Autopsy Round 2, 2025: Hawthorn give Carlton the Blues

[Simon Crawshay]

I made a comment this week that I didn't think that Watson was at the elite level for a small forward yet but if he keeps having 15+ possession, 2 goal games on a regular basis I will have to eat my words. The Wiz is an amazingly explosive power athlete, regardless of his height.

Our depth is going to make us hard to beat this year even when some of our stars have down weeks. Our bottom six players will be better than the oppositions bottom six most weeks and thats a big advantage to have.

 

[Franko Armani]

Wow, just wow. That has to be our best win under Sam! Absolutely huge TOUGH effort all night by the boys against a side that just as relentless as I’ve seen with their pressure in a long while. We stood up, despite losing another important player early, missing a key mid & defender and missing our 2 top KPF’s. Don’t underestimate how good that win was. That was massive !!

Lots of crucial individual & team efforts tonight.

The way we do it at the Hawks. On to the Giants!

 

[killerspud]

Battle won

Battle is great. The Barrass/Battle safety net is going to shut down alot of teams.

Forwards were good when they had to be. Chol was big tonight against the big carlton backs and the wizard was amazing.

We are building nicely, beating good teams but not demolishing them. Its March and we need to be banking wins so we can focus on the pointy end

On Pixel 6 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The hands of stone]

Looks nice playing pretty and flogging sides, these games are $$$ in the bank for when we need them later in the season . Or a very high pressure final eg Port last season .
We can win different ways now .
If its not on our terms- we still can win.

Teams are hunting us and we are standing up so far . Sometimes it ain't pretty but it's pro sports and you need ways to win.

I'm still staggered how far this team and group has come since this time last season. Nothing short of extraordinary.

On a separate note after that game the Saints will offer TDK 25mill over 15 seasons .

 

[seysearles]

Being 3-0 half way through the horror six week opening stretch is huge. GWS (H) Port (A) and Geelong (A) to come. The injury list keeps piling up with every game also (Worpel, Scrimshaw, Macdonald all significant losses). If we can get to Rd.7 4-2 or 5-1 I will be thrilled.

 

[westhawk]

Great win in the end. Showed great resilience to keep working when not at our best. Our class shines through when it matters. How good is it having the 2 new pillars down back. I feel confident every time the ball goes in to them.

 

[Arc1]

Trans are hunting us and we are standing up so far . Sometimes it ain't pretty but it's pro sports and you need ways to win.

Sounds like the Clive Palmer ads they were running during the Ch 7 ad breaks

 

[Mrzohs]

Great win by the boys, the game wasn't played on our terms for the most part.

A few boys lifted right on time in the last quarter. Very proud we have been able to kick a winning score 3 weeks in a row with a makeshift fwd line.

Daisy and Moore both well held tonight. finding new ways to win and not reliant on one player or style.

Go hawks plenty of improvent!

 

[CHUBBSS]

This win really solidifies the belief. And the faster we pump games into ward, Mackenzie and weddle the better we will look (Watson is already playing like a senior)

Amazing how huge an impact worpedo and scrimshaw are having.

Day and newk can really find a moment but it helped having meek come out angry, great win.

 

[rdhopkins2]

The sign of a team with depth when you don’t feel like you played that well but still find a way to win. We will consistently be hard to beat this year rather than the side that has a big win before losing the next close one etc.

 

[Phil McCreviss]

I see a lot of posts about us winning ugly. I don't think that's the case at all. Teams are investing a lot of prep time trying to pick our game apart. We are not "surprising" teams this year like last year where we open the game up and win by 10 goals.
I've noticed oppo teams are shutting down the corridor against us a lot more often so we are now forced to handball our way through congestion. We are winning using different methods this season. Think we need to change our expectations slightly. It's been a great start to the season. On to GWS!

 

[Malik90]

Rebuilds are hard work

 

[Mrzohs]

He struggles in the wet. Has terrible hand skills that only get worse.

