Selection Dissection: Sunburn or a solar eclipse?
The Hawks head up the coast in search of their first win of the season.
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Hawthorn v Gold Coast
Saturday 13 April, 7:30pm
People First Stadium
That one hurt! Despite having the youngest team of the round, we pushed the reigning premiers until the final siren and could have won our first game for the season.
Whilst we suffered our fourth consecutive loss, there were a lot of positives to come out of our clash against the Magpies.
If you haven’t already, have a listen to the Post-Match Recap ⬇️
Round 4 Takeaways:
The Positive: Fightback / Character / Heart
Despite being 38 points down at half time, the team came out in the second half and fought the game out until the final siren. Last season, we lose that game by 50+. That’s growth.
The Negative: Slow starts
We are now 0-4 in first quarters this season. When you’re a bottom 3 team like we are, you won’t win many if any games if you start slowly. Being down 3+ goals at 1/4 time each week is not good enough.
Looking Ahead:
With Box Hill having a bye last week and no fresh injuries to come out of the Gather around clash against the Magpies, I can’t see many changes, if any for this week's clash against the Suns.
The backline
Sam Frost continues to impress. He’s played four solid games in a row and would be just behind James Worpel in our Best and Fairest. Jack Scrimshaw also continues to thrive as our Centre Half Back and it was great to see Seamus Mitchell back. Mitchell’s inclusion in the team allows Blake Hardwick to play forward which is a massive bonus - especially with Nick Watson and Luke Breust out injured.
The burning question: Do the Hawks need defensive help this week?
The Suns do have a very tall forward line which means Jai Serong may need to come in. Ethan Phillips is still not ready.
The midfield
Welcome back Jai Newcombe. Duke had his best game of the season, especially in the third quarter where he was the main catalyst for our comeback. Josh Ward also had his best game of the season which was great to see. Connor Nash is now a big problem. He was poor again, especially with his disposals (39% efficiency) and needs to lift especially with Will Day due back in a few weeks time. Finn Maginness is another player under pressure. If he is not in the team this week to tag Noah Anderson or Touk Miller, he needs to be dropped.
The burning question: Have we nailed the sub?
Henry Hustwaite is not the right player to start as the sub and if he's not in the starting 22, he needs to head back to Box Hill.
The ruck
Lloyd Meek had his best game for the Hawks and after two decent games is now the clear #1. He finished with 18 disposals, two marks and 30+ hit outs. His physicality around the ground was also a big positive. He has a massive test this week against Jarrod Witts.
The burning question: How many credits did last weekends game give Meek?
Plenty. Meek should be given every opportunity to prove himself as Hawthorn’s number one ruck over the next few weeks.
The forward line
Have we found our new full forward? Blake Hardwick was moved forward in the second half and was simply brilliant, kicking 4 goals. With Seamus Mitchell back, he needs to start forward this week against the suns. Another positive was young Max Ramsden. He kicked his first goal for the club and didn’t look out of place. With Mitch Lewis now set to miss another few weeks with knee and hamstring injuries, Ramsden should get a good run of games.
The burning question: Can Sam Butler transfer his hot VFL form to the big time? Even though his form leading in to his season debut was very strong, unfortunately Butler was subbed out after three disposals in his return to the team and may lose his spot.
What should happen:
Out: Maginness, Butler
In: Hustwaite, Morrison
FB: Mitchell, Frost, Sicily
HB: Weddle, Scrimshaw, Impey
C: D'Ambrosio, Nash, Ward
HF: Moore, Ramsden, Macdonald
FF: Ginnivan, Chol, Hardwick
R: Meek, Newcombe, Worpel
Int: Hustwaite, Amon, Mackenzie, Morrison, (Butler)
What will happen:
No change - Hustwaite and Butler swap sub role
FB: Mitchell, Frost, Sicily
HB: Weddle, Scrimshaw, Impey
C: D'Ambrosio, Nash, Ward
HF: Moore, Ramsden, Macdonald
FF: Ginnivan, Chol, Hardwick
R: Meek, Newcombe, Worpel
Int: Maginness, Hustwaite, Amon, Mackenzie, (Butler)
The Hawks are staring down the barrel of a 0-5 record without a win this weekend. Do you think changes are required this weekend, or should Mitchell stay with the team that came so close at Gather Round? What are your thoughts Hawks fans?
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Future's So Bright...Gotto wear 😎
We blot out the sun
Eclipse coming
Totally agree with your thoughts on the game and selection Brad. I totally agree with what should happen and what will most likely happen. In a sense I think Sam must reward the team that fought back and try to work out how we started so sluggishly. For me it was the intensity from the beginning. That is what I noticed when we started to peg things back was that we turned up the pressure and we started to keep the ball flowing rather than stagnated play. If we could not switch play we and had not other options we went down the line which is smart percentage football.