Oh so close!
Recapping our 1-point thriller against the Blues
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ROUND 3: CARLTON 74, HAWTHORN 73
📝 Main recap:
Siri, when does a loss feel like a win?
When we fight back from a 41-point lead in the second term, take the lead deep into the final quarter, and narrowly lose by one point to an undefeated side that looks primed for a top finish finish top 4 - that’s when!
While disappointing, Sunday’s narrow loss against Carlton is the textbook definition of an honourable loss. And the best bit? It wasn’t the usual suspects - JOM, Chad, Titch, Breust or Gunners - who kickstarted the fight back.
It was a game of cameos led by our young brigade and those who will likely be part of our next Premiership tilt. CJ and Dylan Moore were the barometers; Will Day made a welcome return; while our new and new-ish recruits - DGB, Jai Newcombe, Josh Ward, and Connor MacDonald - all made crucial contributions at important stages of the game.
The role players stepped up, too. Conor Nash showed his versatility - even pinch hitting in the ruck. Harry Morrison is putting together an excellent patch of footy, while Sam Frost is thriving as our #1 key position defender, giving James Sicily the freedom to do James Sicily things.
Not to be too much of a downer, but our spirited start to the year has papered over some pretty big cracks, namely our inability to win the footy out of the middle. It happened in the Port game and was a huge factor in our slow start, in which Carlton won 11 clearances in that first quarter, leading to five goals. We finished the game minus 11 for centre clearances, which is something we’ll need to address as a key priority of this rebuild.
That being said, we’ll go into this weekend’s clash against St Kilda knowing we are capable of matching it with one of the better sides in the comp (as much as it pains us to say it).
✂️ Snippet of the match:
Harry Morrison has been a bit of a whipping boy over the years, but he’s backed up his pre-season form and cemented himself in our best 22. His audacious banana put us within striking distance after being behind for most of the game. It made us, and the 22 out there, feel like anything is possible.
And how about the celebration!
🍔 Ash’s key takeaways
1. Not sure a one-point loss to Carlton could be so watchable and dare we say it, exciting.
2. A few clubs would have turned up their toes (hello, Shinboners) after a first quarter like that, but as the song says, the Hawks play to win and they kept coming. For all but perhaps the last five minutes, when they ran out of legs, they were the better team.
3. The backline is coming together so nicely. Harry McKay and Charlie Curnow threatened to take hold of the game (heaven help the competition when they put it together for four quarters), but James Sicily, DGB, Sam Frost and Blake Hardwick were superb after quarter-time. Will Day also worked into the game really well. The run and dare out of the backline has been transformative.
4. DGB in particular is growing with confidence with each game. Certified member of the best 22 for the rest of the season.
5. The midfield is still a work in progress, to put it mildly. Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell cannot seem to put four quarters together, but did have patches against the Blues. It was Josh Ward who helped get the team back into the game after quarter time. He did think he could outrun Harry McKay at one stage but we suspect the coach loves his attacking flair.
6. Dylan Moore came of age last year, but only Hawthorn supporters and Champion Data seemed to care. But the rest of the competition is starting to take notice. He was the only forward of note early, and his work rate thereafter, pushing deep into defence was elite. A great story of perseverance. And yes, he loves a goal.
7. Mitch Lewis was due a downer after a big couple of weeks, but Sam Mitchell said what he loves about him is his willingness to keep presenting and that was certainly the case against the Blues, who have some outstanding defenders. But the delivery to the forward line is nothing like it was against Port.
8. Finn Maginness will be the whipping boy out of this one. And the stats don’t lie - five turnovers. At some stage, the coach has to balance the faith he wants to show against his propensity to cough up the footy. He didn’t give the Hawks enough clean possessions when they were needed. Dan Howe also reverted back to bad old days with some of his clangers as well.
9. Chad Wingard needs to lift. Or if the hammy isn’t right, take a break.
10. Fair play to Sam Mitchell for addressing every question about Cyril Rioli (except for that about the president) at the post-match presser. Welcome to the Fifth Quarter, Mitch.
11. Amazing how expectations have now changed. Hawks fans will be disappointed not to win at least one of the next two MCG home games against the Saints and Cats.
12. 66,000 was a fantastic crowd at the MCG. The Blues and their bandwagon fans were there in huge numbers but there was a more than healthy sprinkling of brown and gold. And the roar when the Hawks hit the front in the final quarter was the loudest heard at the MCG for years. Hawthorn has given their fans reasons to come to the footy again. They are the great entertainers.
