One in a row, three times
Grit, #Jars200 and a moment of magic - the Hawks outlast Carlton and go 3-0
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ROUND 2: HAWTHORN 12.8 (80), CARLTON 8.12 (60)
You couldn’t pick a worse time to face the Blues — unless you got a Delorian and set it back to 1995.
They’d been pilloried by the media following their loss against a Coates League-quality side in Richmond and entered Thursday night with a point to prove. They were physical from the outset, hunting the contest, stacking numbers behind the ball and trying to choke our ball movement. They dominated field position in the second quarter and looked ready to give us a scare — until the Hawks steadied and struck back.
The third quarter followed a similar pattern until we kicked away in the last. Three games in 13 days, a six-day break … and still, we ran over the top.
It was another win carved from grit and structure — and sparked by a handful of match-turning cameos.
Josh Battle blankets an underdone Curnow (to put it mildly) and leads all players for intercepts;
Nick Watson kicks two, including the sealer, and sparks the Hawks faithful with every touch;
Mabior Chol: Three goals, seven score involvements, and an assist that proves he’s one of the best field kicks in the league (and you can’t change my mind);
Josh Ward steps up in the third with a goal and a crucial clearance game;
Jai Newcombe takes control in the final term with 10 disposals and three clearances, dragging the Hawks over the line; and
Our heart and soul players bringing the energy: Our 200-gamer Jarman Impey and the long awaited return of Changkuoth Jiath.
Key stats:
Carlton +12 in clearances (42-30), but Hawthorn far more damaging on turnover.
Hawks go at 73% disposal efficiency under pressure — system beats chaos.
A 3-0 start. 17 wins from our last 21. GWS up next. Have you cancelled your plans for September yet?
🕵🏻♂️ Ash and Nat dissect it
“Gritty”
NAT: Another workmanlike win, but I’m more pleased with this one than Essendon. My best mate (Tiges man) texted me post-game and I just replied: “gritty.” Third game in 13 days, six-day break, a hungry Carlton side that threw a punch—and Macdonald goes down before half-time.
ASH: Picking the best 23 at the start of the season was a tough job—and now that depth is being tested. Macdonald makes it an injury a week. We’ve still got good replacements, but they’re dwindling in number.
NAT: Much like the Sydney game, our ability to regain a foothold around clearance in the first half of the last quarter and then run out the game strongly was so pleasing.
ASH: 3-0 is a good place to be when there are still 10 days left in March.
NAT: And that’s the thing. Even when we’re not on top, we stay in the contest. That’s down to our defensive shape and ball movement. We’ve won 17 of our last 21 games, and three of the four losses were by under a goal. There’s only been one game in almost a year where we weren’t in it.
ASH: Three wins, three different ways of winning. Imagine if—and when—it all clicks.
NAT: How do opposition teams even plan for us right now? Where does Hardwick start? Do you prep for Sicily? Which small forward pushes up, which one stays deep? We’re shape-shifting mid-game and it’s hard to counter.
Where the Battle was won
NAT: Teams have to work so hard to score against us. We’re just so lethal on turnover. It reminds me of a tennis player with a booming serve—you get so many cheap points, it keeps you in every set. Against Carlton, we had 13 marks inside 50 to their five, even though inside 50s were basically level.
ASH: Still, we were lucky to be in it at half-time. Mitchell looked drained in the presser—and fair enough. Three games in 13 days has been a slog. Credit to Peter Burge and the high-performance team for how they’ve managed it. That nine-day break into GWS, then the first bye, comes at the perfect time.
NAT: How good is Josh Battle? The man was a colossus—best player on the ground for mine. Gave Curnow an old-school bath and finished with 21 touches and nine intercepts. I think I underrated how much of an athlete he is. Strong as an ox, but with sneaky pace. We saw it last week when he spent time on Isaac Kako.
Midfield momentum
ASH: Still, the midfield was second-best for most of the night—but they found something late. Newcombe grabbed the game by the scruff early in the last: 10 touches and three clearances in 20 minutes. Day’s best quarter was the fourth as well.
