Dusty-ing off the Tigers
92,311 turned out for #CJ50 at the MCG
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ROUND 14: HAWTHORN 14.13 (97), RICHMOND 6.13 (49)
📝 Main recap:
We’re learning something new about these young Hawks each week.
Saturday night was always going to be a big test. Dusty’s 300th. A blockbuster MCG crowd of 92,311, the biggest home and away crowd on a Saturday night in history.
Off the back of a run of four wins and with the Tigers playing their GF, you could forgive a team with seven players 21 and under and very limited finals experience to be overawed by the occasion. A trademark Dusty goal from outside 50 with less than five minutes on the clock and it felt like things were going to script.
But the Hawks responded with goals to Chol, Moore and Dear, and from there the game never really looked in doubt.
The Hawks ran out 48-point winners to rain on Dusty’s parade (and properly celebrate #CJ50), but in truth it could’ve been more. +12 for inside-50s and +14 for scoring shots told the story of that game.
So what did we learn? That these young Hawks are big game players with a discernible identity and style of play that stands up in big games — even if those big games involve 13th placed teams. That they’re starting gel across all lines and becoming predictable to each other, as the players have commented many times over the past few weeks. That there’s great spirit and camaraderie in this group. That there’s a sense of desperation to win, as evinced by Will Day’s game-defining tackle in the second.
Day may well be the difference — and his absence in the first five losses was clearly telling — but there’s an evenness building across this list, as Nathan Buckley commented on SEN on Monday morning.
“When you’re coming up against them how do you scout them? They’re so even across the board. There’s no one bloke that stands out that you need to jump on him and tag him out of the game.”
So where to from here? We go into the bye at 7-7 just nudged out of the eight on percentage, with the second best form in the comp across rounds 8-14.
Whether we make finals or not there’s one thing for certain: this group of young players are built for the big stage.
🧐 Things we like to see — Clutch from Calsh
When you’re the son of a Norm Smith medallist, there’s a good probability you’re built for big games. And didn’t Calsher Dear seize the moment when he went back and slotted an important first quarter goal from outside 50 with 60,000+ Tigers Dusty supporters jeering him on. Clutch.
Let’s go to the replay, shall we?
🧐 Things we like to see — Desperation from Day
It’s hard to go past Dusty’s goal as the moment of the game, but Will Day’s desperate lunge to stop Hugo Ralphsmith in his tracks was certainly the moment the game changed. With Ralphsmith about to pull the trigger and put the Tigers within a goal, Day put the afterburners on and emerged out of nowhere to win a free kick and completely swing the momentum the Hawks way. He’s been inspirational since returning from injury, and here’s why.
Remind you of anything?
🕵🏻♂️ Close to a dozen observations from Ash:
There might have been 92,311 in the house and the Hawks were using their home dressing rooms and all that, but there was very much an ‘away game’ feel to Saturday’s game. Perhaps even a game outside Victoria such was the overwhelming support for the opposition on Saturday, yet the Hawks handled themselves with maturity and aplomb, especially after Dusty’s early goal, which was probably every Hawthorn person’s worst nightmare before the game.
For all the pre-game anxiety about the occasion and how it might lift the Tigers, it was clear after 10 minutes that the Hawks were the better team and that even a reasonable effort would be enough to get the win. It was better than reasonable and the circumstances and the margin suggest it was the best win of the year, but the Hawks have played better footy in bursts this year than what we saw against the Tigers.
Another ‘receipt kept’ game for the Hawks. Hadn’t beaten the Tigers in front of a crowd since 2016 and last year’s collapse against them was front and mind before and during this game. But once in control on Saturday, this Hawthorn outfit didn’t buckle. And because of the Dusty tribute, there was no early exit for the Tiger fans. They had to sit through every excruciating minute.
James Sicily. Sublime. Jack Scrimshaw. Magnificent.
From his very first game for the club Josh Weddle shaped as the sort of player who A) Looked at home at the MCG and B) Loved the big occasion. Saturday was Exhibit A for that.
Nick Watson played a helluva game. The kicking is an issue and what works at VFL level is not translating to the AFL just yet, but sort that out and we have our next Cyril Rioli.
