Autopsy Hawks vs Saints - tear it apart here

[crazywildhorse]

Saints were really good. I've not seen them play this year yet, but they have a pretty good set up and am now not surprised that they have been competitive so far.

Somehow I always knew we'd drag that out of the bag in the end. It seems to me that they are letting the kids take the reins until its getting bit much, and then the old blokes decide to get involved.

 

[SSSSSS]

Come on.

Butcher kicked 1.1

We, in comparison, kicked 31.11.

He was Carey reincarnate. He was going to bring Port to the hallowed lands.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

sheesh a few weeks ago everyone was slagging Sicily
I reckon Hartung always give his best

I think he does too

All young players will have good days and bad days, people shouldn't expect their progress to be linear. Heck even old players can have off days (except Sam ).

 

[threesixpio]

Said it would be a nail biter and O'Brien would kick three. Dang it Clarko moving him back!!!

Also Howe played well and has played three games FFS. Even KO'd one of them. What's wrong with you blokes. I don't even know who the Dogs are playing but watch them struggle with run this week too.

2 out of 3

Dan Howe had his best game ?

 

[wolvesjr34]

Watching from the stands I felt like we were very sloppy today. I was relieved when the siren went and also, that NUmber 28 umpire, as close to blatant cheating as you can get... there was one instance in the third quarter just outside fifty where Bruest was so clearly held and there was no traffic between that squib of an umpire and the contest, and he refused to call the blatantly obvious. If he doesn't get sent back to the magoos next week... well yeah.... As much as fans complain about umpring, there are often a lot of factors that go into the decision making... but this one... just so blatantly bad it makes me seriously question his integrity.

 

[SSSSSS]

Do you say anything good about the players?think you bagged half the team today

I give praise to those who deserve it. Litherland was not one of them today. In fairness to him not many were. We played pretty poorly across the board.

 

[SSSSSS]

sheesh a few weeks ago everyone was slagging Sicily
I reckon Hartung always give his best

Hartung tried hard but he just needs to realise he has an extra half a second. Always seemed rushed today but that says a lot more about the Saints pressure than it does Hartung IMO.

Howe was fumbly and I think he needs to realize that you are allowed to run past players not just run through them

Both will be good players just had a down day.

 

[moginie]

He was Carey reincarnate. He was going to bring Port to the hallowed lands.

You may have been thinking of the game in 2013 when he kicked 1.2.

We still won by 45.

 

[SSSSSS]

You may have been thinking of the game in 2013 when he kicked 1.2.

We still won by 45.

This is the face of the future.

 

[Billyc]

We were really poor and deserved to lose today. Just a couple of wise old heads at the end got the job done, as they did last week. We are 3-1 and still in the front pack but could very easily be 1-3.

Outside of Mitchell (who is just an all time great), I thought the effort was poor and a lot of senior players lowered their colours - Rioli, Breust, Shiels, Birchall all poor.

A hallmark of our success has been that we do not rely on individuals and our depth has been outstanding. That is no longer the case. The forward line has looked dysfunctional all year without Roughead. The backline looks panicky and dysfunctional today without Gibson. And our clearance work has been abysmal all year, with the exception of Mitchell (and Burgoyne and Hodge at critical times in the last fortnight). The old guard are getting us over the line but this is not the 2014 hawks. If we lose Gibson or Mitchell for several weeks like we did in 2014, our season will be shot.

The next generation does not inspire excitement. That is hardly surprising - our draft position has been poor for nearly a decade. But the guys coming through are not at the level of the premiership players they have replaced and nowhere near the champions they will soon be expected to replace.

2016 is a last roll of the dice I believe. Can the old champs get us one more? Maybe. But we will need them all out there in September because the depth just isn't there anymore. Some really interesting list management decisions at seasons end. We desperately need young midfielders who can win clearances. Mitchell is really carrying us at the moment.

 

[Glorious couch life]

Saints deserved to win that game I reckon. Was watching with the sound down on an average tv today (AFL gets the worst tv at my local - league country), so I may be off the mark. But that early free kick for high contact against Hodge in front of goal looked like blatant staging to me. Interested in other's thoughts on that one who may have had a better look at it. It won't get as much play as the two 15m calls (which were atrocious imo), but I'd love to see the MRP come down hard on that stuff. I can't stand seeing it in our game.

 

[tige19]

Amen to that brother. Some really dumb stuff gets said in here. It's hard to balance the brethrenship you have with supporters of you club with the irritation of incessant whinging and player bashing which makes you think what massive d!cks they are.

