Hawks soar in arm wrestle out west
Grinding out a win on the road against a season seven finalist
ROUND 2: BULLDOGS 5.9 (39), HAWTHORN 6.10 (46)
📝 Main recap:
Gotta love a Hawks win over the weekend. Travelling out to Ballarat to take on last season's finalist the Western Bulldogs is no small task, but as always, our Hawks team delivered another pressure masterclass that saw us take home our first win for 2023.
In what is now becoming a humorous stat to start off game day, the Hawks captain Tilly Lucas-Rodd has yet to win a coin toss. This makes their record 0-12 since the inception of our AFLW side. Thankfully, it is not an indication of our game play. Can TLR turn it around next week?
The game was full of pressure moments in an arm-wrestle that saw the Hawks come out on top. To give an indication how much pressure the Hawks applied all over the ground, the Doggies had to pull off miracles to score their goals. It was a great team defensive effort from the Hawks - they structured up well and played an immense intensity all game.
In last week’s post-game press conference, Goddard and Lucas-Rodd acknowledged the “glimpses” we saw needed to be more consistent and this week, it happened. The drop offs were a lot less, and from all accounts, it was probably fatigue that caused these lapses in concentration.
We seemed to lower our colours in the first and third quarters this week. Having said that, every team has purple patches and when the Doggies got their chances, our Hawks made them earn every single inch. What was great to see was we were able to wrestle the momentum of the game back and score when this was happening, something that was lacking last week.
What was notably different this week was our run and gun game. This is something we love to see in modern footy and when we are on, the Hawks make it look incredible. There are a lot of times when all that lacked was the timing of the run or even the accuracy of the disposal. To steal a typical footy cliche, we “lacked some polish at times.” On the upside, as our team continues to play games together, this will improve and we will become a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses.
The Game
Our first moments of the game were excellent. TLR opened the Hawks account, before the Doggies captilised on their chances to go into the first break in front of the Hawks 14-9.
Whatever Bec Goddard said at quarter time worked. We kept the doggies goalless in the second, whilst adding two more to our tally to head into the main break nine points up.
The second half started with a trend we want to see turned around quickly. The Doggies got out of the blocks with two more goals and had this Hawks fan thinking we may have spent all our petrol tickets in the first half. However, a goal out the back from boom recruit, Greta Brody, to open her goal kicking account as a Hawk started to see the momentum shift our way.
The last quarter was much like the second, we kept the Doggies goalless whilst adding two more of our own to run away with the game. No matter what the Doggies threw our way, the Hawks had all the answers to keep control of the game and ensure they ground out the victory.
Overall a much better effort by the team, this week with a lot more consistency around the game. At this rate, we will be playing four quarter footy in the next few weeks, where we will need it.
The most pleasing thing to report from this game is the massive turnaround from season seven. Last year the Doggies beat us 7-37, so this win shows us all that we really are building something special.
Enjoy that winning feeling Hawthorn family.
✂️ Snippet of the match #1:
Two minutes!! After an amazing spoil from Catherine Browne, she gets a lightning handball out to Fleming who puts it in front of TLR… GOAL! It was such a delight to watch this scoring chain unfold resulting in what was a wonderful captain’s goal.
✂️ Snippet of the match #2:
Bodey smarts… she was so polished all day with her inside 50s, but that goal in the last quarter put us eight points up. Bodey saw some space, ran around the pack and made it happen. It put the Hawks in the box seat to set up the win.
✂️ Snippet of the match #3:
A Wale(s) of a tackle! Lucy Wales literally laid the tackle that put the win beyond any doubt. As the doggies lined up for goal, her desperation to not only stop the goal, but win a free kick was crucial.
🍔 Key takeaways:
Kaitlyn Ashmore, take a bow. 19 disposals and 5 tackles in front of her family and friends in her hometown, was incredible to watch. She was on the receiving end of a hard bump and bounced back within seconds to continue to be involved in the next passage of play. A true role model of the AFLW and the Ballarat region. She played with dare, toughness and was amongst our best for the day.
The luck of the Irish in the second quarter. Aine MacDonald & Aileen Gilroy made their own luck and dominated the second quarter scoring for the Hawks with a goal each. One dubious play-on call probably robbed Aine of a second, but the rest was amazing play from our Irish players!
