Autopsy Hawks vs Cats, Rd 15 2013

[StevenwellerHFC]

haha classic ... ya know after round 1 i said NEVER again will i go to another cats game ... up until this week i was sticking to it, UNTIL last minute, on Wednesday i started to get toey and bought some tickets ... then Friday i got sick and couldnt go anyway so it all worked out beautifully .. hahah thankyou virus for saving me from that stink again

I didn't enjoy one bit of it, should have watched Adelaide vs. West Coast.

 

[crawf_legend]

I can't understand how we can come out and play like that with the list we've got.

Our goal kicking lets us down. Had they put in 2 or 3 of the goals they missed, we would've won. Would've changed the games course obviously.. but goal kicking is always an issue for us in important games. GF last year.. we had our chances in the last quarter. We couldn't put the ball through the sticks. If you don't make the most of your opportunities in front of goal, you cannot expect to win.

Hodge is always useless against Geelong. I hardly noticed him at all tonight. He missed a goal that he should've put through as our captain. Set an example to the younger kids FFS.

Sewell and Lewis. Well shit. What's going on with both of them? Inconsistent as once can be. I can say with confidence that we have the best midfield in the AFL... but those 2 guys now stop me from saying that to people. I want the old Sewell/Lewis back.

Buddy. Not worth the money GWS is supposedly offering him. Once upon a time he was. He's not leading our forward line at the moment. Roughead is; which I have no issue with - I just want Buds/Rough to become that duo that teams don't want to mess with again.

Our defence just wasn't working. Kind of found it's feet in the second half.. but in the first half it was just plain awful. Lake woke up in the second half. Stratton was okay. Not having Shoey, Guerra, Birchall is hurting us. Come back pls, guys. (I'm still in denial over Shoey + his injury.)

Hill, although quick, fumbles around with the ball too much. Does anyone agree with me? Or did I simply catch Hill at all his not-so-good moments tonight? A few of the people I were with said they think it's time to give him a rest for a few weeks (at least.)

Hope we can bounce back next week. Sick of this 'mental issue' business. Toughen up Hawks. Enoughs enough.

 

[Hawkas1988]

Remember this guys ...

And I am hurting too ...

Geelong played their best, us our worst and we lost by 10 points ...

That's our excuse everytime we play them

OH next time we will play a lot better and be full strength and won't play as bad as that etc etc

It's funny how we continually play unhawthornlike against Geelong compared to the other teams

It's flipping mental with this lot and they need to get over it by addressing it and dealing with it instead of pretending there's nothing in it.

 

[H2F]

That's our excuse everytime we play them

OH next time we will play a lot better and be full strength and won't play as bad as that etc etc

It's funny how we continually play unhawthornlike against Geelong compared to the other teams

It's flipping mental with this lot and they need to get over it by addressing it and dealing with it instead of pretending there's nothing in it.

I agree it's mental ...

But one day they will stand up ...

We are Hawthorn ... Watch our premierships if you have lost faith ...
You don't do what we have without the power of our jumper in Grand Finals ...

 

[Steven Tyler]

This. Let them circle jerk. We can't beat them right? Just like we couldn't beat them in 2008. They have our measure etc. Stage is set now. We have nothing to lose in September. They do.

Dumbest thing I've ever read
"Nothing to lose in September , they do"!

What about a Premiership? Do you forget the heartache of only last year?

Oh, that's right, we have nothing to lose! FFS

 

[Hawkas1988]

Dumbest thing I've ever read
"Nothing to lose in September , they do"!

What about a Premiership? Do you forget the heartache of only last year?

Oh, that's right, we have nothing to lose! FFS

Exactly, they have 3 premierships to fall back on, we should've won last year and we didn't, if we don't win this year it's a massive underachievement

There's no point dick measuring against this mob, they're simply better when it matters and we have to prove we are good enough to do it, I know we are good enough, whether we can get over it will be the big question come september

 

[Hawkas1988]

I agree it's mental ...

But one day they will stand up ...

We are Hawthorn ... Watch our premierships if you have lost faith ...
You don't do what we have without the power of our jumper in Grand Finals ...

I'll never lose faith with this great club, I believe in them as they have the talent and the desire, I just hope they can believe they're good enough to beat this mob.

 

[Steven Tyler]

Remember this guys ...

And I am hurting too ...

Geelong played their best, us our worst and we lost by 10 points ...

Geelong played no-where near their best, had a heap of kids in, and beat us by 10 points only because after being 33 points up they took the foot off the pedal!
Some strange comments coming out after another Cats domination of us

I said earlier in the week, we need to dramatically improve to match the Cats, as they always lift for us, no matter their previous form
Our form for quite a while, even though we have been winning, has been quite poor, save for a good quarter here and there.

All is not lost, but a good hard look in the mirror by 90% of our players, who CONTINUALLY fail in big games, is very much needed if we are to at tone for last years shambles!

