Player Ratings: Hawks vs Bombers
Which two players earned themselves a 9/10?
Can’t fault the effort.
And the blueprint is well and truly there for all to see.
So how did we fare against Essendon in Tassie?
Lachie Bramble - 6/10
Always tough to rate a player on debut, but Bramble showed glimpses – particularly in the first half, that he could be a handy player. Mopped up the ball a number of times around half back, and seemed assured when he had the ball.
Only had it nine times, but was involved in four score involvements and despite fading out of the game in the second half he earned himself a pass mark. Highlight was his wonderful smother in the forward pocket and follow up handball to Titch who snapped his goal.
Luke Breust – 7.5/10
Classic Luke Breust. There were times early on where he was one of the players you thought was a noticeable absentee in terms of getting anywhere near it. But then he got to work and finished the game with 3.1 from his four shots at goal, and was had the third highest number of score involvements on the ground. When you score three of your team’s 10 goals for the match you have had a pretty good day.
Shaun Burgoyne – 5/10
A great tackle in the final term that resulted in a free kick for, as well as his use of the footy were the highlights of game number 398 for Burger. The big problem is he just did not get much of it at all, and now seems like he is taking up someone else’s spot. Will get him to 400 as he well deserves. And before you have a crack, it’s Shaun Burgoyne – and in honour of the great man, he will not be given lower than a 5/10 for the rest of his career.
Jonathon Ceglar - 4/10
Unfortunately that’s the Cegs we have come to know. After an incredible performance last week against the Swans, he was absolutely towelled up by young whippersnapper Sam Draper. It seemed as though every time Big Boy was rested from the middle, Draper went to town on Cegs, and this was one of the key reasons for the midfield being hammered. Only 11 hitouts and 11 touches, and missed a set shot he really should have nailed. Surely we will see young Ned back in action against the Giants?
James Cousins – 7/10
Another good performance from Cuz, after a very slow start to the game in the first quarter. Ended the day with 21 disposals and linked in well when he played through the middle of the ground. He seemed to be in the thick of it when we needed him to be. Ended the day with five inside-50s and five score involvements and should retain his spot for next week even with Worps in contention.
Will Day - 6/10
The beauty of games like this is that Will had another hitout in what is clearly going to be a glistening career. Looked calm and assured for much of the game across the half back flank, though uncharacteristically had two monumental turnovers as the seconds ticked down at the end of the third quarter. For a second we were doubting the voices saying, “It’s okay, Day will certainly do something with it”, but it’s okay to remember sometimes he’s just a kid.
Sam Frost – 7/10
Backed up his game against Buddy last week with another solid display in defence, where he was clearly lacking some solid defensive spoil support. Featured highly in the team defensive pressure acts, as well as contested one-on-ones, and we again saw his intent to run and drive the ball out of the backline down-field.
Blake Hardwick – 8/10
Again another solid outing for Dimma, recording the second most metres gained for the Hawks. Such a tough and fierce competitor, he managed 21 touches and six defensive rebounds – all the while recording 85% disposal efficiency. Running out of superlatives to describe Hardwick’s performance every week – consistent, touch, and lead the defensive line well.
Daniel Howe – 7.5/10
Backed up his excellent game against the Swans with another fantastic performance. Like the game against Sydney, Howe was prolific in the first half, and was easily among out top handful of players at the main break before going a little quiet in the third term. However, he bounced back in the last stanza, and his 10 marks and 23 touches meant he was a fantastic contributor. Stringing a few good games together which is exactly the recipe the supporters have asked for.
Jarman Impey – 9/10
We haven’t given out too many marks of nine or above this year, but Jars was simply outstanding in Tassie. When you put CJ, Scrimma and Jars together it makes you wonder how forward lines stand a chance with our intercept marking machines, and Imps was on fire. He was consistent all day finishing with an equalling team-high 10 marks, 25 disposals, and 409 meters gained. Having an incredible season to date.
Changkuoth Jiath – 6.5/10
Was absolutely everywhere in the first half of the game, before CJ slowed down a little bit after half time. He took a couple of big hits and there were two hold-your-breath moments in the second half where you genuinely thought he had done serious injury. Finished the game with 19 disposals and a huge eight intercepts to go with his five score involvements.