Hawthorn’s midfielders take it turns to play their best games. On Saturday Jai Newcombe’s four-quarter effort was the best. Loved the left-foot snap goal in the first term as did he from the looks of things. Of course, the best of Will Day on the day was from the top-shelf.
And we already have our Tall Cyril. If Mabior Chol isn’t getting it done on the scoreboard, his defensive work is elite.
These Hawks are enjoying this winning business. The rooms were raucous post-game as they were after the Brisbane and Adelaide wins especially. The club and the players have had their reputations dragged through the mud the last few years, so the who can blame them for enjoying the spoils of victory.
Mixed feelings post-game about the forthcoming bye. Momentum is a wonderful thing in footy and the Hawks have it, but it has been a 14-week rollercoaster so the bye comes at the right time provided there is a level maturity around it. The longest road trip of the season represents a good opportunity to get the focus and the energy back again.
Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the players are entitled to a minimum five-day break during the mid-season bye, but clubs often give their players the full week away from the club. Not these Hawks. Not this year. Five days it is and then they’re back at the club. Opportunity is staring them right in the face and they’re going to leave no stone unturned.
⭐️ Best on ground — James Sicily
The clear best on ground and one of the more complete games from anyone at Hawthorn this season. This was vintage James Sicily. Intercept marks, precision kicking, strong leadership, breaking the lines and the occasional white line fever moment leading to a melee. We’ll have another one of these performances post-bye please.
💫 Rising star — Nick Watson
We went with Josh Weddle last week, and probably should have done the same this week, but following on from Ash’s observations, it just felt right to give the Wizard the nod. Watson is some sort of talent. Like all 18-19 year olds, he’s not the finished product and has a few things he needs to work on, but the flashes? The flashes are incredible special.
👼 Unsung hero — Jack Scrimshaw
As there has been in the previous few weeks, there were plenty of options for this one. Scrimshaw gets the nod because of the evolution of his game from tall, outside, half back flanker to battle hardened, intercepting, pseudo-key defender. It was discussed on the post match pod, if Scrimshaw continues in this form, he should at least be brought up in discussions when the AA Top 40 is chosen.
🤯 Under pressure — The Selectors?
The Hawks are winning, the vibes are high and everyone is contributing in their respective ways. The challenge? Fitting in players who are considered ‘best 22’ prior to the season starting, and those who are mounting a case at Box Hill. We’ll touch on it later but Mitch Lewis has resumed playing, and Seamus Mitchell seemed to take his omission personally, while Josh Ward had a breakout game. Good luck to our selectors, because they have the toughest job at the club right now.
🪜 The ladder check-in
Well well well. Sitting half a game outside the eight heading into the bye and it is nearly time to have a good look at the fixtures to plan our run back into another finals series. Now in 12th spot, if we can continue the momentum after the break then we will keep climbing 📈📈📈.
😡 Bintang Brad’s early call
🧐 The burning question — Does Mitch Lewis come straight in post-bye?
It is a wonderful conundrum to have where instead of thinking he is our most important player up forward and must come back ASAP, we can go in with a more relaxed approach to managing our spearhead. With the bye for both the Hawks and Box Hill this week, Lewis would be fairly underdone if we were to play him against the Eagles — having played just half a game for Box Hill on the weekend. And with our forward line firing at the moment and the w’s flowing, we can be cautious and manage him with game time in the two’s once again.
👀 Box Hill watch
Box Hill Hawks easily accounted for the Richmond opponents in the VFL curtain-raiser to the main draw card. The 37-point win didn’t really tell the whole story, with the Hawks dominating from the start and doing so off the back of some impressive performances by plenty of AFL listed Hawks.
Josh Ward - 32 disposals and 10 marks for Ward who did what he wanted, when he wanted on Saturday afternoon. It was great to see him play with the freedom he did, his opportunity will come eventually, and if he stays ready like this, he’ll be fine.
Seamus Mitchell - 33 disposals and 14 marks with nine rebounds from defensive 50 - this was the perfect answer in response to being dropped during the week. Showed his class roaming across half back and his class was a cut above.