 

[Ellis08]

This is all I have to say:

http://finalsiren.com/PreviousGames.asp?Team1ID=15&Team2ID=3&Go=Go

Have a look at the results from: 2006 - 2012. Sydney had lost 11 straight against the pies before beating them in the Preliminary Final last year. No reason why we can't do the same come September!

 

[seysearles]

After being pretty gutted by the entire thing I have simmered a bit knowing that we're still top of the table and if we keep winning it will stay that way. I also realised that them winning can only benefit us in the long term. This streak has to come to end eventually. By extension, i also think losing a game isn't the end of the world for us and may too relieve some pressure building up. The only game between now and finals that I would worry about is the Swans game (who also apply the squeeze to us) at the SCG. I think we have the artillery to brush the other teams off.

 

[nickrebellious]

Line in the ****ing sand.

 

[bradleyferrier]

We were shithouse. That game was up there with the "worst game in history" v St Kilda '97
Everyone in the 'whole wide world' knows what these games mean, and we cant step up. Will be another fluke if we win a flag this year

 

[Hawkforce]

Firstly - can we all agree that those people who choose to go on Bay 13 and bet their Avatars/Sigs should be banned from the Hawthorn board while they're forced to pay the price for stupidity and sport Geelong colours and insulting sigs?

There's no reason why the rest of us should have to suffer.

Secondly - I presume those saying "there's no hope" will under no circumstances celebrate the 2013 premiership should Hawthorn manage to win it? Or perhaps they'd like to amend their thoughts to "It feels like there's no hope".

It's one thing to be angry and disheartened - quite another to throw the toys out of the pram. If you want to make absolute statements - then live by the sword and, right now, commit to not celebrating a Hawthorn flag in 2013 under any circumstances.

On the game - if only Hodge and Sewell had followed Lake's lead. Lake's first 40 minutes were the worst I've ever seen him play. But he turned it around and Geelong couldn't kick a goal. That's a massive bonus.

When we came at Geelong in the second half they choked. We dominated time in forward fifty but Geelong had numerous opportunities to ice the game and fluffed them. They have their own demons too, no mistake.


Personally couldn't be happier - for the good of the season, so marred by James Hird and Bomber Thompson's antics, this year's GF MUST be Hawthorn V Geelong. THE DECIDER.

And to be honest, if Geelong won that, then good on em.

But if we won...

 

[Messenger]

Firstly - can we all agree that those people who choose to go on Bay 13 and bet their Avatars/Sigs should be banned from the Hawthorn board while they're forced to pay the price for stupidity and sport Geelong colours and insulting sigs?

It really depends on what it is.

 

[Hawkforce]

It really depends on what it is.

True. But can we draw a line in the sand somewhere? :-;

 

[TBoyleSuperstar]

From today, we have to have the leaders of our club come out and admit that Geelong have got us mentally, physically, emotionally. We keep denying it, but we just have to accept it. An addict will never get better until he admits to the problem. We are addicted to losing to Geelong. To break it, we have to just admit to it, and at least then we can honestly find a way to turn it around. No more denials. Accept it, and start making moves to change it.

 

[Arc1]

I won't watch another Hawks/Cats game.

I have been testing various strategies since 2009. Sometimes I watch, sometimes I record.

eg. I watched Bartel's point in full, and some other games. I was there live for the two last year. In round 1 this year I did the ironing and watched the first half, but when we coughed up those soft goals on half time, switched it off and cleverly went to do something else.

Last night I was at home with TV to myself, decided to play computer games instead. Had a reasonable evening going 1-1 with a narrow loss then a big win.

See unlike Clarko, I have refined my strategy since 2009, and it is paying off.

 

[Messenger]

True. But can we draw a line in the sand somewhere? :-;

We'll approach it on a case by case basis.

 

[macdaddio]

I don't have emotions left for these games anymore.
It's like I feel numb...
I just put it down as it never happened and we never played the cats and enjoy the rest of our wins other wise if I keep thinking about it will do my F$&$&& head in!

 

[Arc1]

This is all I have to say:

http://finalsiren.com/PreviousGames.asp?Team1ID=15&Team2ID=3&Go=Go

Have a look at the results from: 2006 - 2012. Sydney had lost 11 straight against the pies before beating them in the Preliminary Final last year. No reason why we can't do the same come September!

On a serious note for once, I was thinking about this sort of thing prior to the game.

Seems to me that the problem we're having with Geelong is slightly overstated. We beat them in the 2008 GF when they were the better all-year team but we were in better form. In 2009, we were awful, missed the finals, and lost twice to the premiers. In 2010 we were similarly dire, and lost twice to a team well ahead of us. 2011 we got very close to a GF appearance, but lost two narrow ones again, and got summarily caned by them in the finals. I'm unconvinced we'd have done well on GF day, even if we'd squeaked past the Pies.