Jacob Koschitzke – 6.5/10
It was another solid performance for Kosi who ended the day with three goals to his name – in the end it should easily have been four or five. Kicked two goals in the third term after a couple of ‘regulation’ set-shot misses in the second, and looked to be the only forward that looked likely to take a grab throughout. Still very much a work in progress, but signs at UTAS again showed that his move into the forward line may become an absolute masterstroke
Ben McEvoy – 7.5/10
Dominated the ruck when he was in it, and puzzling he did not attend more ruck contests going at a 40/38 split with Cegs. Had 26 hitouts including eight to advantage, and Clarko seemed to be late to react to bring him back into the contest when Draper was giving Cegs a bathing. Missed a dolly running into an open goal (which became a seven-point play anyway) and with 10 contested possessions he battled hard.
Tom Mitchell – 7.5/10
A solid performance from Titch without being overly spectacular. A slow opening term was obliterated by an incredible second quarter when he managed 14 touches, a goal and a few tackles. Finished the day with 36 possessions – 13 of which were contested and had 10 score involvements, but was part of a midfield group that was well and truly shown up.
Dylan Moore – 4.5/10
Had his rating boosted with his goal late in the game keeping us in the hunt, and to be honest it was a lovely snap in a key moment that got us all excited. But outside of the goal, there were few highlights from Moore who had nine touches on the day and was one of our more quiet players.
Jai Newcombe – N/A
New rule. In your second game of AFL footy, you are not put through the rating ringer. Unfortunately Jai didn’t have the same effect as he had in his debut game last week, and could only find it six times throughout the day. Took his career tackle average up to 8.5 (let’s focus on the positives right?), and again will be better for the run at the top level.
Tim O’Brien – 4/10
Frustrating. I promise you I want to try and like Timmy – I really do. Definitely looked on early with a great lead and mark and a wonderful snap back into play for Kosi’s opening goal. But soon after he dropped a mark that he really should have taken, and was pretty much unsighted for the rest of the game. Had a set shot which he snapped but couldn’t convert, and you just can’t help but think he is running out of time to make a huge impact in a game.
Jaeger O’Meara – 7.5/10
The stats don’t lie. Sometimes the stats don’t give you the true story. Which should we believe!? JOM had a pretty good day at the office with 31 touches of which 15 were contested – more than any other Hawk. But it didn’t seem to help in the fact we were smashed in the middle and he was part of the midfield group that had its colours lowered. Worked hard in the second half but also spent some time on Jake Stringer when he was deployed to the middle, and we know how that turned out.
Tom Phillips – 4.5/10
Another ho-hum game from Tom Phillips where he seemed to come in and out of proceedings throughout the day. Only touched it 13 times but did manage to stick five tackles to go with it. It was the kind of performance you feel will add value when we are up and about and flying, but throughout the rebuild we might be looking at a number of sub 5/10 performances.
Jack Scrimshaw – 9/10
What. A. Star. Scrimma was again a shining light in Tasmania with an elite performance down back. He managed 23 touches and a game-high 10 marks, while also registering the most intercepts on the ground with 11. It’s widely recognised our defensive unit is carrying this rebuild forward, and he is a huge part of that. He has quickly become a fan favourite and throughout the game was getting plenty of adulation across the HFC socials community.
Liam Shiels – 5/10
An uncharacteristically quiet game for Shiels which is forgivable given his usual output. Didn’t register a touch in the opening quarter, and only managed 12 for the game. He did manage a fantastic intercept from an Essendon kick-in at the start of the third term which he duly slotted home for a goal, but outside of that his contribution was negligible.
Chad Wingard – 6/10
A horrible start for Chad that saw some uncharacteristic fumbles and sloppy decision-making. Dropped a mark at the end of the opening quarter which lead to a Stringer gimme goal, but stepped it up in the second term kicking the first of the quarter before having a direct involvement in the next two. Could have converted to score more goals but did manage eight score involvements which was our second best contribution in that area on the day.
Who was theoretically responsible for Stringer?