NAT: Yep, and while we got smashed at stoppages, we nearly broke even at centre bounce—which has been a big scoring strength. Mick Cowan had a great tweet on the quality of our centre break chains.
ASH: Ward and CJ were both outside our best 23 a month ago and now they’re making a serious impact. I liked Mitchell’s explanation post-game about CJ’s unique physical profile—he’s not like other players. A weapon, but needs to be managed carefully. His ceiling might be 15-18 games for the year.
NAT: Speaking of Ward—he and Cam MacKenzie deserve some flowers. Ward’s third quarter, getting forward and hitting the scoreboard, was massive in swinging momentum.
ASH: And with three wins already, the GWS game feels like a free hit—but it could also be an eight-point game if both clubs are still in the mix later this year.
Game-breakers
NAT: Chol’s last two weeks have been terrific. He doesn’t get a heap of it, but when he does, it matters. That kick to Gunston in the third—perfectly weighted to the harder option—was elite. At that point, he’d had seven disposals for six score involvements. Then he nails a snap to start the last. Just a beautiful set shot too.
ASH: Gunston’s still got tricks. Just a smart footballer. The new super sub?
NAT: And when Watson kicks goals, they feel different. That electric energy—like Franklin or Rioli. His goal on the run, off Battle’s look-away handball and Massimo’s outrageous kick to Day ... I’ve watched it 700 times. Pure Skechers footy. (See below)
Room for improvement
ASH: Someone in footy department at the Hawks is copping a spray this week though—rightly so. That interchange mess before half-time could’ve - no, should’ve - cost a goal.
NAT: And can we get through a second quarter without someone going down? Worpel, Scrimshaw, now Macdonald. That trend’s got to end.
ASH: Hopefully we’re through the worst of it. Worpel should return for the Port game, and Scrim and maybe Croc by Easter Monday.
NAT: Meek was better late, but was second-best again overall. To be fair, De Koning’s no slouch. And yeah—our second quarter was poor. Coach was right: lucky to still be in it at the half. Clearance again a worry.
ASH: But seriously — how much more fun are weekends after a win?
🧐 Things we like to see (I): Pure Poetry in 3 parts
Part 1: Mass to Day (could watch this on loop forever)
Part 2: Day to Jack
Part 3: The Wizard finishes it off
🧐 Things we like to see (II): Jars getting chaired off
⭐️ Best on ground: Josh Battle
Newcombe a bit stiff here, but Battle was our best four quarter performer. He is only 26, settled off field, at the club he loves, and playing with such confidence. What a piece of business.
💫 Rising star: Nick Watson
Did not touch it in the first quarter but still ends with 2.2, 16 touches and seven score involvements. He is 20 years old. Do they make XS All-Aus Blazers?
👼 Unsung hero: Josh Ward
The Bulldogs final is the other contender but this was his best game for the club, especially with no Worpel and in a midfield that was tested at times. Played inside mid all night and showed he is well up to the level and, crucially, the pace of the game.
🤯 Under pressure: Lloyd Meek/Finn Maginness
Lloyd Meek: Second underwhelming outing in a row. Beaten at stoppage. by TDK — even physically — and while he competed hard late, the Hawks will want more against top-tier rucks going forward. Meek Monday is put on hold until further notice.
Finn: You can never question his professionalism and lack of effort. But he was fumbly and only had 13 touches at 54%. His disposal unfortunately really sticks out in a team that uses the ball as well as we do. Cmac’s injury means we won’t be out of the side this week, but it’s an interesting watch when soldiers return.
Special mention: The interchange team. The blunder before half-time could’ve been costly. A please explain, please.
🎤 Sammy said what!?
“It's been a pretty solid start to the season for us: Friday, Friday, Thursday. All big games, lots of eyes. The way we've handled momentum in those games, I'm really pleased we've been able to make progress.”