Charlotte Baskarin was everywhere. Her ability to find the ball was a joy to watch and the composure she seems to have when she kicks means she will be a powerhouse in the AFLW for years to come. Not only was she everywhere, she also found space to run, it was pi
Catherine Browne the rock in defence. She spoils, she marks, she plays unsociable football to make her opponents earn every possession. She is a vital part of what is a good defensive unit. The only thoughts that come to mind are, “glad she is on our team.”
Greta Bodey, what a player we have here! Her pinpoint passing, ability to read the play, forward tackling pressure and goal kicking prowess is just amazing. Her influence on our forward line is obvious. The forwards have lifted dramatically from last season and we are starting to kick a winning score
Last week against the old enemy, our forwards had fewer chances, but looked dangerous with only 21 inside 50s. This week, that potency continued with our team boasting an impressive 39 inside 50s and a winning score. Let’s hope the team can keep that up every week and build some bigger scored in the rounds to come.
Had to mention this. In what is a familiar Hawks statement: “Stratton with the shutdown tag!”, Kirsty Stratton was epic in the first term with a hard tag on four time Bulldogs best and fairest, Ellie Blackburn. Her pressure was immense, whilst getting some of the footy herself and Stratton would have learned a lot following around the Doggies’ best.
Bridie Hipwell, kicked truly when it mattered, kicking a much needed goal in the final term to help steer momentum back in the Hawks favour. It is truly fitting for a Hawks number 19 to keep their cool, and kick a clutch goal when the team needs it. Well done, Bridie.
Emily Bates again!! She won the AFLW best and fairest for a reason and we will talk about her every week. She reads the play like no other and you just can’t help but beam with pride at our long term recruiting strategy. Bates will guide our young mids in Fleming and Baskaran how to play so the Hawks will dominate the middle of the ground for years to come.
Defence!! CHA-CHA-CHA. It’s been said 100 times already: Our defensive game is elite. Bec Goddard has set the team plan up to ensure that we have a toughness that will be the envy of the competition in years to come. The Doggies won the day stats wise (disposals +27, hit outs +12, Contestested possession + 11, uncontested possession +30), but could only muster up an inside 50 count of 32 to the Hawks 39. This is full credit to that defensive pressure game that is so, so impressive.
⭐️ Superstar - Tily Lucas-Rodd
The captain of this team was outstanding. They won the hard ball, kept being vocal with their teammates and kicked an amazing goal for our first for the day. TLR set up another one for Aileen Gilroy and could have had a second of their own… top shelf game from our fearless skipper!
💫 Returning star - Laura Elliott
Elliott played an amazing game from the backline with 15 disposals and 6 marks. She has been recognised by teammates and media and there was even a special mention from Goddard in the post game presser. She herself mentioned how good it was to be back and contribute to a win and showed us all once again that this team is here to win, not just play individual good games. Great game from “Billy” today.
🪜 Ladder check in
Neatly positioned in eighth spot after round two, with a percentage of 86.4%. We take on Fremantle next week with a win likely keeping us a game clear inside the top eight.
🎤 Bec & Greta’s press conference bingo
“Having mature players like Greta involved a tight contests is really important.” ✅
“It was about our mature players stepping up and running the game.” ✅
“We got over the line with a bit of maturity and a bit of calmness.” ✅
“Everyone played the game across the whole park.” ✅
“Everyone stepped up and played their role.” ✅
“We look different when have a bit of extra run going.” ✅
“We need to play four quarters like the second quarter.” ✅
🗣️ What they said - Kaitlyn Ashmore
“It was fantastic but obviously back in Ballarat in my home town was really special.
“I heard them - there were a few across the ground and I heard them every now and then but it was really special.
“The Bulldogs are a really great side and they have come off a finals campaign last year so we knew it was going to be tough but it made it even more special.
“It was one of those games that was up and down - they had the momentum, we had the momentum, and I think the first and third quarters were probably our worst quarters, but the second and fourth - we came home quite strong and it was literally an arm wrestle until the end.”
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Do we take the coin toss losses for TLR’s form?
Very nice work. Thanks!