Glass half empty, glass half full
It was a tale of two halves at the MCG - unfortunately the half empty glass was in use throughout the opening two terms.
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ROUND 9: HAWTHORN 7.7 (49), MELBOURNE 15.13 (103)
📝 Main recap:
It really was a tale of two halves at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
A first half which in all fairness could only be described as poor. How frustrating that we just didn’t come to play and finished the first quarter 34 points in arrears having only registered one scoring shot in the term - a solitary behind.
Our second quarter was marginally better, but the fact remains that in scoring one goal to three for the period, we finished the half with 1.3 and a fairly embarrassing 45-point deficit.
Glass half empty.
The third quarter had a totally different vibe to proceedings as we jumped out of the half time break full of energy, buzz and packing some punch. Goals in the first eight minutes to Luke Breust, Cam Mackenzie and Josh Weddle had everyone up and about, and we suddenly shifted into glass half full mode.
But why did it take half a game of footy for it to happen? How were we not playing with the same fight and intensity in the first half as we did in q3?
We won the quarter 5.2 to 3.4 and kicked another major in the first minute of the final term before the Demons kicked four more majors unanswered to run out 54 point winners.
Glass very very empty.
There were some things to like: Seamus Mitchell, Will Day, Lloyd Meek rucking mainly solo, semi decent games from Conor Nash and James Worpel and Sis and Jai trying their hearts out.
But the concerns are stacking up, and in no particular order the following players cause major, major concern: Chad Wingard, Kosi, Sam Frost, Luke Bruest, CJ, Harry Morrison and even this season’s form of Dylan Moore.
We have a LOT of work to do and some big decisions on players coming up too.
🍒 You never forget your first - Cam Mackenzie:
We’ve said it before and we will say it again - there is nothing quite like when a player kicks their first career goal and gets mobbed by teammates near and far. This one reeked of class. Sam Butler gets some of the credit for an incredible second effort to take possession of the ball before dishing it out to our top draft pick from last year. Mackenzie controlled the ball beautifully, turning it 45 degrees and then snapping truly from 40 out and boy, didn’t everyone get around him!
🍒 You never forget your first - Josh Weddle:
We’ve said it before and we will say it again (😉)… less than one minute after the Mackenzie celebrations, Josh Weddle ordered some of his own. After taking a mark just outside 50 from a Hail Mary kicked out by the Melbourne defence, Weddle played this one perfectly. He calmly assessed his options before having the footy smarts to take a few steps to his right in his run-up - giving him just the extra space he needed to drill the footy home from approximately 52 metres out. And again, didn’t everybody love it.
🍔 Ash’s key takeaways:
Saturday’s game at the MCG was eerily familiar. One team at its peak, with big, experienced bodies who know where to run and where to hunt. It can flick the switch whenever it needs to. The other team is young, raw and trying to establish a gameplan and an identity. It was like watching a Hawthorn-Melbourne match from say, 2014, but of course, the script was flipped. The Demons more or less did as they pleased; the Hawks were flailing about for large parts and the result was never really in doubt from the opening minute.
Melbourne midfield tyros Christian Petracca, Clayton Oliver and Jack Viney led the possession count, but it wasn’t as though Will Day, Jai Newcombe, James Worpel and Conor Nash played badly. Where they did let the team down was with some of the delivery inside 50. Mitch Lewis, Jacob Koschitzke, Luke Breust et al were done no favours.
Hawthorn’s first quarter was putrid. The margin could have been five goals within the first 10 minutes had the Demons kicked straight. They knew what they were going to get from them yet were powerless to do much about.
One goal until half-time and the mood at the MCG among the faithful was grim. But then came the third quarter. Bloody, Hawthorn. They do just enough every week to keep us invested and this week it was the third quarter that did so. Five goals to three, with some bright attacking football including maiden goals from Cam Mackenzie, Josh Weddle and Lloyd Meek. The greenshoots the supporters are desperately hoping for were plain to see and the murmurs of discontent from the Melbourne fans made it worth the price of admission.
The Hawks have found a player. Seamus Mitchell is the real deal as a running defender. Quick, neat disposal and a smart decision maker. He might be the club’s first Rising Star nomination for 2023.
Mackenzie and Weddle also looked good in patches. Weddle got a bit lost at times in the first half, but he had a great third quarter and he ran the game out well. The draft day manoeuvrings last November are looking smarter by the week.
