water cooler, not to point out the bleeding obvious, but if you want to continue with the "Woe is Hawthorn in the media" campaign then good luck with it, but that notion just doesn't wash with me

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it's what makes Bigfooty enjoyable to be a part of!

 

[Leather Poisoning]

Hodge, Mitchell, Burgoyne and now Lewis.

What a crew.

**** the media, they are there as entertainment, not as information. Opinion isn't news, it's just treated as such, and the more people that disagree with it, the more clicks on the website (see Mike Sheehan's top 50 each season, pre and post season).

In terms of all-Australian I guess they don't rate anywhere near the geelong and Brisbane guys. Our crew also is played all over the ground, making it a)harder to earn AA nominations and b) harder to be thought of as a single cohesive, dominant midfield unit.

Our midfield in the finals was mostly:
Mitchell, Lewis; shiels, Langford

Hodge and Burgoyne rolled everywhere.

Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis and Burgoyne should therefore be seen not as a fab 4 midfield but as the four horsemen of the apocalypse as they gallop all over the park signaling the end for all those who stand in their way.

 

[Procrastinator35]

The more you cop a suspension the more agitated and angry you are upon your arrival back P35!
You are talking about sports journalism here
Anyone who follows football knows how incredible the 4 Hawks you have mentioned have been for us over a sustained period
Most AFL media articles are written to cause debate at the water cooler, not to point out the bleeding obvious, but if you want to continue with the "Woe is Hawthorn in the media" campaign then good luck with it, but that notion just doesn't wash with me

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it's what makes Bigfooty enjoyable to be a part of!

Nah mate, not angry at all....You should be familiar with my prose style by now Steven Tyler....Love nothing more than a good debate....As for my suspensions, well, lets just say they were all well deserved & hard earnt!

Bit hard to get angry when we are coming off Back 2 Back Flags & 12 Premierships into the bargain....When I started following the Hawks in 1974, we had the grand sum total of 2 Flags in the bag!

The point is.... These 4 are not given anywhere near the adulation they deserve....And yes, it does piss me off somewhat!...Regardless, they are our Fab 4 & If I had the I.T skills necessary, I'd be putting together an Abbey Road Style Photoshop together with all 4 of em on the Zebra crossing so as to post it on the main board & thereby stir up a veritable hornets nest!....Just a thought!

 

[Southern Urchins]

Lewis is overrated!

 

[Davo23]

Hodge, Mitchell & Burgoyne would qualify as among the greatest midfielders ever.
And among the greatest all-round footballers ever.

I witnessed all those premierships in the 1970's and 1980's, and always regarded the greatest big game players as Matthews, Scott & Knights in the 1970's and Brereton, Ayres & Dipper in the 1980's. These are the players who always turned up when the chips were down and the game was there to be won.

Hodge, Mitchell & Burgoyne are the big game players of the current era.

Great champions, and we are so lucky to see them play.

 

[Procrastinator35]

Lewis is overrated!

He can be Ringo then, or D'Artagnon!

Lewis has been our highest possession gatherer in both of our Back to Back Flags, while also amassing over 20 possessions in the 2008 Premiership!....His finals record & performances have been every bit as good as Hodge, Mitchell & Burgoyne's!....His 2013 Grand Final performance is hugely underrated & his efforts in 2014 in winning the B&F has elevated him to elite status.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Nah mate, not angry at all....You should be familiar with my prose style by now Steven Tyler....Love nothing more than a good debate....As for my suspensions, well, lets just say they were all well deserved & hard earnt!

Bit hard to get angry when we are coming off Back 2 Back Flags & 12 Premierships into the bargain....When I started following the Hawks in 1974, we had the grand sum total of 2 Flags in the bag!

The point is.... These 4 are not given anywhere near the adulation they deserve....And yes, it does piss me off somewhat!...Regardless, they are our Fab 4 & If I had the I.T skills necessary, I'd be putting together an Abbey Road Style Photoshop together with all 4 of em on the Zebra crossing so as to post it on the main board & thereby stir up a veritable hornets nest!....Just a thought!

Yeah, I'm familiar with your style, and I enjoy the comments
Just a question though, you say "bit hard to get angry when we are coming off b2b"
Then next paragraph you say "and yes, it does piss me off somewhat"

FFS mate, I'm getting a headache!

 

[Lord Mud of Glenferrie]

Forgive my naive simplicity.....My consciousness is still often times awash by the notion, that the media is still somehow representative of an accurate reporting/portrayal of the true state-of-affairs with regards the world around us!.....Your capacity for ignoring their misrepresentations is duly noted!

Your naive simplicity is noted.

Our capacity for ignoring their misrepresentations will never be noted.

