Giving it a red hot go
What to make of the new norm?
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ROUND 8: HAWTHORN 94, RICHMOND 117
📝 Main recap:
At times it was ugly. At times it was very very frustrating. At times, it sure felt like we let another very winnable game slip through our fingers.
Welcome to Hawthorn in 2022. We had large periods through the first half in particular where you sat back and thought that this group could definitely be on the right path.
You also had moments where our skills and decision making looked equally as deplorable - reminding us all that we have a long long way to go on the path to premiership #14.
That’s okay - that’s just a reality.
And despite some initial disappointment or frustrations in the moment, one thing you can’t take away is our spirit, heart and endeavour. When you go down having a crack, it’s actually okay, and we certainly did that against the Tigers. That’s what makes the Saints game, Swans final term and Essendon match as a whole, harder pills to swallow.
But on the MCG on Saturday afternoon in front of 40,000-plus fans, our boys had a crack despite the reality that we should not have been in the game at 3/4 time. We had some key injuries that hurt us on the field, we had structural and personal issues across all sections of the ground, and we we came up against a more hardened and polish outfit.
🍒 You never forget your (near) first
Poor Sam Butler. After taking a fresh airy in the goal-square on what would have been his debut goal for the Hawks, Butler did manage to get his foot to the ball a second time as it crossed the line.
The score review footage certainly looked like he was the last to touch the ball, but the goal umpire had called a behind believing that first-gamer Bigoa Nyuon was touching it as the ball crossed.
Not enough evidence was presented for the review umpire to overturn the original decision - sitting on the fence and brandishing the ‘Umpires Call’ verdict.
Butler will just have to wait another week - no doubt he will be kicking himself for letting the original chance slip in the first place.
🍔 Ash’s key takeaways
1. Saturday at the MCG was the sort of game Hawks fans are going to have to get used to for the next couple of years – competitive in stages, with flashes of brilliance, but ultimately not good enough for the win against teams with more talent and experience.
2. It was a bit like the Melbourne game – less than two goals down with a couple of minutes to go, without ever looking like winning. But it was a darned sight better than the capitulation against the Bombers last week. The Tigers are still a very good side.
3. The story of the game was the centre clearances – 23 to nine. The Tigers flicked the switch in the second term when they somehow fell four goals behind, won the next few clearances and got themselves back in the game. There was no doubt who was going to win the game once the Tigers drew even.
4. What do with James Worpel? He might only had had a selection reprieve once Tom Mitchell was ruled out, but it was all set up for him to be the main man in the midfield and to do what he does best. But 12 disposals wasn’t anywhere near good enough. He was better in the final term but still needs a couple of weeks at Box Hill to get his game going again, irrespective of who else might be available.
5. Jai Newcombe was electric early but putting it together for four quarters is his next challenge. It is not far away. In any event, Hawthorn people think he is a serious chance to win the Rising Star.
6. Chad Wingard battled for three quarters, but kickstarted the revival with his move to the midfield in the final stanza. He clearly doesn’t have the tank, or the body to play full-time in the midfield; the challenge for the coach is to work out where and when to play him in the guts.
7. One day, the entire Hawthorn forward line will be up and running at the same time. The structure looked great with Mitch Lewis and Jacob Koschitzke as the talls and Jack Gunston as the roaming No.3 forward. Luke Breust also played much better than last week. But then Gunston got injured in the second term. Not sure we’ll see him next week.
8. Lewis played well and kicked three, but Koschitzke was a warrior, kicking two goals and rucking for much of the second half when Max Lynch was clearly stuffed. Who would have thought that after just 10 games, that Ned Reeves would already be one of Hawthorn’s most important players?
9. Agree with both coaches that the James Sicily vs Tom Lynch match-up was enthralling. Lynch played well to kick four goals, but equally, Sicily was one of Hawthorn’s best. Much better than last week.
10. The same with Will Day, who had 12 centre square attendances for the game. It’s happening, folks.
11. Poor old Connor MacDonald. That’s two weeks in a row when he was supposed to be managed but instead, he ends up playing. He actually went OK after coming on as the medical sub to replace Gunston, but expect he’ll miss either next week in Tassie or the week after in Darwin.
12. Only the harshest of judges (you know who you are) would be too disappointed with what we saw on Saturday, so it’s on to another litmus test against the Lions next week. Just quietly, the Hawks have won their last two against Brisbane and in Tassie, you never know. It will be nice to have CJ back. Hawks are a three-goal better side when he’s fit and firing.
