Autopsy Hawks vs Cats - Do the autopsy here.

[zacattack]

These comments really refer (like a broken record), to tendencies since 2009, yet we still can't fix it:
1) Goal kicking - too many misses; strangely Bigfooty members/blogs/contributors only, never Hawthorn coaching staff, seem to mention it - in the years we have done very well, we always had a 'dead-eye dick' in front of goal at least as an option (e.g. Williams/Dew/Dunstall)
2) Strange lack of 'leading power forwards' running to a lead centrally in corridor. Perhaps because due to the 'zone/basketball' style ultimately they are often having to 'backpeddle' under Clarko's/or coaching staff strategies? E.g Hale never runs forward quickly just stands there for a mark? But if you watch 2008 archives Buddy was doing this heaps?
3) This point probably not mentioned so much but has anyone else noticed our 'core midfield' actually have erratic/dreadful delivery into our forward line when under the pump? Mitchell/Hodge included? Kicking 'up and under' instead of bullet passes? I just never seem to see much of this from Selwood/Ablett?
4) Why does Clarko refuse to 'use the central corridor very quickly'? Why do we always go sideways?
5) No master plan for rucks? No Natanuiesque plan? Geelong are already developing - and playing - young ruckmen?
Just thoughts....

 

[Harper_Hawk]

A lot has to change or we are in strife this year.

I want to point the finger squarely at Clarkson. He is the coach and leader of the team. The team are an extension of him. He is condoning the choking behaviour that is going on with this team. 10 in a row against this Geelong. 10 in a row...not 3 or 4 in a row...but 10....disgusting that he can't harden this team up to fight to the end to scrape a win. Didn't the grand final loss do anything? Obviously not. WAKE UP Clarkson. You are right...a lot has to change..from the shoulders up....otherwise more than strife...more like anywhere between 9th and 6th for us this season. I am over it!

 

[Hodginator]

Just realised it's my 3rd year Big Footy birthday. What a disappointing result. Surely it was spoken about in the rooms at half time to try fire up the boys.

 

[hodgeysleftfoot]

I fear this current group of mentally fragile players will never be able to bring home the ultimate prize. They shit themselves time and time again and that mindset needs to be eradicated from the club.

Pathetic capitulation yet again from the side.

Im with you,well said

 

[toomanysquibs]

Selwood 1 - Buddy 0 (And a crap haircut to go with it)

Smug Cats supporters slagging off haircuts, you get that your team is from the City of Geelong right?

That win will be the high point of your season, I guess you've got to make the most of it.

 

[Gary Conan Ayres]

Pea Hearts, wont win a flag with the current playing group.

My quick match review:

Pathetic, slow, weak , fragile, heartless, unaccountable, lackluster, disappointing, deplorable, woeful, inadequate, repetitive, distressing.

 

[hawks realist]

These comments really refer (like a broken record), to tendencies since 2009, yet we still can't fix it:
1) Goal kicking - too many misses; strangely Bigfooty members/blogs/contributors only, never Hawthorn coaching staff, seem to mention it - in the years we have done very well, we always had a 'dead-eye dick' in front of goal at least as an option (e.g. Williams/Dew/Dunstall)
2) Strange lack of 'leading power forwards' running to a lead centrally in corridor. Perhaps because due to the 'zone/basketball' style ultimately they are often having to 'backpeddle' under Clarko's/or coaching staff strategies? E.g Hale never runs forward quickly just stands there for a mark? But if you watch 2008 archives Buddy was doing this heaps?
3) This point probably not mentioned so much but has anyone else noticed our 'core midfield' actually have erratic/dreadful delivery into our forward line when under the pump? Mitchell/Hodge included? Kicking 'up and under' instead of bullet passes? I just never seem to see much of this from Selwood/Ablett?
4) Why does Clarko refuse to 'use the central corridor very quickly'? Why do we always go sideways?
5) No master plan for rucks? No Natanuiesque plan? Geelong are already developing - and playing - young ruckmen?
Just thoughts....

decent thoughts,shit second half today.capitulated again.
tried hard though,pffff
Not really good enough for mine

 

[hamohawk1]

was at the game today and heres a few of my observations:

firstly shoenmakers: well done mate, you have copped a lot and most likely warranted at times but the way you took the game on beating 3 v 1's at times and i would say beating your opponents today really impressed me.