 

[QuietB]

Well considering 3 of your fab-four play in the backline i'm not surprised that they're not being compared to Voss, Black, Akermanis and Lappin who were all bonafide midfielders during the Brisbane 3-peat. The truth is that we succeed with a pretty modest midfield. Lewis, Shiels, Hill, Smith and more recently Langford have been the key midfielders in the back to back triumphs. I suppose you would have to put Mitchell in there also despite the fact that he has spent most of 2014 on the half backline. Hodge and Burgoyne play almost exclusively as defenders and despite playing through the midfield in bursts I don't think many people think of them as midfielders these days.

This. And you could legitimately argue Lewis has spent more than 50% of his career outside the centre square - either wing or HFF. The true brilliance of these guys is the massive damage they can do when Clarko lets them lose in there.

My opinion would be that the Hawks midfield might get underrated for a few reasons;

1/ half the idiots who talk footy cannot get past the chipchip myth. When I hear flogs like Judd state that Sydney will win it because they are harder and the Hawks chipchip game plan will be found out . Show me 4 harder footballers than Hodge, Mitchell, Burgoyne and Lewis. Mitchell might be the hardest of them and that is something he gets zero credit for.

2/ they haven't won any Brownlows or MVP's. These awards are mostly bullshit but they carry massive hype. Brisbane won 3 Brownlows, Geelong 2, even the pies got 1.

3/ Hawks fans hardly know players like Sheils are out there half the time. It's little wonder no one else notices how good he is.

4/ the Hawks forward line has been taking all the attention for a long time.

 

[Procrastinator35]

3/ Hawks fans hardly know players like Sheils are out there half the time. It's little wonder no one else notices how good he is.

.

I don't know that any knowledgeable Hawks fan would doubt the value of Shiels in our midfield....He is both an elite runner & Stopper & almost always leads our 1%ers with regards pressure acts & tackles....However, he has only just passed the 100 game mark & has a good 6-7 seasons of good footy required to be compared to or included within this conversation!

Similarly, our other rotating mids in Breust, Cyril, Langford, Puopolo & Roughy are equally as esteemed as Shiels, but these guys are principally make-weights & pinch-hitters when considering our midfield as a whole.

The point being, that it is Hodge, Burgoyne, Mitchell & Lewis who do the bulk of the work at the coal face when the temperature is at it's zenith on match-days....And it it these 4 guys who control both the tempo of a game & who continually lift that extra 10% in order to get us over the line.

Shiels is an excellent mid-fielder & a likely future captain, but a match-winner he is not!

 

[TyHawk]

On top of all that's been said, Clarkos game plan revolves around winning stoppages and clear Clearences, so that our forward five can quickly get on their bikes and double run to find ample space inside 50! Langford and Shiels can and do win their fair share of Clearences but it's Mitch, Lewy, Burgs and Hodgey who get valuable inside footy with experience and deft touches that elevate the Hawks overall Midfield input! The coal face is as important as ever in today's footy and those four do it as well as any as per the GF!

 

[Blaze Storm]

I don't know that any knowledgeable Hawks fan would doubt the value of Shiels in our midfield....He is both an elite runner & Stopper & almost always leads our 1%ers with regards pressure acts & tackles....However, he has only just passed the 100 game mark & has a good 6-7 seasons of good footy required to be compared to or included within this conversation!

The same can be said about Poppy, most people say "he's good for one flashy play a game but has poor decision making", but he is number one in the league for pressure-acts and chase-downs, covering 1-2 opponents to allow Breust/Rioli/Hodge/Gunston etc... to float into space or get 1v1s.

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

 

[seysearles]

3/ Hawks fans hardly know players like Sheils are out there half the time. It's little wonder no one else notices how good he is.

I don't know that any knowledgeable Hawks fan would doubt the value of Shiels in our midfield....He is both an elite runner & Stopper & almost always leads our 1%ers with regards pressure acts & tackles

Is he that good though? I am genuinely not even sure. Up until the beginning of this season he had received a grand total of 1 Brownlow vote playing a permanent role in back to back grand finals and the premiership midfield. Thats quite astonishing. He is reliable and gets the job done week in week out but he doesn't really have any stand out qualities that significantly set him apart from almost any of the other midfielders in the league and you feel like his role could be quite easily filled by another good 7/10 midfielder that happened to be available. I guess he really personifies Clarkson's agenda for players to play roles which allow him to replace a soldier with another soldier if/when they go down.

 

[seysearles]

The same can be said about Poppy, most people say "he's good for one flashy play a game but has poor decision making", but he is number one in the league for pressure-acts and chase-downs, covering 1-2 opponents to allow Breust/Rioli/Hodge/Gunston etc... to float into space or get 1v1s.

I would be very interested to hear what opposition players say about Puopolo. My guess is that he would be a nightmare to play on. Him being out there constantly limits the amount of space and time they have to make decisions and execute disposals. He's worth his diminutive weight in gold as far as i am concerned.