“We’ve worked really hard to get to this point but it’ll mean nothing depending on what happens next. I think Bill Belichick always says, ‘You win one in a row’, so three times, we’ve won one in a row.”
“We are fortunate that the depth is pretty good, so if we lose Connor, there will be a replacement.”
“I think Josh Ward was fantastic - I thought his running power, his skill and ball use tonight was first class.”
“I think with someone like CJ, he’s such a finely tuned athlete. He’s obviously got a physical profile that is magnificent. But what comes with that is some injury risk so he has to be so much more diligent than most.”
“We’ve got GWS next, that’ll be another big game for us but we’ve worked hard, we’ve improved our game and we’ve gotten better at some aspects.”
🗣️ Final words: Jarman Impey
“Shout out to my father-in-law, we lost him last week. So there’s a lot of people in Adelaide that I’m thinking of. Quite special being able to play for him and family and friends around.”
“It is surreal because I was getting chaired off and it’s something you don’t expect so it is surreal.”
“We will have a boy so hopefully he can be running around in the colours one day.”
⏭️ Next week:
The Hawks get a well-earned mini-breather before facing GWS at our home away from home in Launceston. The Giants have had the wood over us in recent years, but with a 3-0 start and nine days to recover, Hawthorn heads in with momentum and belief. A fourth straight win would turn heads — and set up a blockbuster month to come, although this game just about qualifies anyway. They are a seriously good team and the Coleman Medal winner will be back.
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What was learnt:
1. Coaches’ contest – backing system/process over structure: When Weitering went to goal square on Hardwick as the start of the game, it was evident that Voss wanted to keep as the last line defender, leaving Young (late replacement) to take Chol – our tallest forward and leading goal kicker last year. From the first forward entry, Chol outpointed Young and Hardwick was able to keep Weitering off the contest. Chol outpointed Young later in the quarter and definitely had the better of him for the remainder of the game. Similarly, when Weddle went into the ruck in the 1st quarter, we were able to stay in the game (Moore snap goal) compared to the 4th quarter, when TDK was caught off the ground for a significant period – the Blues lost their key area of dominance. Mitchell was prepared to back our system over their structural “advantages”.
2. The ‘swingmen” to the fore – As has been anticipated all pre-season, the use of the swingmen was going to be strategic watch over the season. Whilst Sicily going forward draws the attention, the fact that Hardwick had 2 of our 5 first half goals and goes back in the second half to provide a steadying hand shouldn’t be overlooked, particularly as Sicily had to deal with a defensive tag in the first half. Further to the previous point, Weitering looked to take Sicily and it was like the school yard kick to kick as to who would win the marking contest. The key being a rebound from D50 doesn’t quite carry the weight of scoring a goal.
3. Meek Mondays’ kryptonite – Over the past two games, it has become evident that the kryptonite to Meek’s influence on the game is an athletic opponent. This is a fact of life for him given his genetic make-up. Whilst the mids went to work in the centre square clearances maximising their impact with 3 goals from there, around the ground it puts some pressure on the defensive set up to repel these clearances. Having said that, it can also allow for a redirection of the next entry with the ball switched to the open side rather than being dumped back to the congested area. It is a risk/reward strategy. Looking ahead, rucks such as Gawn, Jackson, Marshall (if fit), Xerri, English (although his record is good) would be of similar concerns. Meek’s impact in the last quarter when TDK was caught off the ground indicated that he didn’t drop his bundle and there were a couple of times where the teammates did him no favours handballing to him in a congested or stationary position.
4. Jiath played Russian roulette while the other backs are “snipers by foot” – Not the nicest analogy, however the return of Jiath to the back half whilst not quite the impact of Frostball, did bring a different dimension to the one on one & ground ball contests. A feature of the back 6/7 has been the connection between them in a contested situation, where they look to provide a clean exit from the contest with clean hands to preferably a “foot sniper” who can hit a target up field. In the first half, particularly Jiath adopted a “crash through or crash” mentality where he charged at the ball occasionally not clean, but when found himself disconnected from his fellow defenders which then led to pressured handballs that put them offside on a couple of occasions. The clearest example being in the 2nd quarter is where Impey gave the free away to Kemp in the marking contest. It may have been first games because the second half looked to be a more composed contribution to the defensive set up.