Harry Morrison - An industrious performance from Harry with 34 touches and nine marks continuing his consistent form at Box Hill this season. Morrison has reached that ‘too good for Box Hill, maybe not quite good enough for Hawthorn’ spot that haunted Dan Howe.
Henry Hustwaite - 32 disposals including 21 handballs, Hustwaite did a bulk of his work inside and was part of our dominant midfield unit.
Jasper Skaife - three goals and seven marks in his first outing in the brown and gold - definitely looks like a quality recruit and the project forward we have been craving.
Denver Grainger-Barras - did a great job in the first half in a lockdown defender role despite only nabbing two disposals. But finished the game with 15 disposals and nine marks in a great outing at Punt Road.
🎤 Sammy said what!?
“It was a strange game to prepare for. 92,000 people turned up and maybe half of them for one person who we’ve all admired for a long period of time.”
“I think it was a fantastic experience for our players to be part of an event - not just a game, so there were both aspects of the game and we couldn’t have written the script better.”
“We’ve been very transparent with the plan and how we are going about it and what we’ve wanted to build.”
“We are far from a finished product - you watch some of the other games and some of the other teams in the competition and then you compare it to us - they’re much further along than we are.”
“There was a lot of stuff in our game that wasn’t as sharp as we are going to need to be to play against the Sydney’s of the world.”
“Our goal for this year was to put ourselves in winnable positions in as many games as possible, so we’ve had three games that still sting me.”
🗣️ Final words — Jack Scrimshaw
Hear from Jack Scrimshaw who spoke exclusively to HI from the rooms after the win - and you could just feel the excitement flowing with each word he spoke.
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What was learnt:
1. Confirmation that middleweight is the appropriate category – If there were any lasting concerns as to where the team sits on the divisions with the competition, then this game certainly stamped the Hawks as a team on the rise. This was evidenced more by the manner in which the game was played as against the final result. After the first 5 minutes & Dusty’s goal, having adapted to the conditions on the ground, the team was able to dictate the run of play, leaving aside some wayward goal kicking.
2. The game plan holds up at the ‘G – With the inclusion of a couple of key players from the early rounds of the season – Day & Jiath – it is evident that the Mitchell game plan works at the MCG. With their pace and ability to work in tight spaces in the midfield (Day) and defence (Jiath), the team is much better able to both create and defend in the spaces that the G provides. Earlier games in the year at the ‘G, we were reliant on players such as Maginness, Morrison & Hustwaite to cover these roles and whilst all capable within their skill set didn’t possess the run and carry that these two provide.
3. If you are not adaptable, then you need to be an “expert” in your position – As the season progresses, it is becoming more evident that part of the selection criteria appears to be the capacity for players to be adaptable to play in more than one position. If they are unable to do this, then they need to be “expert” in their role, which is only really applicable to Frost and Meek. If you look at other every other player in the team, they are all capable of playing in multiple positions or roles. The obvious examples from this game were the crumbing goal by Newcombe whilst “resting” forward and Mackenzie being hit up on the lead whilst similarly playing forward.
4. There was a glimpse to the future as Mackenzie as an inside mid – Whilst he was rundown in the end as he ran into the F50 looking to kick the ball forward, it is worth going back and watching his work in the centre square along with the subsequent work fo get himself into the position. If you believe in process over outcome, the process here was exceptional. The next step again is for him to develop his left foot – another entry he had to the City end where his shoulders were pointing to the left of the goals, so he needed a left foot shot/pass rather than trying to fashion something with his right foot.
5. Watson has a problem (or two) – As has been well noted, when taking set shots from 40+ metres, in running wide to his right, Watson has a serious technical issue to address. To his advantage, being young, it is certainly redeemable. I do wonder if it has something to do with lactic acid/leg tiredness in playing at the level. I also recall Breust having a similar issue early in his career where his set shot work wasn’t as accurate as his snapshots. For those who may think Franklin was able to accommodate a similar flaw into his game, I’d suggest that when you have thighs the size of lamp posts rather than street signs and 199cm/105kg rather than 170cm/68kg with legs as wide as street signs, there is a greater capacity to drive through the ball. The other problem for HIs who derided the “Selwood shrug”, I hope that Watson will be able to use his dancing feet to create opportunities for himself rather using his shoulders, It can be disconcerting when even your teammates take notice of it.