the forward line: just did not look potent, i know we sent a few hospital balls up but we didn't seem to have any cohesion at all and credit to harry taylor just tore us a new one.

brad hill: great first quarter, looked composed and really promising

sheils (i think): that moment in the last quarter were the game was still up in the balance late and bartel simply grabbed the ball while the other player tried to slap him. i understand you're tired but it would take just as much effort to put the body in

sewell and mitchell: a + game boys, probably chuck burgoyne in there loved your work

our gameplan: i don't know if it was the boys or the gameplan but i noticed a distinct lack of spread after halfway through the second quarter. we didnt seem to find space nor have numbers but geelong were certainly on the contrary.

buddy: sitting near his old man today and he would have heard it from both sides. copped a pretty generous free kick for holding but let geelong get to his head, he had to be restrained a few times for the boys. be a leader buddy and show how mature you are and let your football do the talking. 2/10 performance from him today

 

[11sjw]

I'll be at Subi on Sunday. I won't even be surprised if we try and rest starters.... Up yours vlad.

Me too with my 6 yr old daughter. Must remember to mind the language. West Coast crowds bring the worst out in me.

On topic, Bosk's review seems pretty well on the money.

 

[Paul Kersey]

Forwards were pathetic.

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Time to change the personnel.

We need a blueprint which goes back to first principles with each position on the ground and restructure accordingly.

For example, key defenders, you need to be tall and strong.

Forwards, you need to have marking as a cornerstone of your game.

Midfielders, you need to be able to run both ways.

Rucks, you need to be able to hold your ground at stoppages ie. be tall and strong.

LEADERS - you need to be so scared of defeat that you perform superhuman feats when the real heat is on.



The problem is when our game plan breaks down are players are laid bare and so vulnerable because they dont have the fundamental characteristics for their positions. Our game plan is completely manufactured CRAP.




Time to restructure the forward line.

Rough is useless up forward. Ruck him or try him in defence. Or trade him. Keep him away from any sort of responsibility of him having to take a mark. I reckon he is close to the most overrated player in the comp. Has not improved his marking his whole career. Or his disgraceful set shot kicking action.

Buddy also should not be a focal point up forward because he cant mark. He should be given licence to roam up to half back and then push back hard towards the goals. We need an extra mid.

Hale has no heart unfortunately. Not up to it. Put time into Big Max who can get his hand to the ball and direct it. And the bonus might be that Max shows himself to be a leader as Hale is not. Max might be one of the personell changes that improves our psyche.

Gunstan is a girl. Physically weak and cant do the hard stuff. Put some farking muscle onto him Hawks.

Savage needs to show some competitive spirit for a sustained period at Box Hill. Bring in Langers who thrives on a contest.

Dont play Rioli underdone. He doesnt cope.

And whatever you do Hawks, dont rush Hodge back. He is a mile off.

 

[marklar]

Today I felt we really missed the Suckers/Young/Dew long kick and decent short passes, except Hill, he was great, got us our first few goals & without him we would have been severely embarrassed from early on.

Also the cats have been handballing around our zone defence for 5 years and we still can't figure out how to stop them. Yes Clarko, a handball travels faster than the player chasing it!

The only thing that has changed this year is the old scapegoats have moved on (anyone watch Murphy's game this week? pretty good and hey they won) yet the same problems remain.

 

[toomanysquibs]

These comments really refer (like a broken record), to tendencies since 2009, yet we still can't fix it:

2) Strange lack of 'leading power forwards' running to a lead centrally in corridor. Perhaps because due to the 'zone/basketball' style ultimately they are often having to 'backpeddle' under Clarko's/or coaching staff strategies? E.g Hale never runs forward quickly just stands there for a mark? But if you watch 2008 archives Buddy was doing this heaps?

Most supporters have noted this, and surely it, like the idea that we didn't need a power gorilla back must be re-thought.

It's like owning a shotgun, and then doing all your sport shooting with an air rifle.

 

[macdaddio]

Cats looked ordinary old and slow until we let walk all over us...
They will get spanked next week by the Roos.
We always make them look Better than they actually are and that is why we are a laughing stock with this BS curse lingering around for another season..

