AFLW: Celebrating 75 with Pride
Hawks turn off the Power in the final home game of the season
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ROUND 9: HAWTHORN 6.4 (40), PORT ADELAIDE 5.2 (32)
📝 Main recap:
The day started with a celebration of inclusion and diversity and, as always, our club delivered a wonderful display before the main event. This game not only saw our club celebrate diversity, but two incredible players in Emily Bates and Akec Makur Chuot
Bates was among the first three players to bring up their 75th game in AFLW in Round 9; an incredible effort from a trail-blazing player who is among the best in the competition. To get the win in this game in honour of this achievement would be truly fitting.
Makur Chuot has sadly decided that her career will come to an end. Another trail-blazer among our team whose larger-than-life personality, wonderful humour, self-confidence, and energy will be missed around the club. Akec is the first South Sudanese women’s player, and if you haven’t listened to her retirement speech, spoiler alter: it’s a tear jerker.
Frankston turned on another windy affair (maybe the new Arctic park) and the Hawks won the toss and elected to start kicking into the breeze, a strategy that would prove to pay dividends in the final quarter.
Here’s how the game unfolded.
The First Quarter
The Hawks raced out of the blocks and scored the first goal of the day in 36 seconds. It was simply electrifying to see Bridie Hipwell mark, play on and goal. After this it was straight into arm-wrestling football. Both teams applied a lot of pressure on the ball carrier and no one was willing to give anyone an inch to move.
The tackle count was 22-28, which — as a combined tackle count — is massive for a quarter of AFLW footy. The Hawks did everything they could to move the ball forward. There were some good attempts to move up the middle, but kicking into the breeze hasn’t been a strong suit of ours this season. Having said that, we recorded five of the first seven inside-50s and scored the only goal into the breeze for the game. It was great team defensive work to ensure that our opposition only led by seven points at quarter time.
Some highlights worth mentioning:
💥 Wonderful intercept mark(s) from Mackenzie Eardley.
💥 An awesome tackle that wasn’t rewarded from Akec 😠
💥 Mattea Breed leaping against Port’s second ruck.
💥 Bates contesting hard and taking a great intercept mark.
💥 Good run from Fellows showing some promise for a breakaway.
The Second Quarter
Kicking with the wind this quarter, the Hawks really struggled to get going as it was a case of “round two” in the arm wrestle challenge. The Hawks had a lot of momentum with 11 inside-50s for the quarter, but some dropped marks around the ground and basic skills errors really cost the Hawks and we didn’t take advantage of the dominance. The errors were all over the ground which hindered their ability to move the ball forward in the manner they would like.
The Hawks managed to score three goals for the quarter while eliminating any of the Power’s surges on the scoreboard.
Highlights included:
💥 Milestone player Bates’ first goal (see below).
💥 Wales tapping it to TLR … again and again.
💥 Bodey with a run off half back — one-two — using kicks.
💥 Aine taking up good positions and getting shots on goal.
💥 Billy with a hand in smother and an excellent contested mark, avoiding some friendly fire.
💥 Mattea Breed’s run in the ruck, winning hit outs and crashing packs in a dominant purple patch during the quarter.
💥 Akec’s intercept and bomb deep into our 50, eventually leading to a toe poked goal to Bodey.
💥 Two in two minutes from Bodey.
The Hawks went into the half time break 13 points in front in what looked to be a much better quarter from the team. We came home with a wet sail and really set ourselves up to take out the win.
The Third Quarter
Really, it was Round 3 in the arm-wrestle. Our Hawks were incredible this quarter kicking into the wind. They managed to accumulate six inside-50s, while restricting Port Adelaide to only seven. While our scoring dried up, it really took Port Adelaide’s best to score their three goals.
The Hawks had come incredible plays. Here are some highlights to note for this quarter:
💥 Eardley with a run on to intercept the ball and run it into attack,
💥 Bodey working her opponent over to give us half a chance to move forward.
💥 Bodey in a three-on-one keeping the ball to create a stoppage in our forward line.