6. Finals are on the agenda – Considering the first point above, the run home is as follows:
• Heavyweights – Collingwood, Giants, Carlton
• Middleweights – Geelong, Fremantle*, Eagles*
• Lightweights – Crows, Richmond, North
(* If the games were played at the other venue, then Freo would be higher and Eagles lower.)
With the consensus thinking that 13 wins may get you into the 8 and given our poor percentage, we’d need 14 wins to have a genuine chance, which means that we’d need to go 7-2 on the run home. This means that we’d need to take out one of the heavyweights if you accept the gradings.
Observations:
• The last 5 minutes had a couple of moments which had a little bit of lairizing associated with them e.g. Sicily providing overlap option to Impey with either a poor handball or Sis going one handed which led to a soft goal. Our percentage would’ve been 93.1 rather than 92.7.
• Meek may be a long term watch with his ankle issue as he was having his ankle re-strapped through the ¾ time break. For ruck men, ankles can be as big a concern than a knee.
• The last 8 minutes of the 3rd quarter showed the future with Chol resting on the bench & Gunston subbed off, the F50 at one stage was Dear, Moore, Ginnivan, Mackenzie, Watson & Breust. I’m not sure that it is sustainable, although Dear snapped a goal during this time.
• From a technical perspective, Dear has to improve his kicking routine as both his goals came from shots that didn’t look to be repeatable actions. There is no doubt about his energy and enthusiasm for the contest, there is however a need to be a reliable avenue to goal the hard work up field. It was interesting that Balta matched up on him at the start of the game.
• Tackling and pressure was superb – even in losing the overall tackling stat, to the eye, the pressure on the ground looked to be our way and there was no doubt that our forward half pressure had more of an impact.
• This was the first game where Jiath, by foot, had shown some of the issues that were part of his earlier career i.e. missing targets.
• Kicking around the corner when you are taking shots in the centre corridor has to be addressed.
• Day on the run still has a little work to do to ensure that the line breaks are positives.
• Lowest score against this season with the Tigers only actually had 12 scoring shots with 7 rushed behinds contributing to their score.
• As I messaged to another HI on Saturday morning, I’ve never seen “Emotion” listed in the best players or goal kickers, so I was a little surprised at the level of nervousness that some HIs had about this game.
Starting 4:
1st Qrt: Day (13) Newcombe (16) Worpel (16)
2nd Qrt: Nash (15) Day Newcombe
3rd Qrt: Day Newcombe Worpel
4th Qrt: Nash Day Newcombe
(Meek 17 Mackenzie 8 Chol 5 Moore 4)
(First time I think that Mackenzie has had more CBA than Moore with Day taking a little fewer than others in the Big 4.)
Coach killer:
Scrimshaw trying to hit a dart on his right foot might’ve been a coach killer other than the fact that it got the Dusty goal out of the way early in the game, so there was no momentum changer to wait for – not that it would’ve have matter.
Issue for the fortnight:
Being on the bye week and then having to travel to WA, it will be a test for the professionalism of the young group as Sam alluded to in his presser. As noted earlier, if this game was to be dropped the “finals hope” generated from the past 7 weeks would be lost and the back half of the season could have a very different perspective. The Eagles at home, as has been widely noted, are a very different team at home than away, so it will be a genuine test.
I agree with all of Bintang Brad’s early calls…….
As always Mick Cowan raises excellent points to ponder with his great insights.
Unfortunately this team may have to learn the hard way, that footy can be more about inches than miles. One or two poor disposals leading to oppo scores, missing goals on the run and “really bad” set shot decision making by some is overlooked by fans when we win games, but % is crucial when trying to make the 8 or even being Top 4 when good enough. Of course there is time to turn this around in 2024, and this team appears to love a challenge. Sam is correct when saying “far from a finished product” but I get a sense that ALL will know what they need to do to become the finished product “which actually never ends” #GoHawks