 

[Hawk1978]

Absolutely GUTTED.
Almost as painful as the 2012 GF Loss, that's how much I hate losing to bloody Geelong!
We were very poor today, thought most of our players didnt do much.
37 Touches from Mitchell was a great effort, I was at the game and didnt realise he had so much of the ball, probably cos his haircut makes him look like Schoenmakers!

We were beaten by a side that still seems to be 10% better than us. We just cant quite seem to hang on for four quarters against them. I believe it is 8 games by less than 10 points now!.
We should have tagged Chapman for a start and boy we could have used Lake and Hodge.
That said I believe they had a few outs as well.

We were beaten all over the ground, just didnt seem to be as composed as them.
Also need to harden some of our guys up such as Smith and Hill but only time in the gym can fix that, they are just young.
Geelong have some very big and solid bodies, chapman looks like someone jammed an air hose into him and pumped him up.

Our forward line and midfield probably were the worst, we seemed to just turn it over too easily and bombing it forward is useless, it hits the deck when no one marks and comes straight back out again.
Also players need to have the confidence to take a shot at goals rather than try a cute little pass into a packed forward fifty only to turn it over and not even get a point out of it.

On the positive side of things, I thought Schoenmakers was great today, really coming along and he has bulked up a bit, another year in the Gym and I reckon he will really be a handful for the big opposition forwards. Very happy with him.
Hill looked fantastic, he either ran out of steam as a young player or perhaps the hit from Chapman knocked the stuffing out of him. Great player of the future.

Hopefully a couple of months worth of matches will allow us to get a bit more slick and composed and allow Hodge and Lake to settle in again. Fingers crossed we beat them next time, cant take much more of this.

 

[Taskmaster]

I thought we were really good today. Really great positive signs today. I love how we can let teams have a chance against us. We are a very polite considerate team. (This is my sarcasm font)

Having said all that airy fairy sh.t, seriously, nothing surprises me with these spoilt ar.e clowns anymore. Spoilt bloody sh.ts. Do they actually know that football is played over 120mins?? Or are they to ******ed!!

Im sick of the bloody excuses. We are mentally and today physically weak! This close enough is good enough attitude is a disgrace.

If Lance thinks he is worth 1 million +, then he might want to pull his finger out. Can I remind all the mediocre acceptors out there, that Geel had 3 of their best mids out today and we still looked like clowns!!

Yep its Rd 1, but the way we presented ourselves today was nothing short of pathetic and we will be 0-5 after 5 rds on todays performance. Prove me wrong Hawthorn, but I highly doubt it!! Weak, spoilt, dont care, yep its harsh, but the truth hurts!

 

[Paul Kersey]

Lost count of the centre clearances won today. No forwards leading, just in one big group asking for the ball on their heads. Problem is, none of them can take a contested mark. Wasn't anyone there for the crumb either most times. Bullshit setup.

 

[Hawka_de_Haven]

On the performance today we wont win the flag this year. The first half was good without being great, with some of our key contributors noticeably tiring in the second half. What is even more upsetting is that the cats had some no names in place of missing guns. I'd like to think that our key omissions today could counter their omissions next time, but I am not sure they would. The Cats play to win at all cost, this was evident today, with some of their lesser lights stepping up to keep the winning streak going. When it counted in the third, noone stepped up to lead for the Hawks. If it werent for Mitch in the back half, the game would have been iced at 3 qrt time. We were too tall in the end, our fwd line was misfiring and our onballers lacked polish. I lost count of the times handballs missed their targets. Hill and Poppy were serviceable, but Scott curbed their influence afetr half time when he needed to and as good coaches should. As for Clarko, the move of Anderson in the middle for the last centre bounce with only minutes left on the clock and 7 points adrift was a head turner for me. I would have thought a Burger or Lewis to have been a better option.