Superstar/Rising Star/Falling Star
⭐️ Superstar - Changkuoth Jiath
Even the Blues supporters were singing CJ’s praises by the end of the game. Our South Sudanese star dazzled again with his line-breaking speed and ability to find another gear even when it looked like he’d be run down. He finished the game with a team high 27 disposals, 588 metres gained, 10 intercepts (second only to DGB) and eight marks. CJ is absolutely red hot and there’s nothing like hearing the roar of the Hawks faithful when he takes off at halfback and launches us forward. Let’s just never speak of that first quarter brainfade again 🤫 )
💫 Rising star - Josh Ward
After only having a single touch to quarter time, Josh Ward’s second quarter was something to behold. He had 12 disposals in that quarter alone, almost singlehandedly dragging us off the canvas at a time when most of our senior mids couldn’t get their hands on the footy. And he doesn’t just win cheap footy outside either - eight of his 20 possessions for the match were contested. The kid, as they say, can play.
🤷♂️ Falling star - Jaeger O’Meara
This one was a coin toss between Jaeger and Chad, but Chad escapes for another week because of his interrupted pre-season and the fact he wasn’t wearing the captain’s armband. In a game in which we needed a leader to step up and win the footy in that first quarter, Jaeger went missing - and it’s not for the first time either. Three clearances and 17 disposals at 64 percent. He tries his heart out, but something just ain’t clicking.
Unsung Hero & Scapegoat
👼 Unsung Hero - Sam Frost
For the second week in a row, Sam Frost gets the nod for the way he worked himself back into the game after a first quarter in which Mackay and Curnow looked like they were going to kick a bag each. Frost gave up 10 centimetres and 10 kegs on McKay but managed to keep the Coleman medallist relatively quiet after quarter time. Although some supporters would prefer Hartigan to come in and take on the big defenders, Frost offers far more mobility and athleticism and is almost the perfect defender for the fast moving brand of footy Sam Mitchell wants to play.
🔪 🐐 Scapegoat - Finn Maginness
No one wants to see the son of a Premiership Hawk become a whipping boy. But as Ash touched on above, Finn isn’t exactly endearing himself to the Hawthorn faithful with his turnovers and poor decision making. Let’s look at the positives, though. He’s only played SIX games and his endurance is elite. Gonna go out on a limb here and say we need to be patient. He bleeds Hawthorn and he’ll come good.
The Obligatory Ladder Check In
We may’ve lost top spot, but a double chance in the finals is still on the cards - we just need to keep this up for the next 20 rounds. Piece of cake 🎂
News & Notes
A big chunk of Sam Mitchell’s press conference was dominated by the devastating news that Hawthorn legend Cyril Rioli had become estranged from the club. Mitchell said he’s doing everything he can to bring Cyril back into the fold and make the club a more inclusive environment. "A couple of things came out of that discussion with him,” Mitchell said, “and he knows that I’m looking to improve the club … and, we’ve got work to do, like everyone does, like the community does … He knows I’m committed to doing that, so hopefully we’ll welcome him back in.”
Of all the interesting facts to come out of this game, how’s THIS for an ominous sign from Channel 7 stats man Joshua Kay.
Jack Scrimshaw went off in the first quarter with what looked like a nasty shoulder injury. There’s been a bit of speculation about the type of injury - AC joint, scapula, or maybe just a stinger - and the length of time he’ll be out. Sam Mitchell didn’t offer much clarity in the post match presser other than it was a “shoulder blade injury” and he was unlikely to feature against the Saints. It was Scrim’s 50th game too and he’s been in career best form. Bugger. Let’s pray for the best 🙏
Denver Grainger-Barras also reportedly came off the ground late in the last quarter with an ankle concern, but no news from the club on that yet.
Sammy Press Conference Bingo
The boys stuck in ✅
Got our noses in front ✅
We’re trying to make progress ✅
We have a couple things in our kitbag ✅
They were up and about ✅
Pleasing ✅
We’re not a finished product ✅
Probably more unlikely than likely ✅
What They Said
🗣️ James Worpel
“Sam said to us we need to get back to playing our brand of footy and obviously in the first quarter we didn’t. They kicked a few goals and scored a bit easily. We knew our plan going into the game that that might happen. They’re a good team Carlton. They do have a lot of momentum swings in their games at the moment so we knew we had to get back to our brand of footy and stop them playing their brand of footy.”
🗣️ Will Day
“It was pretty hot early - we probably wish we had that first quarter back - but we were proud of the boys that we played our brand for the next three quarters and we were able to fight back. Although we’re disappointed we lost, we still feel we’ve made progress … When we can get it back on our terms, we feel we can match it with anyone.”
Although we lost I think this game gave me more confidence about the season. To fight back from what looked like being a spanking was impressive and showed character. I would love to see Finn Maginness succeed but his decision making under pressure is poor. He seems like a very serious kid from watching training videos and just general observation. Maybe he just needs to lighten up a bit. Go Hawks
A good game and so close. Amazing we came back and almost won it. If Carlton are as good as advertised then Hawthorn is a Top 8 team. This very young inexperienced team should have folded like an origami crane.