5. D’Ambrosio copped a half-time rocket & responded – Having had 9 disposals (6/3) for 105 metres gained last week, then a first half with 7 disposals (1/6 & 20m) it would be fair to say that Hale may have had a few words with Massimo at half-time as the Blues mids were able to put significant pressure on our back half through the 2nd quarter. No doubt he may have been reminded of the contributions of Ward and Mackenzie in this game. His response 13/5 for 357 metres better represented his 2024 form. While there were still some execution errors, his ability to get to contests and impact on them was much improved.
6. Practice what you’re trained for – With a short week on the track last week, the one session had a drill focusing on the tackling technique and want to take the body of the opposition. The application of this skill, aside from the second quarter, was outstanding. Amon laid a couple of key tackles (6 in all), which is not readily associated with his game, yet he is rated as elite for his position.
Observations:
• Hardwick has a licence to kick from 45+ metres out as a set shot and I’m not sure that any of the other forwards do now. Watson had his hook run up reappear (wet conditions) and in the last quarter, when he turned his back after marking, he missed some options.
• The sub role has become the super(annuation) role – rather than providing a chance to blood some future players, Mitchell is giving the “geriatrics” a role. It has to be said contributing two goals may be more significant than providing another defensive option.
• Focus on the task at hand – William’s 2nd goal from the forward stoppage came about from the scuffle prior to it that distracted the set up for the boundary throw-in. This was followed up with the advantage free goal to Kemp which gave them hope going into ¾ time.
• Wet weather football does need to be adjusted which came after ½ half time.
• Amon had a couple of unusual errors – one by foot in the second quarter sending a “floating” pass to Moore on the lead allowing Haynes to spoil which then let the Blues sweep down to take the lead.
• Social media watch – on the clip of the Watson goal that starts with D’Ambrosio’s dart from the back pocket, if you go back 5 seconds, you’ll see the connection between Barrass and Battle. Battle went back into the marking contest trusting Barrass to keep out his opponent, then having knocked the ball down, Battle gets it to Jiath then to D’Ambrosio and we’re off to the races!
Starting 4:
1st Qrt: Day (17) Newcombe (18) Nash (18)
2nd Qrt: Day Newcombe Nash
3rd Qrt: Day Newcombe Nash
4th Qrt: Day Newcombe Nash
Meek 21; Ward 8; Mackenzie 7; Chol 2; Moore 1
• Impact of TDK at the CBA, we weren’t leaving things to chance at the start of the quarters.
• Worth noting, last week Mackenzie (23) had substantially more CBAs than Ward (8).
Issue for the week:
What is the current role for Mackenzie?
Whilst the sample size isn’t perfect, looking at his time on ground percentage, Mackenzie has been in the bottom three for each of the first three games with only 65% (Qrt: 54/87/64/53) for this game. Like left-footers, blonde haired players can more readily catch the eye and Hawthorn supporters have a strong affection for them over the years e.g. Crimmins, Knights, Mitchell and even faux ones Brereton, so when he is on the ground, he draws attention along with his skills. However, with the desire to have Day and Newcombe play forward rather than rest on the pine, this has meant that Mackenzie’s opportunity to play forward have become more limited, thus the issue is how can he get more ground time? Ward, at this stage, has a stronger engine and better capacity to cover the ground on the wing, given the reliance on the Big 3 at CBA (see above), Mackenzie is being squeezed out for the moment. With Macdonald’s injury, hence the reason for this critique, he may revert to the high forward half role, given the reports and observations of his pre-season that he was fitter and stronger. This would mean another midfielder coming into the rotation i.e. Hustwaite, however, his leg speed could be an issue, particularly against GWS.
Loved Matt Hill , “little bit of abracadabra “. On the Watson goal