Hmm ( I did insert a expletive I have taken out ) I don't think any of our supporters are untoward at all.. Many are passionate and shoot from the mouth, how one reacts is of no bother to me and it shouldn't be to you.

 

[Clarkos_Soldier]

Luke Hodge vs Bulldogs 25 disposals at half time 44 at the final siren
Josh Gibson vs West Coast 25 disposals at half time 44 at the final siren
Sam Mitchell vs St Kilda 25 disposals at half time 44 at the final siren

Luke Hodge played against the Bulldogs?! Wow 44 with a broken arm!

 

[MinerBoy]

Out a family do most of the day so I've only seen the final quarter so far.

Obviously it sounds like Mitch had a great day again and without knowing how the rest of his game panned out, Lewis was our best player in that final quarter so that was pleasing.

Plenty of mistakes and lack of composure that worried me.
* Hodge handball to Duryea under the pump and the Smith/Stratton poor exchange of handballs at half back that cost us a goal.
* Some rolled gold opportunities fumbled, particularly by Sicily and Langers.
* Hodge, Smith, Mitch and Breust all missing fairly regulation shots at goal early in the quarter that could have set us away.
* First goal of quarter straight out of the middle with Stratton playing loose yet unable to have any impact on the contest.

Plenty of worrying signs there.

Having said that, I text a mate and said "get the next goal and I reckon we'll win it" when we were 2 goals down. Lewis almost immediately goaled after Puopolo somehow didn't get a free for incorrect disposal when he tackles the bloke and his attempted kick missed his boot by a metre and a half.

His response was that my message smacked of the confidence of a bloke who hadn't watched the game for the first 3 quarters. To which I responded it was the confidence borne of the fact I follow a club that can play shit for a large % of the game and still win if they hang in there and are close enough when shit gets real in the final 10 minutes. Happy to be proven correct on that front.

What I will say in closing, and as I said without having seen most of the game, is that while this year's 3-1 is better on the ladder than last year's 2-2, the narrow wins and small % reek of an old, gun, experienced team that is somehow finding wins despite perhaps not always being the better team. This same thing happened to the Cats 2-3 years ago and it made it appear they were still around the mark because they were chalking the wins but realistically, they weren't really one of the top teams and inevitably last year it fell away. It will be interesting to see how it goes for us. Just because we may have a lesser depth and older top end talent doesn't mean we can't win it. But will we? And will we drop off for a bit or can we rejuvenate with adept recruiting like the Cats have done with PD?

Whatever happens, and whether we win or not, this year actually promises to be more exciting in many ways. Whether that is because we climb the mountain again or because the days of consistent 10 goal wins are over and to the death battles are upon us remains to be seen. May be both.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

Amen to that brother. Some really dumb stuff gets said in here. It's hard to balance the brethrenship you have with supporters of you club with the irritation of incessant whinging and player bashing which makes you think what massive d!cks they are.

Just like any family there are some you don't like so much, some you argue with and some that make you exasperated but we all stick together because we have one important thing in common - the mighty fighting Hawks!

 

[bungholes_premiers]

TO really read it well when he had to go back despite couple of mistakes. Even tho shoe will come straight back in, he probly shouldn't

Again, shows our level when we barely even tried in this game and still win.

Cyril looking to do 1 shift on, 1 off i see

 

[Paul Kersey]

Watching from the stands I felt like we were very sloppy today. I was relieved when the siren went and also, that NUmber 28 umpire, as close to blatant cheating as you can get... there was one instance in the third quarter just outside fifty where Bruest was so clearly held and there was no traffic between that squib of an umpire and the contest, and he refused to call the blatantly obvious. If he doesn't get sent back to the magoos next week... well yeah.... As much as fans complain about umpring, there are often a lot of factors that go into the decision making... but this one... just so blatantly bad it makes me seriously question his integrity.

Troy Pannell. Been killing us for years - shouldn't be allowed near Hawthorn.

 

[crazywildhorse]

We were really poor and deserved to lose today. Just a couple of wise old heads at the end got the job done, as they did last week. We are 3-1 and still in the front pack but could very easily be 1-3.

Outside of Mitchell (who is just an all time great), I thought the effort was poor and a lot of senior players lowered their colours - Rioli, Breust, Shiels, Birchall all poor.

A hallmark of our success has been that we do not rely on individuals and our depth has been outstanding. That is no longer the case. The forward line has looked dysfunctional all year without Roughead. The backline looks panicky and dysfunctional today without Gibson. And our clearance work has been abysmal all year, with the exception of Mitchell (and Burgoyne and Hodge at critical times in the last fortnight). The old guard are getting us over the line but this is not the 2014 hawks. If we lose Gibson or Mitchell for several weeks like we did in 2014, our season will be shot.

