Training 2024 Preseason reports and discussion

[extractasam]

Agree, he wouldn’t be in my 22 at full fitness but hope he can prove me wrong.

It’s such a tough one this year for Chad. He’s consistently shown that when he can string 6-7 games together in a row that he gets a huge form spike. It’s happened multiple years for us, last year it happened and 2019 from memory his late season form was sublime and then again in 2021 his last handful of games averaged 30 and a goal.

The problem now however he’s not a walk up start anymore and it’s going to be hard for the coaches to justify dislodging players from the side to give Chad a run of games. Going to be very interesting how it’s approached, especially considering Chads out of contract end of 24.

 

[TylerDurden]

 

[DogDaySonny]

Ok… well the article is reasonable. It’s unlikely that the 16th rated forward line will nearly turnover in total and lift to a top rated line. Whatev’s. Hawthorn’s forward line will be the exception that proves the rule.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

It’s such a tough one this year for Chad. He’s consistently shown that when he can string 6-7 games together in a row that he gets a huge form spike. It’s happened multiple years for us, last year it happened and 2019 from memory his late season form was sublime and then again in 2021 his last handful of games averaged 30 and a goal.

The problem now however he’s not a walk up start anymore and it’s going to be hard for the coaches to justify dislodging players from the side to give Chad a run of games. Going to be very interesting how it’s approached, especially considering Chads out of contract end of 24.

That's been Chad's biggest issue at his time with the Hawks.

He takes a solid block games to hit his straps, plays at a high level for a period of games then has another soft tissue injury.

Which means that whole process has to start again.

As you say it will be difficult to justify playing him into form in the seniors when we have so many players hustling for a spot at the moment.

He might need to build his form/fitness at Box Hill this time.

 

[Newmo89]

Bailey MacDonald

 

[tl92]

Bailey MacDonald

?

 

[flinchfree]

Best of luck for the year.

Hows weddle coming along? Seemed to have a positive first season. Is he best 22? Do you think hel breakout/start to find more of the footy? Seems like he has a tank and could become an elite wingman potentially?

He's a ripper.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

That Superfooty article is poor, particularly when its looking at the forward line performance in 2023 overall, because anyone with any understanding of Hawthorn in 2023 would have seen that Hawthorn’s forward line potency in the two halves of the year were polar opposites.

Without Lewis and with Kozzie dropped to Box Hill our forward line was a mess. We all saw that. Ferg Greene at 187cm was our key forward alongside Bruest.

Coupled with how badly our midfield needed to build into the year together after losing Tom and JOM and being the youngest list in the comp, there’s likely not many other sides in the last 5-10 years who’ve had such an obvious reason to start a year so poorly. And those early numbers dictate how the story gets told overall.

By later in the year our forward line was a different story, as was the midfield that serviced it. We were much more potent and it showed with how well we performed against teams vying for the finals.
From Round 10, Hawthorn were 9th in the comp for Quarters won. During that period Hawthorn played 9 games against the eventual finalists.

In the last 5 games of 2023(even though Lewis missed 2 games) we were above the league average for Goals per inside 50. Equal 10th with Sydney.

How we ended the season, and how we've improved the forward capability available to us tells a much greater story than how we performed 'over the the course of the entire 2023 season'.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

With the recruitment and drafting of Chol, Ginnivan, Watson and Gunston we will have potentially four new additions to the forward line this season. Hopefully a fully fit Lewis is added to that mix too.

Edit: potentially add Hardwick there too.

Any assessment on our scoring ability or potency based on last season is pretty much meaningless now, regardless of which part of the season is isolated.

 

[KermitJagger]

I can't be bothered reading the article but the headline itself is a bit stupid, because papering over the cracks is possibly the one thing it couldn't be. It's not as though we're bringing in a bunch of 30 year olds, pretty much every move save for Gunston has minimum 5 years of peak footy left.

 

[Elhawko]

I can't be bothered reading the article but the headline itself is a bit stupid, because papering over the cracks is possibly the one thing it couldn't be. It's not as though we're bringing in a bunch of 30 year olds, pretty much every move save for Gunston has minimum 5 years of peak footy left.

I didn't read it either but if it's suggesting recruiting Watson, the best small forward in the draft, is papering over cracks then I'm not sure what else we could have done to build a better forward line, short of placing an order with Dr Frankenstein.

 

[The Spirit of Cricket]

the article just says that most fwds who switch clubs take two seasons before they kick a respectable number of goals. it basically doesn't comment on anything else at all lol

 

[cryptor]

I didn't read it either but if it's suggesting recruiting Watson, the best small forward in the draft, is papering over cracks then I'm not sure what else we could have done to build a better forward line, short of placing an order with Dr Frankenstein.