So to me, 2012 and 2013 are the genuine shockers in all this. We are a flag-capable team, and have bottled it twice against them each year. I think the problem is that in the preceding years we've established a losing mentality against Geelong and we now lack the self-belief to just do our thing. You can't look at the lineups and think we overall can't match them. They have some advantages, and they've done well with restocking. But we have some advantages too.

This is why I'm being critical of Clarkson, albeit a little tongue in cheek. If there's one single area where a coach should be adding some value, surely it's in this sort of situation. Else why is he there.

 

[BigMick1]

Absolute reality check for me last night, we were absolutely dominated . Hard to take some of their flog supporters gloating and the smugness of C Scott, dark days ahead!!

 

[sohsam]

Its not even this anymore. We are totally psyched out by this team. We play completely different against them as we do other teams. We are wound up like clocks and just go to jelly when we play them. Not sure what it is anymore. They aren't BETTER than us in relation to the rest of the comp. They play better than us when we play together because we play so poorly for long periods of the game against them..and our accuracy in front of goals inidicates that we choke when we play them. We have many players who just can't kick straight against them.

DO SOMETHING RADICAL Clarkson when we play them. Just to mix it up. Do something really radical. Mix the team up for a quarter just to break this cycle. I feel I could have put a tape in from five games ago and it would be the same game same result. BOMBING it into the forward line. They mark. They run it up. Find a clean target up forward and goal. This is the story of 11 straight.

Even being on top of the ladder, this was one of our worst performances against them. The scoreboard either flattered us or we just played so badly and still got within 10pts. There are key players that just don't rise to the occasion against Geelong. For whatever reason I don't know. WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES US KEEP LOSING. You look at the stats of the teams that continue to be beaten by them and they are Melbourne. GWS and the likes. Majority of teams have at least beaten them on one occasion since 2008. I am at a loss and embarrassed by my team. I know we are on top. We will meet them again come finals time and then what. Same tape goes into the machine.

There has been 2-3 posts that I really liked, but cannot look through to find them. Anyway, mental strengh has to be high up. As people have said in eighties was opposite, we had tough guys who stood up. How is it that Hodge puts his body on line in last 3-4 games and shows the way, and goes missing in this game or Roughead sees ball beautifully, marks presents and is hardly seen in this.

I think need another thread about gamem plan to try and beat them. Would it work better if we went one on one and foucs was to beat your man. It also worked well against sydney to put roughead as ruck rover in centre square and dish out to outside players for a quarter or so.

Not sure what to say, we have great players in roughead,franklin, midfielders (hodge,etc) who need to mentally tough it out, who don't show up. With mental, it can be big or smal, in terms of game plan, sure, we can suggest other options, like franklin leading. Essentiall, if in the middle, if each player can concentrate on beating his man, then relieves alot of pressure and we can find our rythm and we will totally different.

Have to say cats have recruited well, it is a long time since 2008 and with guys like murdoch, etc with bugger bodies and good decision makers.

 

[jpzhawk]

1 - We did not run anywhere near hard enough which made Geelong look like they had 3 or 4 extra men out there.

2 - Our intensity was pathetic and we looked lethargic all night.

3 - Why didn't someone stand in and dish it up to Mackie when he had a go at Mitch ???? WHY ???
Not Fecken good enough !!!!!!!!!

4 - Hill doesn't have a tackle bone in him and is waaaaaaay to light. Good young talent but gets brushed aside with absolute ease and his disposal is not good enough. Occasionally gets it right but more often doesn't look where his kicks are going and coughs it up. Not in our best 22 for a finals campaign, needs some gym work, will be better next year but for now and September, no.

5 - Geelong are a good team and rightly deserve to be outright flag favourites. No iffs, no butts.
Yes we played crap but they made us look second rate, sharper, harder, more intent, better skill.

6 - Sam Mitchell is a gun.

7 - Never before in football can I recall a rivalry like this with such a string of close games. Yes we have been on the wrong side but they are awesome games of football and a show piece of our great game. One day soon we will surprise them and beat them. Hopefully when it counts more.
I'm pissed, but not overly pissed. These are always a 50 / 50 game, I never get over confident and think we will just beat the Cats. They are a damn good side and not many teams beat them. At least we never get pumped.

8 - Only one game I have been 100% happy with so far this year and that's the Swans game. Otherwise, I think we have been pretty average in our intensity and hunger.
If we want to amend for last years grand final loss, we need to show a truck load more want.
Hard, controlled aggression at the ball and man 100 % of the time. Nothing less is acceptable.

9 - Umpires were shit against both teams.

10 - Port at AAMI is a super dangerous game.

 

[Glasgow Hawk]

What happened to Lewis!!

He has gone backwards this year!!

And Sewell too!!

 

[Pessimistic]

And Varcoe and Jared Rivers and Hamish McIntosh and Daniel Menzel - probably all walk-up starters when fit. Just saying,...

Thats the only key, that the possible finals teams will look much different, as will sydney and freo

And hawks would have been beaten by a good third of the AFL the way they played tonight