Behind Blake Hardwick's move forward
What Blake Hardwick's switch forward says about the way Sam Mitchell wants to play
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One of the most intriguing moves of the off-season has been Blake Hardwick training forward. It’s a move Sam Mitchell dabbled with last season, but it’s no longer an experiment. Indeed the cat is well and truly out of the bag. Head down to Bunjil Bagora – as our man on the track Mick Cowan has – and you’ll see it for yourself.
Hardwick isn’t just training as a swingman, he’s become a fixture up forward for most of the pre-season. According to Mick, Hardwick was entrenched in the forward line for an entire match sim; part of an intriguing contingent that also featured Mitch Lewis, Dylan Moore, Nick Watson, Mabior Chol and Jack Ginnivan.
While there are still question marks over whether Watson will debut in round one – Connor MacDonald and Jack Gunston are also in the frame – it’s pretty safe to assume Hardwick will be named in the forward line for round one against the Bombers.
Back to the future forward
On paper, the shift forward may seem strange for a player who has become a mainstay in Hawthorn’s backline since breaking through into the senior side in 2017. He’s rarely beaten in a one-on-one contest and has been a rare beacon of stability in a time of transition and rebuild.
But have a look at his draft notes from 2015 and there may be some method to the apparent Mitchell madness. (No, these notes haven’t been mixed up with Jade Gresham’s or Tom Papley’s.)
“A strong ‘lead-up’ forward, [he] has proven a difficult one-on-one match up, boasting the ability to burst away from contested situations.”
“Great mark especially overhead, and also on a lead. Leaps well to the ball, and was rarely beaten in a marking contest.”
“A hard match up for opposition clubs. Playing out of the goal square for Eastern, Hardwick was able to beat opponents on a lead due to his strong pace.”
Hardwick’s numbers were equally impressive. As an 18-year-old, he kicked 56 goals from just 16 matches for Eastern Ranges in the TAC Cup.
He finished as the competition’s leading goal kicker – ahead of the likes of Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay and, um, Josh Schache – and kicked eight or more goals in a match on three occasions (including TWELVE against Bendigo Pioneers).
Hardwick was initially drafted as an understudy to some of the best small forwards in the history of the game: Puopolo, Breust, and Rioli. While an incredible learning opportunity, chances to break into the side were slim. His solitary game in 2016 came as an emergency. He was a late in for Cyril, but was out of the side again when the little champ returned the following week. The following pre-season he trained in the backline and hasn’t left it since.
“After that first pre-season, going into my second pre-season, Clarko brought me in and said, ‘I don’t think you’re going to get into the team as quick as you can with the forwards we have.’ He wanted me to be in the team so he said, ‘See how you go down back.’ I haven’t looked back really. It worked out for me.”
Robbing Peter to pay Paul?
Since that breakthrough season in 2017, Hardwick has become one of the game’s most reliable, consistent, durable, and – dare we say it – underrated defenders. While he can match up well against taller opponents, he’s made a name for himself locking down on some of the AFL’s most dangerous small forwards. Just ask Cody Weightman who’s been living rent free in Dimma’s pocket for the past three years.
One of the first names on the team sheet, he’s played 147 games in eight seasons, averaging 21 games a season if you exclude his first season. At just 26, he provides much-needed experience and hard-nosed defensive application in a developing backline, so the shift forward seems counterintuitive at best.
But perhaps this leads into Mitchell’s thinking?
While a great user of the footy, Hardwick would be the first to admit he’s not lightning quick. He relies on his ball use as opposed to his running power to transition from front to back.
In an interview with Dylan Buckley on the AFL website midway through the 2023 season, Hardwick was honest about his offensive limitations.
“Focus is always defence first, but we love our offence. We have those running half-backs like CJ, Seamus has come in now and he’s running well. Josh Weddle is going to be a star. That offensive side of our defence is a big one we focus on. It can be tiring at times to defend as hard as you can, and then be asked to run on the offense. I let some of the other boys do that most of the time.”
So perhaps the switch forward isn’t just about building versatility in Hardwick’s game or giving Mitchell the option of a Burgoyne-esque Mr Fixit who could swing forward to change the dynamic of a game. Perhaps Mitchell feels shackled by Hardwick’s offensive limitations, and prefers a halfback line that’s a bit looser, a bit more unpredictable, with speed and offensive traits to burn.
Seamus Mitchell’s unexpected Lazarus-like rise in 2022 may have been the catalyst. Likewise, the immediate impact of our superstar in waiting Josh Weddle.
An equally intriguing footnote to Hardwick’s switch to the forward line has been Karl Amon playing off halfback in the match sim rather than his preferred positon on a wing. His penetrating kicks and line breaking run-and-carry could be yet another hint as to the way Sam Mitchell wants to play.
And that’s what all this is about, really.
In Mitchell, we have a coach that’s prepared to move the magnets around to build a structure that doesn’t just hold up against the best teams, but could eventually become the competition’s benchmark, just as Clarko’s Cluster was in 2008 or Richmond’s Chaos Ball a decade later. Blake Hardwick shifting forward could be the first card he plays in the 2024 season – but it certainly won’t be the last.
And if it doesn’t work? Well, he’ll just swing him back. You get the feeling Blake Hardwick isn’t the kind of guy who’ll forget how to defend overnight, or even cares about the end of the ground he plays.
I like your observations about his offensive limitations, but I think you missed the key point in your article. To me it is about forward defensive pressure. We used to have it in spades (Poppy, Cyril etc) but have none now. Ginnivan isn't about it, Watson is too young. If Hardwick can apply huge forward pressure and kick some goals it is a win. I think this is the main reason Mitchell is swinging such a big change.
Thanks Darren, great read. While there's some points you've raised that go to just why Blake is to be tried as a forward, it's still a move that is difficult to understand. There is great comfort in having a defender that each week, can counter players such as Weightman, Toby Greene, Charlie Cameron, Izaak Rankine etc. I just don't see who the player is that takes that role if Blake plays forward. The fact that he played his junior footy almost 10 years ago as a forward is kind of irrelevant, given that he's played almost 150 games of AFL footy as a quality defender.
Given that we have an abundance of speedy defenders - Impey, Amon, S. Mitchell, Weddle and Bailey McDonald - and if Sam wants to set up the defence with these types of players, should the trial of Hardwick as a forward fail, he essentially becomes a surplus and tradeable player, especially given that we have plenty of small forward options in Moore, Watson, Ginnivan and Butler (who is having an excellent pre-season) and to a lesser extent Bennetts and O'Sullivan. Trading Dimma is a scenario none of us would have thought possible six months ago.