 

[Stratton_Gun]

OK so I will try to keep it short and sweet and maybe post tomorrow when I am level headed again but no promises.
**** I am sick of this club. We are like Melbourne except with a better player list. No heart, mentally weak and no fight!!. Even when we were 5 goals up today I knew that we would get done. I bet the whole crowd did. It's like ****ing groundhog day for the last 10 games we've played these campaigners. What do we have to do to beat them. Oh and great response to the grand final. Really showed how we wanna right the wrongs of last year. Also we so so undisciplined. Mainly Buddy. I don't care how much talent he has but when he's not performing he can't afford to act like a ****ing dickhead and give away stupid frees. He is honestly one of the dumbest players I have ever seen. Selwood provokes him and straight away he takes the bait and reverses the free kick. Anyone who thinks our losses to Geelong are not mental is flipping idiot also. I am not buying this "they are a good team" shit. When we get up by 5 goals there is NO excuse to crumbling like we have every flipping time we play against them. So many players did nothing today. Was Gunston even playing? Roughead pissed me off as well. When you mark inside the 50 stand up and do your job as a forward and kick the ****ing goal. Don't do some little chip pass that blind Freddy can see wont come off. Our defense is not the problem. Schoey, Gibbo and Stratts all had good games but there was notihng they could do for most of the goals. I am honestly getting sick and tired off this. Such a talented list but we lack the desire, clean hands and most importantly mental toughness of other good teams. I am not sure what has happened since 08 but this would never have happened then. I have been a member since I was 5/6 which is 16 years but honestly if we don't win the flag or at least beat Geelong later this year I can honestly say I will consider not renewing because all this club does is promise things that don't happen.

Rant over

 

[Off The Couch]

I have read a few times in this thread about Anderson being in the middle for the last centre bounce and clarko copping the flak. Is it really his fault or should one of the senior mids like burgers have said "I know this is your rotation Jed, but I'm calling you out and taking your spot...."

 

[Taskmaster]

And Gee Im really looking forward to the piss poor bs excuses come out of Clarksons mouth this week!!!

Just S..t!

 

[Southern Urchins]

$1.3m buys you that from Buddy? lol Match the offer, then trade him to GWS for a mid, throw a dump truck of cash at Dale Thomas and give Sam Mitchell a bloody payrise! We might salvage another flag with this group then....maybe??

Didn't get pissed off today, because I knew what was coming. Took the $2.60, sat there with Geelong flogs yelling "ball" every 2 seconds and just shook my head with amazement in that 3rd quarter.

I still wish we lost that Richmond game in Rnd 8, 2010. Jeff was poised with the axe and unfortunately Sam Mitchell laid a match saving tackle and we hung on. We lose that game, armageddon happens and I think things turn out differently for us. Clarko's stubbornness, stale message and foolish game plan are the problem. He's never been a great match-day coach and now the fear factor has warn off with the players, the trick bag is empty. Sadly, I agree with Jeff. CLARKSON OUT!! And time to drop some under-performing "senior" players.

Don't bother with the Rnd 1 excuse. It's bloody groundhog day with Hawthorn! Enough is enough, heads should've rolled back in 2010! Facht Rafa!!

 

[SSSSSS]

$1.3m buys you that from Buddy? lol Match the offer, then trade him to GWS for a mid, throw a dump truck of cash at Dale Thomas and give Sam Mitchell a bloody payrise! We might salvage another flag with this group then....maybe??

Didn't get pissed off today, because I knew what was coming. Took the $2.60, sat there with Geelong flogs yelling "ball" every 2 seconds and just shook my head with amazement in that 3rd quarter.

I still wish we lost that Richmond game in Rnd 8, 2010. Jeff was poised with the axe and unfortunately Sam Mitchell laid a match saving tackle and we hung on. We lose that game, armageddon happens and I think things turn out differently for us. Clarko's stubbornness, stale message and foolish game plan are the problem. He's never been a great match-day coach and now the fear factor has warn off with the players, the trick bag is empty. Sadly, I agree with Jeff. CLARKSON OUT!! And time to drop some under-performing "senior" players.

Don't bother with the Rnd 1 excuse. It's bloody groundhog day with Hawthorn! Enough is enough, heads should've rolled back in 2010! Facht Rafa!!

Bit reactionary to sack a coach after a 7 point defeat but my question is who would replace him if he was sacked? There really aren't many great candidates around from first thought.

 

[Taskmaster]

Bit reactionary to sack a coach after a 7 point defeat but my question is who would replace him if he was sacked? There really aren't many great candidates around from first thought.

Paul Roos!

 

[hamohawk1]

we let today go like geelong almost let last year go. only thing was they had a bigger lead