The next generation does not inspire excitement. That is hardly surprising - our draft position has been poor for nearly a decade. But the guys coming through are not at the level of the premiership players they have replaced and nowhere near the champions they will soon be expected to replace.

2016 is a last roll of the dice I believe. Can the old champs get us one more? Maybe. But we will need them all out there in September because the depth just isn't there anymore. Some really interesting list management decisions at seasons end. We desperately need young midfielders who can win clearances. Mitchell is really carrying us at the moment.

I would say it's still pretty much up in the air with the young blokes. I see glimpses in a couple of them, but probably not enough. The old blokes however are still there, and we are still winning, so it's a great way to get the next generation the exposure required. The magic of this side is that we've seen a bunch of random outskirt type players turn good. Clarko and co know how to get players playing to their strengths and the team know how to facilitate those strengths.

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

Troy Pannell. Been killing us for years - shouldn't be allowed near Hawthorn.

That's the one that looks like Jimeion, umpires like a comedian too.

 

[Notsoyabby]

The next generation does not inspire excitement. That is hardly surprising - our draft position has been poor for nearly a decade. But the guys coming through are not at the level of the premiership players they have replaced and nowhere near the champions they will soon be expected to replace.

Saw Box Hill last week and there are one or two (three or four) that give hope. Pittonet looked good. Burton looks like he can take a mark and kick a mile. Lovell has a few moves as well. Brand was very solid down back. Granted week one for Box Hill but have tomorrow game already programmed in the recorder and will be looking to see these four perform ....hopefully we win to encourage me to get up early Tuesday to watch it rather than leave it till later on in the week.

 

[grizzlym]

It's really rare that commentators go on and on, quite vehemently about the umpiring decisions too.

The inconsistencies, or decree to try and officiate the 15-metre rule to the millimetre is coiming up with some absurdly incosistent decisions. Moreover, they seem tougher of short balls in the backline, as opposed to the forard line.

I hated those instences where players were done on the technalities of prior, but players who blatantly didn't dispose of the ball correctly when tackled were called play on. It went both ways today, so not ascirbing any importance to the result, merely an observation of a pretty woeful umpiring display.

 

[crazywildhorse]

Saw Box Hill last week and there are one or two (three or four) that give hope. Pittonet looked good. Burton looks like he can take a mark and kick a mile. Lovell has a few moves as well. Brand was very solid down back. Granted week one for Box Hill but have tomorrow game already programmed in the recorder and will be looking to see these four perform ....hopefully we win to encourage me to get up early Tuesday to watch it rather than leave it till later on in the week.

Everything about Lovell says champion, apart from his jersey number.

 

[PhatHQ]

Well.. I've just about had enough of the Hawthorn football club playing games like spuds only to finish the game like champions to win the game!
I'm pretty sure that it's all about how you win after 3 consecutive flags & that complacency & boredom lead to mediocre effort until the time is right to strike & pull a win out of the proverbial muck hole & take another small step to immortality amongst mere mortals.
I was wrapped with TOB, Sicily, Howe, Billy, Langford but not Gus today
The kids had multiple plays together that made the future look pretty bright!
Heaps to work on for all of them but I get the feeling they are all getting the taste for senior football.
I don't care if it's 3 points, 3 goals or 50+ points... To grind out wins early is freakin awesome & leaves a strong taste of desire to win for the week ahead.
We are very lucky that even when our side is not playing 4 quarter football we can still get wins.
#alwayshawthorn

 

[DrEvil_]

Played like Richmond

 

[Baz_hawk]

Few notes from today...

I liked O'Brien's game, a lot to work with but he looked a little solider and attacked the ball better as the match went on. Was impressed by his defensive work in the second half, took a good grab but read the play and the ball pretty well. He took the game on and it did cost us on occasion but for a young guy to back himself isn't such a bad thing in game 1 for almost 2 years. Think he deserves another game but structure may be more important for Clarko and Co next week.
Sicily was very good early, attacked hard and launched into contests. Had a case of the fumbles (not alone there), the dropped mark 20 out was a shocker but never dropped his head and continued to work hard.
Howe was disappointing, seemed to be off the pace and took too long when the ball was in his hands. Can see why guys on here were excited about what he could become but today he was unable to adjust to the pace of the game and have the impact he would have liked.
Litherland had a shocker, without Gibbo down back the structure seemed a lot weaker and Lithers just failed to adapt.