Autopsy Hawks vs Port featuring the Great Escape

[savagelunchbox]

I guess my point is that we are the Premiers, yet for a big game we travel to Adelaide to play at a ground with very few of our supporters.

We should be on the MCG playing the Anzac Day game against a big club.

Hawthorn is now the third most supported club in Adelaide/South Australia. The bays are littered with Hawthorn supporters, but outside of the cheersquad bay, there aren't any other big patches of supporters because they leave it to the last minute to get tickets when they will be hard to come by.

 

[savagelunchbox]

Disagree. The big Vic clubs are a joke. Cats would be awesome, Port will do just fine.

We have a showcase game against the Cats not 2 rounds before ANZAC Day. The fact we get a showcase game on both days is more than most clubs.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I agree Port played a great brand of footy in 2014 however I don't think that they can just expect things to happen this year. History is littered with teams expected to go on with it before having a disappointing season, Hawks 08-09, Cats 06-07, Adelaide 12-13, WC 11-12. Just to name a few.

So the fact is that although they had a good season last year and pushed Hawks in the prelim, they could just as likely go backwards rather than forwards. We saw how vulnerable they were when missing only 2 players from their best 22 during the middle of the season, let's not forget that after they beat an undermanned Hawthorn side at Adelaide oval in round 10 they were 8-1 and on top of the ladder with a win and percentage (IIRC). They haven't achieved anything as a team as of yet.

Speaking to a former recruiter of Port's who now works for another interstate club as a development coach, he doesn't believe Port or any side can sustain that sort of football for an entire season. It is inevitable that you will have a down patch, and that the toughness of this game will catch up with you at some point. It's how you react or cover these lulls that will define a season, and for mine, I'm not sure Port have the depth to find another gear should they lose 2 or 3 players.

 

[QuietB]

Speaking to a former recruiter of Port's who now works for another interstate club as a development coach, he doesn't believe Port or any side can sustain that sort of football for an entire season. It is inevitable that you will have a down patch, and that the toughness of this game will catch up with you at some point. It's how you react or cover these lulls that will define a season, and for mine, I'm not sure Port have the depth to find another gear should they lose 2 or 3 players.

I think this raises a massively underrated part of Clarkos game plan. The Hawks reputation for their "chip chip" game plan is somewhat justified when you consider how much they use it during the year just to kill time in games.

When they Hawks put the afterburners on they score heavily. But that is equally not sustainable for whole games and whole seasons. So what does Clarko do the rest of the time? He allows the players just to move it around and take the heat out of the game. That is total control.

The Hawks match everyone for hardness when it matters. Because their skills are so good they don't have to waste their energy half the time though on pure defence. That is why the hawks points against is high, but it has nothing to do with a weak defence. Clarko simply does not care cause he is 5-10 goals up anyway and thinking about next week and the week after that.

 

[Davo23]

I think this raises a massively underrated part of Clarkos game plan. The Hawks reputation for their "chip chip" game plan is somewhat justified when you consider how much they use it during the year just to kill time in games.

When they Hawks put the afterburners on they score heavily. But that is equally not sustainable for whole games and whole seasons. So what does Clarko do the rest of the time? He allows the players just to move it around and take the heat out of the game. That is total control.

The Hawks match everyone for hardness when it matters. Because their skills are so good they don't have to waste their energy half the time though on pure defence. That is why the hawks points against is high, but it has nothing to do with a weak defence. Clarko simply does not care cause he is 5-10 goals up anyway and thinking about next week and the week after that.

Great post
The other important part of the Clarko plan is avoiding the scrums that Swans, Freo, etc create: it is the Roos legacy of 8-10 midfielders packing around the ball and trying to wrestle it free, creating an ugly spectacle.
He's developed a system to get the ball clear from packs, so we don't commit bodies to them.

That worked so brilliantly in the Grand Final that the Swans just couldn't cope.

 

[TheFourPillars]

Great post
The other important part of the Clarko plan is avoiding the scrums that Swans, Freo, etc create: it is the Roos legacy of 8-10 midfielders packing around the ball and trying to wrestle it free, creating an ugly spectacle.
He's developed a system to get the ball clear from packs, so we don't commit bodies to them.

That worked so brilliantly in the Grand Final that the Swans just couldn't cope.

This strategy will never again work against us we have trained for it.

 

[moginie]

Hawthorn is now the third most supported club in Adelaide/South Australia. The bays are littered with Hawthorn supporters, but outside of the cheersquad bay, there aren't any other big patches of supporters because they leave it to the last minute to get tickets when they will be hard to come by.

Spot on. Even in the inner west (generally 50/50 split) there is a good-sized group of Hawks supporters at my kid's school. And they're visible.

 

[savagelunchbox]

Spot on. Even in the inner west (generally 50/50 split) there is a good-sized group of Hawks supporters at my kid's school. And they're visible.

Which school, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Randy Campbell]

Hawthorn is now the third most supported club in Adelaide/South Australia. The bays are littered with Hawthorn supporters, but outside of the cheersquad bay, there aren't any other big patches of supporters because they leave it to the last minute to get tickets when they will be hard to come by.

If Hawthorn played four home games in Adelaide or Perth instead of Launceston, there would be over 10,000 members from SA or WA.