💥 Everist with two consecutive tackles to stop Power momentum and stall any movements forward
💥 Gilroy and Akec stopping an almost certain goal.
The only reason Port scored their third goal was purely a lapse in concentration in the final minute of the quarter. This saw us go into the final change four points down, but we had the breeze and were in a good position to seal the win.
While third quarters have been a weak point in our game this year, the past two weeks have seen our team make amends with some stunning play.
The Fourth Quarter
Round 4! We started strong and our forward pressure was intense at the beginning, without converting. Port then wrestled it forward to almost pinch a lucky bouncing goal. From there, the Hawks found their groove and started to press. The pressure in this round of the arm wrestle was at its highest. The question for our team after going hard for three quarters: could we last the full four?
Stratton was unbelievable in this quarter applying a lot of forward pressure and then rolling back to help out our defence. Aine McDonagh was battling hard and had some important intercept marks and clearance kicks. TLR was just everywhere.
We managed to snare two goals in this quarter, keeping the Power to a solitary point. This gave us all we needed to cement the win and take some massive steps forward as a team.
Some highlights included:
💥 Hipwell and Fellows on the boundary forcing a throw-in that lead to our first goal of the quarter.
💥 Bodey’s goal out of the pack after some chaos ball.
💥 Stratton’s brilliant contested mark just outside 50 — she should’ve received a 50m penalty — before delivering brilliantly to Hipwell.
💥 Akec’s smother to help keep it in our F50.
💥 Intercept mark in D50 from Ashmore to stop the cross from Houghton.
💥 Smother from Bates to stop another entry in the dying minutes.
The Final Word
What was that Andrew Weiss? You are not shocked to see the free kick count was 9-19 in favour of Power. Oh my goodness! Alright — enough with the sarcasm. To say the quality of adjudication was poor would be a compliment. This is a review about how awesome Hawthorn is, so no more mention of “disgraceful umpiring.”
The game was a momentum-swinging, frantic affair and it was simply marvellous to watch our team take advantage late in quarters to secure our third win of the season. It has been said from Bec, the team and commentators alike, if we can just put together four quarters, we will get the win. On Sunday it happened 🎉
Our opposition turned the pressure gauge to 11, and we responded fantastically. This was the first time we lost the tackle count all year (84-93), however we won the clearances count 35-19.
One noticeable bad trait in our team is the split second hesitations. There were many times throughout the game where if the player backed their decision, we would have had the run on, or could have marked the ball. These are now little things that are being noticed, which — as we all know — will eventually come good. Our ball use is getting cleaner each week. We’re holding more contested marks. We are finding space quicker. We are scoring from frantic play in our forward line. It’s beginning to happen and it is only a matter of time before our Hawks team will be feared come finals time.
Our ability to utilise the breeze when it was in our favour, and when it was against us to create some opportunities, was simply outstanding. To give an idea how the wind was impacting the game, Hawthorn was the only team to kick a goal into the wind. As the cohesion of the team builds and the hesitations dissipate, those opportunities will become goals. The Hawks even improved in trapping the ball inside 50 with 20 tackles in that area of the ground.
The win ensured memorable celebrations for Emily Bates in her 75 game milestone, the last home game for Akec, and for our ongoing dedication to inclusion and diversity as part of an extended Pride Round.
🍒 You’ll never forget your first
Emily Bates rundown-tackle to earn a free kick in the forward 50. She nailed her first goal for the club. What a great way to celebrate her 75th game.
✂️ Snippet of the match #2:
Two goals in two minutes. Greta Bodey with a toe poke off the ground to score one goal…
…and then roving off the pack to score a goal right on the half time siren. It was brilliant play from our number 3.
🍔 Key takeaways:
The Hawks' pressure is consistently a highlight of our game. It has to be mentioned every week. Our ability to ensure our opposition struggles to get any momentum is solid.
The Hawks ability to absorb pressure Port Adelaide has recorded a pressure factor of 282 in the last quarter after recording a rating of 227 across the first three quarters. In spite of this, our young Hawks continue to press forwards, score, and ultimately win the game.