Not a great week for Ned Reeves to be a late withdrawal, although the mail was strong in the latter part of the week that he would miss out. Reckon Meek battled gamely on his lonesome against Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy. The ruck battle wasn’t the bloodbath many expected.
Fears that Harry Morrison might not be best 23 for much longer are growing stronger by the week. In racing form parlance, ‘prefer others’.
Dylan Moore has lost all confidence. It’s hard to know what happens at the club between games, but the vice-captaincy appointment might be working against his development as a player.
With Tyler Brockman back from suspension this week, expect to see Chad Wingard (managed) when the squad for Sunday’s clash with West Coast are released.
Haven’t seen as much from Sam Butler as others, but there were some glimpses on Saturday. Give him four weeks to see what he can do and if means rotating a few other small forwards through the side, then so be it.
Would love for Sam Mitchell to swallow some truth serum and tell us what the deal is with Jack Scrimshaw. And with Denver Grainger-Barras.
These frequent VFL byes are a joke. So many fringe Hawks could do with the run, starting with those two.
Going to be an interesting week for the Hawks. They’re strong favourites to beat West Coast in Tasmania. How will they handle the expectation? And how will we handle it if they lose?
⭐️ Superstar - Will Day
Continues to be one of the shining lights in season 2023, and even having missed a couple of weeks with that ridiculous suspension, must be at the pointy end of the PCM leaderboard. Was quieter in the second half but finished the day with 29 touches, a team high 14 contested possessions, five clearances and four inside 50’s. Wasn’t as clean as he often is, but was one of a few that could hold his head high - give that kid a contract extension.
💫 Rising star - Seamus Mitchell
Seamus has put together quite a solid body of work now through his five games of AFL footy, but this was clearly his best match of the lot. Despite a high number of turnovers and clangers, it came about from being one of the few players working hard to take the game on and trying to manufacture something from deep in defence. Mitchell recorded 27 disposals, eight marks, nine rebounds from defensive 50 and seven intercept possessions to be one of the few shining lights in an otherwise dreary day of footy viewing.
🤷♂️ Falling star - Harry Morrison
Harry became one of our surprisingly, most consistent players in 2022 and won a lot of people over cementing a spot in our best side every week. And while he might be saved by some of the terribly poor football being played by others around him, he has definitely dropped off the pace this year. 16 touches which included 11 kicks at 45% kicking disposal efficiency, a combined seven turnovers and clangers, as well as only 196 metres gained - one of his usual strengths in terms of running and forward thrusts. It’s his disposal efficiency (DE) that is a major concern - in seven years of playing seniors this is by far his worst DE percentage to date - highlighted by his kicking efficiency which is well below average as an all of competition rating. Concerning.
👼 Unsung Hero - Lloyd Meek
Thanks to some of our Inside Insiders, we broke it first that Ned Reeves had basically been absent from both important sessions at training during the week and as such knew he wouldn’t be playing. So to that end Meek would have been aware of the daunting task that awaited - Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy in just his 22nd AFL game. He acquitted himself pretty well it must be said - finishing the day with the most hitouts on the ground (20), equal most hitouts to advantage (8), 14 touches, six tackles and a decent goal from a contested mark. Must keep reminding ourselves he has only just turned 25 recently - going to be a beauty.
🪜 Ladder check in
Clearly the worst three teams in the competition down at the basement level of the 2023 AFL Ladder - but with a huge watch on proceedings next weekend. We take on the Eagles in Tasmania on Sunday afternoon in what could be one of the final realistic opportunities each club has to claim another four points this season. And possibly one of the key moments in the battle for draft pick number one (no doubt you can Reid between the lines)…
🎤 Sammy press conference bingo
“We had no answers for them early in the game.” ✅
“I was pleased with the resilience of our group.” ✅
“There were some positives of individual players .” ✅
“They really work hard for each other.” ✅
“At the moment we are just not quite there.” ✅
🗣️ What they said - Jai Newcombe
“It was obviously disappointing to let them have the jump - especially in the first quarter when you give them a five goal, six goal lead to a side like Melbourne it’s going to be hard to get that momentum back.
“It was pleasing to bounce out of half time and it has been a weakness for us in a lot of games this year, so for us to come out and kick five goals and get some momentum back our way was pleasing.