 

[savagelunchbox]

If Hawthorn played four home games in Adelaide or Perth instead of Launceston, there would be over 10,000 members from SA or WA.

There are over that in supporters, but a lot aren't members because you're paying so much for **** all and they'd rather use that money for better value things like their families and houses.

 

[IdiotBox]

There are over that in supporters, but a lot aren't members because you're paying so much for **** all and they'd rather use that money for better value things like their families and houses.

Surely you jest? Build yourself a rudimentary shelter with all your membership scarves, warm yourself by our perpetual premiership cauldron and embrace your 60,000+ family members. Your core human needs are adequately met by the glorious Brown and Gold!

 

[Pessimistic]

If Hawthorn played four home games in Adelaide or Perth instead of Launceston, there would be over 10,000 members from SA or WA.

It could be a strategy if we got the boot from tassie. Make the access to adelaide and perth seats for members part of the 'relocation' deal

 

[Argy]

I guess my point is that we are the Premiers, yet for a big game we travel to Adelaide to play at a ground with very few of our supporters.

We should be on the MCG playing the Anzac Day game against a big club.

There's only one date that means anything - the last Saturday in September.

 

[arupist]

There's only one date that means anything - the last Saturday in September.

What, the preliminary final?

 

[Argy]

What, the preliminary final?

Oh, yeh. Let's make that one week later!

 

[Off The Couch]

Flights from Perth are already $500 one way for that weekend

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

I just watched this game again on fox footy.

I'm quite adamant now that any Port suppprter who claims the umps got us over the line are ****ed in the head.

We had more than our fair share of missed frees that went against us.

Two majors in the last being Rough slung to the ground despite never having taken possession of the ball and Burgoyne's chase down and tackle that went unrewarded.

Let's not even talk about the Gibson free that wasn't there.

We had them on toast and took our foot off the pedal. It was a nice wake up call, but we still have their measure.

 

[GROTTO]

I just watched this game again on fox footy.

I'm quite adamant now that any Port suppprter who claims the umps got us over the line a stuffed in the head.

Do you share the same thoughts about when you played and beat us in the 2012 Prelim game? Again another brilliant prelim and well played by you guys to win it.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Do you share the same thoughts about when you played and beat us in the 2012 Prelim game? Again another brilliant prelim and well played by you guys to win it.

Nah, that was us player horrible football, but still doing enough to win.

 

[GROTTO]

Nah, that was us player horrible football, but still doing enough to win.

If there is one weakness at all about the Hawks (if there really is one?) is that in a close prelim game, I felt your players are more likely to be conserving yourselves for the GF. It probably explains why Port hit back as hard as they did. Im not sure if they could have won the GF if they made it.

Kudos to your team, must be a nice feeling to be reigning premiers again and again......

 

[crazywildhorse]

Do you share the same thoughts about when you played and beat us in the 2012 Prelim game? Again another brilliant prelim and well played by you guys to win it.

We were very lucky to get over the line in 2012. I also agree with Echols, we negotiated the Power pretty well. The Gibson thing is what got them up and about, and that was easily the worst umpiring decision of the season.

 

[Sixpence]

I just watched this game again on fox footy.

I'm quite adamant now that any Port suppprter who claims the umps got us over the line are ****ed in the head.

We had more than our fair share of missed frees that went against us.

Two majors in the last being Rough slung to the ground despite never having taken possession of the ball and Burgoyne's chase down and tackle that went unrewarded.

Let's not even talk about the Gibson free that wasn't there.

We had them on toast and took our foot off the pedal. It was a nice wake up call, but we still have their measure.

Watched it again last week. Completely agree with all of this. They definitely got the rub of the green from the umps in the last.

 

[parsons nose]

Port nearly pinched the game due to some innovative coaching by Hinkley I.e. starting Wingard of the half backline of the centre square on centre bounces and sprinting forward as fast as he could in the hope of a decisive win at the bounce in Ports favour.

Incredibly, this worked time and again in the dying minutes of the prelim. Kudos to Hinkley, but it is not a tactic you would often employ as it exposes you going the other way, but it worked and we failed to counter it.

I'm sure Clarko would have been working on tactics over the summer to combat it. Faced with a similar situation again, Hinkley may need to pull another rabbit out of the hat to get his team back in the contest, as we will be ready for the half back dash next time.

 

[cryptor]

We had them on toast and took our foot off the pedal. It was a nice wake up call, but we still have their measure.

Mitchell said as much at the start of the GF recall. 5 goals up halfway through the last quarter they felt like it was over and had already put the cue in the rack. Once Port got some momentum it was impossible to stop them.

Some opposition supporters reckon that's a cop out but there's nothing really to be gained from putting the foot down and making your PF a blow out. Certainly didn't help Sydney last year.

 

[Whirling Dervish]

I'm sure Clarko would have been working on tactics over the summer to combat it.

Just win the clearance!

I watched it again last night too and i thought there was bad umpiring both ways in the first 3 quarters. May have been the pace of the game or the mismatches on occcasion but there seemed to be a lot of holding going on and several Goodes-like attacks on players' backs.

Port will be hoping like hell either Ryder or Redden is available because they don't want to be taking Trengove out of the backline to ruck.