Thornton

[Thrawn]

Great game by him I thought. Went on and beat one of the better forwards in the comp. His last quarter spoil, evasion and run out of defense won us the game IMO.

IIRC Voss was the only one who actually gave him some credit out of the commentary team.

I believe he'll improve this year based on the extra support.

 

[blues4flag]

Looks set for a big year with Waite, Setanta and Bower down there to take the pressure off.

 

[gandaal]

He'll be less noticed now that we have O'hAilpin and Waite are down back but I doubt he'll ever get beaten again.

 

[sticks74]

He'll be less noticed now that we have O'hAilpin and Waite are down back but I doubt he'll ever get beaten again.

As i am up in Qld and waiting for the bloody replay at 11.25pm...How did Waite and O'hAilpin go tonight!!!

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

they were ok ... Waite's decision making at times was horrible.

 

[gandaal]

they were ok ... Waite's decision making at times was horrible.

Really? He made a couple of mistakes but generally he was pretty good. Provided a pretty good target up the ground.

O'hAilpin kept Roughead quiet all game. Did a great job.

 

[as0l0]

they were ok ... Waite's decision making at times was horrible.

AT TIMES as in 5% of the time

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

AT TIMES as in 5% of the time

more like 20% of the time.

 

[BlueVision]

Was at the game and must admit I agree with Gandaal - he made a couple of bad decisions but overall for someone playing just their 2nd game in defense I thought he went fine- he will get better with more experience down back.

 

[Mayesy_23]

Thornton has all the composure in the world. He will be a master down back for years. That's why our opponents wanted him. I'm glad we've still got him. GO BLUES.

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

Hawthorn really lacked a Brett Thornton tonight.

 

[blues76]

Thornton has all the composure in the world. He will be a master down back for years. That's why our opponents wanted him. I'm glad we've still got him. GO BLUES.

thats it.....he'd be the only one down back who doesnt panic when he gets the bloody thing...played well....killed that hack williams

 

[thylacine60]

Thornton has all the composure in the world. He will be a master down back for years. That's why our opponents wanted him. I'm glad we've still got him. GO BLUES.

Clarkson must have wanted to chew a hole through the coaches box with the way Thornton went tonight. They were that (holds up thumb and forefinger held very close together) close to getting him. Oh the pain!

 

[Mentallo]

I have been saying for 2 or 3 years that Thornton is one of the most under rated player in the comp.
Week after week he delivers 100% effort regardless of what the scoreboard says and is becoming one of the stand out leaders down at the club.

 

[gadj1976]

Great game by him I thought. Went on and beat one of the better forwards in the comp. His last quarter spoil, evasion and run out of defense won us the game IMO.

IIRC Voss was the only one who actually gave him some credit out of the commentary team.

I believe he'll improve this year based on the extra support.

makes a difference when you've got pressure upfield. Where are those guys saying we should get rid of him now?

 

[Nightwolf]

We had a packed forward line where Williams' usual work has no chance of working. He was always going to win out in that situation.

That said, he was ok..

 

[mediumsizered]

We had a packed forward line where Williams' usual work has no chance of working. He was always going to win out in that situation.

That said, he was ok..

That packed forward line seemed to be part of the Hawks' game plan. As the commentators consistently noted Hawthorn were always keeping 4 players inside 50. If this doesn't work for Williams then I think Clarkson has to return to the drawing board. Personally I think Hawthorn's forward line will function best with Williams playing from the square, Franklin doing what he is doing & Boyle working from 30+ metres from goal. Roughead should not be down there at all as he is a liability.

 

[as0l0]

Hawthorn really lacked a Brett Thornton tonight.

LOL! I'm paying that one!

 

[HBF]

That packed forward line seemed to be part of the Hawks' game plan. As the commentators consistently noted Hawthorn were always keeping 4 players inside 50. If this doesn't work for Williams then I think Clarkson has to return to the drawing board. Personally I think Hawthorn's forward line will function best with Williams playing from the square, Franklin doing what he is doing & Boyle working from 30+ metres from goal. Roughead should not be down there at all as he is a liability.

Why wouldn't Hawthorn consider playing Roughead in the backline? Surely they have enough strike power up there with Williams, Franklin and Boyle as the main targets. Throw in Dixon when he comes back, and Roughead all of a sudden doesn't seem to have a spot up there.

As for T-Brid, a fantastic game from him. As a few people have said, with the added support he is getting now, he would be loving life down in the defensive half.

 

[mediumsizered]

Why wouldn't Hawthorn consider playing Roughead in the backline? Surely they have enough strike power up there with Williams, Franklin and Boyle as the main targets. Throw in Dixon when he comes back, and Roughead all of a sudden doesn't seem to have a spot up there.

That was what I was alluding to with my post. Roughead looked totally lost in the forward line last night. I remember he kicked 4 goals in one game last year & I think since then the Hawks coaching staff have decided he is the great white hope to play as a KP forward. As you rightly mention Hawthorn have Dixon to come back in, but also Croad. Roughead is going to have to become a quality defender otherwise his AFL career may be very shortlived.

 

[Blah Blah Blue]

As for T-Brid, a fantastic game from him. As a few people have said, with the added support he is getting now, he would be loving life down in the defensive half.

Well said. I think we all knew that Bret has done it hard for years, essentially the #1 backman, undersized and lacking any real assistance.

Now being the #3 backman we will see him develope into a truly attacking backman.

 

[The Grover]

In one season our backline has gone from a joke to a force to be reckoned with.

The polish comes from scotland & Thornton, the spoiling of the long arm trio of Waite,O'hAilpin & Walker, better options with matchups.

 

[Jeremias]

Very happy with T-Bird. As always, he has looked calm, cool and collected down back. Does his defensive job brilliantly, but is starting to attack more and more, which is great to see.

Looks really good having him as a 2nd or 3rd defender. That's always been his best position. Hopefully he has his best season yet playing that role.

 

[Nightwolf]

In one season our backline has gone from a joke to a force to be reckoned with.

The polish comes from scotland & Thornton, the spoiling of the long arm trio of Waite,O'hAilpin & Walker, better options with matchups.

Hate to spoil your little fantasy here, but its only the NAB cup..

 

[HBF]

Hate to spoil your little fantasy here, but its only the NAB cup..

Bet ya you wouldn't be saying that if the Hawks won on Saturday night. We know that Hawthorn had Croad, Smith, Vandenberg, Brown and one or two others missing, but you can only beat the team out on the park, and we did that.