“Looking into some of their more experienced players and how they go about it, and just as a team how they are all on the same page and got such a strong understanding of what to do in each situation they are in - they are a very connected unit and we are striving to be what they are so we will keep working.”
What was learnt?
1. Sam moved the magnets with CJ starting on the wing (a move many have been interested to see), however this meant Amon going forward which I doubt most supporters would have picked as the impact. With Blanck going off early, the experiment was curtailed early as Bramble for the second week was to go to the wing as the sub with Morrison and CJ going back.
(As a tactical sub, I do wonder if a more flexible option is important rather than say taking the next best performing player?)
2. This was the first game for the year where the kicks (181) were less than handballs (205). Quarter by quarter: 42/45; 45/46; 55/56; 39/58. The issue with the handballs was for most of the times, it was a matter of "hot potato", particularly when inside 50, rather than creating a better option or taking ground.
8 players were ahead on their own kick count (inc Blanck) & all were defenders, aside from Bramble & Amon; 11 were ahead on handballs & 4 were equal (Worpel & Mackenzie being the only mids).
3. Kick ins & exiting the D50 are a real issue.
In the 1st quarter, the Demons first five shots were from difficult angles, so the defenders were doing their work. The issue then became trying to get the ball out of D50. The energy spent in the first 5-10 minutes defending came back to haunt us the quarter progressed. It was almost better for the Dees to kick a goal early to get the ball back to the middle as we did win centre clearances across the day.
Without multiple tall marking options for the kick outs, we are very predictable. Also, some of the skill execution has been poor in this area as well - Hardwick in the 1st & 4th quarters being a culprit.
4. Meek taking on Gawn/Grundy more than held his own. This is an interesting outcome as Reeves was also dominant as a sole ruckman against English, so given the age of Meek/Reeves, these are green shoots that will need to be properly nurtured.
5. Given the team's profile on experience and age, against a top 4 side, I think a reasonable expectation would be for:
* 1 strong competitive quarter - 3rd yesterday
* 1-2 competitive quarters - 2nd
* Probably being overwhelmed in the 4th on strength.
I think the fact that our 3rd quarter was our best is a positive as we have been terrible in the 3rd quarters this year. As Jai noted, the bleeding was stemmed in the second. It is worth noting the Dees beat Nth by 90 points & WCE by 63 points (doubled their score).
6. The small forward conundrum - Breust, Wingard, Moore & Butler - do we have 4 of the same? Butler was caught a couple of times (acknowledging one should have been a free to him) reflecting the AFL/VFL divide.
7. There was further progression in the work of Weddle - he had the opportunity to use his run and carry a couple of times which had been a feature of his U/18 video ; Seamus again played a sound game - for both the skill/decision errors were those of a young players. Mackenzie showed glimpses in the 2nd half and getting the goal kicking monkey off his back was a bonus.
8. Kicking skills and seeking the corridor - this will be the death or glory path for the year.
Random Observations:
* Koschitzke in the 3rd quarter made a few marking contests break evens which allowed the small forwards opportunity and kept the ball inside 50. It will be interesting to see how the selection works out next week.
* Dees forward set up was interesting at times with 3 across the 50M line with Neal-Bullen pushing into the centre square; another forward was about 25 metres out; with 2 forwards in/near the goal square. This gave them the space to lead into the flanks. Maybe an option for us to consider?
I agree with pretty much everything on the review. Hoping Dylan Moore is only having a form dip due to leadership rather than a full blown demise and also hoping Breust hasn't fallen off the cliff which can happen quickly at his age. We can not afford to play Chad and Breust in the same game, one must make way and I’d rather see Brockman and Butler play given we are supposed to be in development mode. I hope CJ’s injury isn’t bad but we can not afford to play him ATM as he can’t kick, tackle or mark. CJ needs a month at Box Hill and I have been saying this all year now. YOU ARE CORRECT - Sam MItchell needs to address the DGB and Scrimshaw situation. Paid up members deserve to know what’s going on. I will be asking that question at the annual inside The Huddle if I get the chance. Something is ON THE NOSE with that situation…. #GoHawks and LOVED the WEDDLE, MACKENZIE and MEEK goals.. In closing, here’s one for the umpires……. LUKE BREUST has a neck and Head….. PAYTHE FREE (second time this year)…..