Missed a couple of screamers and left a few goals out there tonight.

Full of excitement none the less!

 

[SSSSSS]

Finn not as good ball in hand as last couple of weeks but his strength to stand up in a tackle during scrappy moment I50 create such crucial goals.

Also thought Harry's best asset was on show today. Great footy intelligence and reliability. Was in the right space in the right moments defensively and completely neutered Acres.

 

[Rushed_Behind]

Getting JB and TB is a master stroke.

So proud of the team. Each team has thrown the kitchen sink at us we’ve lost important players in each game (before halftime in each) and just ground out wins in each.

Happy to get the win.

 

[SSSSSS]

Pretty insane how well Jai spoke. Almost every player we've got has grown so much in the past few years.

It's the moustache.

 

[Rushed_Behind]

I see a lot of posts about us winning ugly. I don't think that's the case at all. Teams are investing a lot of prep time trying to pick our game apart. We are not "surprising" teams this year like last year where we open the game up and win by 10 goals.
I've noticed oppo teams are shutting down the corridor against us a lot more often so we are now forced to handball our way through congestion. We are winning using different methods this season. Think we need to change our expectations slightly. It's been a great start to the season. On to GWS!

Great point. Teams are investing so much time trying to take away our strengths yet we keep finding a way to win. And each win has been different. I love the versatility of the team and also the fact that the coaching team isn’t afraid to make changes.

 

[Bardo State]

Battle might become my favourite player. Always thinking 2 steps ahead of everyone else. Always reads the bobble of the ball, always gets a hand in at the right time. It was a dominant defensive display from him tonight.

 

[hawkinoz]

I see a lot of posts about us winning ugly. I don't think that's the case at all. Teams are investing a lot of prep time trying to pick our game apart. We are not "surprising" teams this year like last year where we open the game up and win by 10 goals.
I've noticed oppo teams are shutting down the corridor against us a lot more often so we are now forced to handball our way through congestion. We are winning using different methods this season. Think we need to change our expectations slightly. It's been a great start to the season. On to GWS!

Feel the same. Bluuz were fully switched on to stop any set play shenanigans and had an extra player or 2 in the middle to go for a defensive run. We semi-tried once when we kicked to Battle even though he had a player on him and he almost took that mark. Instead they got the ball and tried to set up a score but we repelled. Would have been interesting if battle had taken that cleanly instead of being forced to juggle with the pressure on him. Did we have extra players up in space, keen to see the goal camera vision

 

[Back Pocket Rocket]

3 votes in the bag.

I reckon TDK will feature, and there are several options for the final vote.

No chance. Cripps already assigned the 3 pre game

 

[KermitJagger]

What is it with footy journalists in these post-game conferences and making statements instead of asking questions? Almost every one is a long winded statement and then asking the coach if they agree or not.

 

[lethalselbow]

Dunstall- clown

Montagne- clown

Johnson- clown

King- King clown

Insufferable the lot of them.

Sorry? For ppl at the game what did these guys say? They write the team off?

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Battle is insanely good. What’s even better is the way he and Barrass can seemingly mind meld at times. They work so well together - apparently are already good mates off the field also. Love having them back there - can only imagine how they’re going to improve as they play together more also.

 

[Davo-27]

3 votes Josh Battle
2 votes Jai Newcombe
1 vote Mabior Chol

Great tough win, 9 days break to recover, Go Hawks

Grats to Impey on 200 games and a kid on the way

 

[Bedi]

Just got back and thoroughly enjoyed that! Pretty much a carbon copy of previous two games in terms of digging deep when challenged, but reckon this was the best win yet. Jai Newcombe was an absolute beast, so was Mackenzie, Chol, TB and JB. Loved the Wiz's game too, but reckon BOG goes to Curnow – the arrogance of Carlton to play him unfit two games in a row means he's helped us with multiple wins, thank you very much.

Ps, laughable how many people don't want Gunston in this side, and tonight (like it did last year) shows why!