Another fairly even team performance. Everyone was playing their role to defend and also contributing to the ball moving forward.
Emily Bates spent all game finding room where there was not much to find. She continued to be a top-performer in the team with a game-high 13 tackles, 18 disposals and a special first goal for the brown and gold.
Get around her. Akec Makur Chuot was a role player on the day, and as always she does this well. Her highlight for the game was the score involvement mentioned above. When she was on the field, she applied a lot of pressure and closed down any space the opposition could have had. Well played Akec, we will miss you in Frankston.
Mackenzie Eardley continues positioning herself to intercept marks and impact on the game. Her contribution to our team cannot be underestimated. She finished with an equal game-high intercept possession count (eight), 12 disposals, three marks (two contested — and could have been more) and 228m gained. Eardley is a gun defensive player and well overdue for a Rising Star nomination.
Tilly Lucas-Rodd was solid in our engine room with a game-high 21 disposals — including seven in the last quarter — an equal game-high six clearances, team-high 257m gained, three score involvements, and 10 contested possessions. Our captain was back in fine form today rallying the troops to an amazing win. They were involved in setting up the two goals in the last quarter.
Tamara Smith is our back pocket rocket. She is brilliant at shutting down her opponent, while making good decisions with the ball and using it effectively. While her stat sheet doesn’t stand out, her impact on the field can be seen
Charlotte Baskaran was consistently at the source and applied some great pressure with six tackles for the game. Baskaran ended up with 17 disposals (10 contested), six intercept possessions, 148m gained, and one score involvement.
Mattea Breed is a brilliant second ruck and an absolute beast in the contest. Her quick reflexes to flick to ball out with her foot, her ferocious tackling, her endeavour to get the ball and stop her opposition. She willed us forward so many times when she had the chance.
⭐️ Superstar - Greta Bodey
Four goals! In what is now an AFLW club record for most goals in a game, Bodey’s electrifying performance short-circuited the Power’s defensive structures. This performance was ultimately the difference in the game and Greta was classy and composed in booting the only two goals of the final term to see our Hawks fly home.
💫 Rising star - Lucy Wales
What a ruck battle she had against Matilda Scholz. Lucy Wales was easily among our best for the day with an equal team high 21 disposals (including a game high 16 contested 🤯), six clearances, and six tackles. She was everywhere and played like another on-baller. Wales is a superstar for our team and she will provide great contests for us in the middle of the ground for years to come. Congratulations Lucy you have well and truly earned your nomination this week.
🪜 Ladder check in
Sitting solidly in 14th position on the ladder and a percentage of 72.5, the only team we can overtake is Fremantle who are one win and 2.4% ahead. We play Geelong down the highway @ GMHB. They are looking for the win to give themselves a shot at finals and Freo take on Sydney who are also in the hunt for a finals berth. Maybe we can jump a spot?
🎤 Bec Goddard & Greta Bodey press conference highlights
“Bloody stoked.”
“There was a breeze, we had a plan for that. Sometimes it’s not pretty and you just gotta take the territory and find a way.”
“Wins are so important at the end of the season.”
“Putting all the good things we’ve seen from all our close games to get it for four quarters and get the win is important for young players.”
“Our mids copped a lot of feedback during the week and they stepped up today.”
“There is belief in all of us that we can perform in the big moments and good to see that finally happening.”
🗣️ What they said - Emily Bates
“Proud to get the win for my milestone game. To wrestle back momentum like that is such an incredible thing to do for a young team. The girls will learn a lot from that and to put together a four quarter effort — and players like Greta getting that reward for effort to kick four goals — will help develop confidence for next week and next season.”
“It’s exciting that the team could really lift and play with a lot of spirit and I’m really proud that we could win a milestone game ‘cause it’s something we haven’t done much of in our club's history.”
“Next week against Geelong we need to go back to four quarter efforts, bring together what we brought today which is ferocity at the footy as well as run and gun. No lapses in defence and show we can do it with four quarters again.”
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Great write-up. Thanks!
A strong win and I agree the pressure and attack on the contest is +++
Jumper is an absolute winner