Superstar/Rising Star/Falling Star
⭐️ Superstar - Chad Wingard
Okay - as a whole, his game wasn’t worthy of being put into the superstar category. However the decision to move him into the midfield in the final term was the catalyst for our fightback and showed that it is the position he can have the most impact.
It’s easy to forget that Chad polled eight votes from the last four games of 2021 - all playing mainly in the midfield as he averaged 29.5 touches per game through that stretch.
On Saturday in his 200th game he had six touches in the final term including his second goal for the game, and finished with four clearances, six score involvements and five inside-50s.
If his body isn’t up to it then good luck in rehab … but please please please start him in the guts against the Lions.
💫 Rising star - Jacob Koschitzke
What a shift.
It’s hard to comprehend that not only is Kosi still two months shy of his 22nd birthday, but that he is still only just a year into learning to play as a forward.
This was another tick to the notion that he and Mitch Lewis can form a strong forward partnership for the future - Kosi finishing the day with 2.1 and six score involvements.
But then when called upon he left his safe space in the forward line to help up the ground - spending an ample amount of time rucking, particularly in the final term.
He ended the day with seven hit outs 13 touches, five marks and four clearances in what was a lionhearted effort at the MCG.
🤷♂️ Falling star - James Worpel
What a sad state of affairs.
Kicked the ripping goal in the final term on the run from 50 which was a trademark of his last year, but Worps cancelled that effort out with a pressure-free snap from 30 that he inconceivably kicked on the full.
3216. While you could be mistaken for thinking we are talking about the postcode of Grovedale located just outside of Geelong (ironic), we are in fact giving you Worps’ possessions count by quarter against the Tigers - 3, 2, 1 and 6. It’s nowhere near good enough.
In nine matches so far in 2022, Worpel has accumulated more than 15 touches in a game on just three occasions. And while he has been played out of position as we have rotated our midfielders around, it’s still not acceptable.
Time to go back to Box Hill and get some game back, get a feel for the ball back, and get some confidence back.
Unsung Hero & Scapegoat
👼 Unsung Hero - Conor Nash
Beast is probably not the word you would have been using to describe our plucky Irishman 12-months back, but that is exactly what he is. A contested, tackling, no nonsense beast.
It’s telling that in a game where you have 36 clearances as an entire team, Nash had seven of his own - nearly 20% of the team’s total.
Nash also registered four score involvements, four inside-50s and two goal assists, to add a well carved out offensive side to his game on Saturday at the MCG.
His tackle on Jack Graham at the end of the first quarter which resulted in a Luke Breust goal was executed to perfection.
🔪 🐐 Scapegoat - Denver Grainger-Barras
Given recent commentary about how DGB has been tracking this season, he was always going to be thrust under the spotlight when ‘that’ kick was smothered.
It was a critical moment that effectively extinguished our chances of coming back - still needing two goals with two and a half minutes to play.
But rather that focus on the fact that his attempted chip was smothered ultimately resulting in the Tiger sealer, DGB should be praised for taking the game on, daring to create and for his second effort to stop Jason Castagna waltzing into an easy goal with a chase down and desperate lunge.
The Obligatory Ladder Check In
We remain in 12th spot on the table, with some teams below us including Gold Coast and GWS still to play this round. It seems to be the area of the table we will be focussing on this year - the biggest positive which the graphic above reconfirms is that North is nowhere to be seen.
News & Notes
The pre-match celebrations to honour our Emergency Service workers was absolutely on point. The combination of Vanessa Amorosi and the groups of workers on the field unfurling flags together with the vehicle parade (including the air chopper) was a pretty good spectacle.
It is always spiritual playing at the MCG and unfortunately with our draw the way it is, members will not have access to too many more games there in 2022. We have three of our next four games interstate, and in the back half of the year we play the same number of times at Marvel (three) as we do at the G.
Yesterday’s loss means we have only beaten the Tigers once in the past eight matches we’ve played them spanning back to 2016. Getting a bit sick of losing to them.
Sammy Press Conference Bingo
I was really proud of the boys ✅
We weren’t quite polished enough ✅
We gave ourselves a chance ✅
We get back on the horse and go again ✅
What They Said
🗣️ Chad Wingard
“It’s obviously not the result we wanted - we showed some good patches of footy, but their momentum was longer and better.”
“I’m never going to say it’s pleasing to lose, no matter what the coaches say or the players say, I always want to win and that’s just how I am. But there are some positives at the same time, some of the kids really stepped up, Nashy did some good clearance work.”
“We showed a few flaws and stuff we’ve got to work on but also they are a great team and have been together for a long time - they’ve won premierships and, like I said, it’s a good test for us.”
“Each week we are going to try and get better but it’s definitely not a satisfactory game unless there is a W in that column.”