"Papering over the cracks"

1. Winning three premierships in a row instead of rebuilding the list
2. Selecting the best available talent while also addressing a list need.

 

[DogDaySonny]

the article just says that most fwds who switch clubs take two seasons before they kick a respectable number of goals. it basically doesn't comment on anything else at all lol

This is it. It’s not unreasonable but neither is it remarkable. I’m sure the new forward line will be stumbling over themselves and a bit frustrated for the first third of the season. We’ll be properly melting in response. And we’ll see how well they gel as the season progresses. With some luck they really knit this season and we have some big wins to celebrate.

 

[DogDaySonny]

I look forward to the chaos here when Col and Lewis are running to the same spot and spoiling each other in the first few games.

 

[tl92]

I look forward to the chaos here when Col and Lewis are running to the same spot and spoiling each other in the first few games.

Why would you look forward to that

 

[eldorado]

I can't be bothered reading the article

Same...

Blahblahblahblahblah...

 

[DogDaySonny]

Why would you look forward to that

Because people need to keep their shorts on and not light their hair on fire. We’ll have at least three new people running around up forward, four if you count Gunners. One of those new guys is a key position. Unless the team is incredibly lucky, there are going to be some big ol’ growing pains as they learn to play together.

Plus, as you know, we’re playing Essendon, Melbourne and Geelong in the first three rounds. While Essendon sucks balls, their backline is pretty close to last years’ edition. And both Melbourne and Geelong backlines have played together for so long they hardly need to practice anymore. Our boys will be challenged as they learn their own game.

I’m not looking forward to our boys being challenged. I am looking forward to watching them grow under fire. And I’m looking forward to the melting that happens on the internet when supporters are unable to maintain that perspective.

 

[Brant]

Agree, he wouldn’t be in my 22 at full fitness but hope he can prove me wrong.

There isn't an AFL (Club) Team in history that Wingard doesn't make if/when fully fit & in form.

I'm expecting big things from this group!

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

the article just says that most fwds who switch clubs take two seasons before they kick a respectable number of goals. it basically doesn't comment on anything else at all lol

And even that was pretty dumb, as they were working with the metric of being a Top 20 goal scorer in the league being the pass mark for a player who has moved clubs.

I laughed at the part where they stated Charlie Dixon only kicked 30 goals in his first year at Port. Like 30 goals in 18 games is something to sneeze at. We'd take that every day of the week from any of our recruits.

IF Chol, Ginnivan, Watson and Gunston all kick 20-25 goals each, they likely won't be in the Top 20 goal scorers in the league but I'd almost guarantee we're challenging for finals come August.

 

[tl92]

There isn't an AFL (Club) Team in history that Wingard doesn't make it/when fully fit & in form.

I'm expecting big things from this group!

At his best I agree, but he hasn’t ever been at his best at hawthorn, not even in the glimpses. Those days are sadly behind him imo. This version of Chad is still a good player and capable of some good games and great glimpses but that’s not enough for me to take someone’s spot.

 

[moginie]

There isn't an AFL (Club) Team in history that Wingard doesn't make it/when fully fit & in form.

I'm expecting big things from this group!

Exactly. And i reckon that Chad wants to be right in the middle of a group that is this vibrant.

The progress he's made during his rehab is significant. He wants to be a part of our success.

 

[Brant]

At his best I agree, but he hasn’t ever been at his best at hawthorn, not even in the glimpses. Those days are sadly behind him imo. This version of Chad is still a good player and capable of some good games and great glimpses but that’s not enough for me to take someone’s spot.

Because he hasn't reached or maintained fitness.

Go back to the few weeks before he did his Achilles - who is keeping 'that Chad' out of this Team?

 

[HedgeFund]

I didn't read it either but if it's suggesting recruiting Watson, the best small forward in the draft, is papering over cracks then I'm not sure what else we could have done to build a better forward line, short of placing an order with Dr Frankenstein.

If you didn’t read it, then why criticise it?

 

[HedgeFund]

And even that was pretty dumb, as they were working with the metric of being a Top 20 goal scorer in the league being the pass mark for a player who has moved clubs.

I laughed at the part where they stated Charlie Dixon only kicked 30 goals in his first year at Port. Like 30 goals in 18 games is something to sneeze at. We'd take that every day of the week from any of our recruits.

IF Chol, Ginnivan, Watson and Gunston all kick 20-25 goals each, they likely won't be in the Top 20 goal scorers in the league but I'd almost guarantee we're challenging for finals come August.

Isaac Heeney kicked 30 goals last season.

He was 42nd on the list of goal kickers for the year.

20th on the list was Jamie Elliott with 39.

I don’t think kicking 30 goals as a permanent forward is that big of a deal TBH.