Analysis Hawthorn rebuild: are they tanking?

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Day, Lewis, Watson, Breust, CJ, Wingard, Blanck. If you want to share your opinion and be taken seriously at least know the subject matter.

I’m sure fitting four unaccountable forwards into a side with Ginnivan and Chol will work a treat.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

And if four best 22 injuries and Conor Nash being s**t (when he is usually average) is enough to destroy your season then there should never have been calls of finals and 10+ wins to begin with.

The backtracking is astounding.

Who made calls of finals?

A list as young as ours can’t cover injuries to key players, and I think you’ve probably even said as much yourself if I was to go searching, but instead you’re choosing to believe you were some oracle for predicting injuries would happen.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

You seem pretty damn invested in a football club you don't follow. So you tell me?

I follow the AFL and I’m on an AFL forum. Am I not allowed to comment on the Hawks because it makes a few of your pre season predictions look silly?

 

[SSSSSS]

Because Bigfooty is full of brilliant minds….

Bigfooty is MENSA in comparison.

 

[boncer34]

Day, Lewis, Watson, Breust, CJ, Wingard, Blanck. If you want to share your opinion and be taken seriously at least know the subject matter.

We're missing Albert Thurgood.

He's about as relevant in 2024.

 

[Yoda_]

We're missing Albert Thurgood.

He's about as relevant in 2024.

John Coleman was on the LTI list

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Who made calls of finals?

A list as young as ours can’t cover injuries to key players, and I think you’ve probably even said as much yourself if I was to go searching, but instead you’re choosing to believe you were some oracle for predicting injuries would happen.

Hawthorns injuries are nothing out of the ordinary. It’s a completely standard injury list and anyone who watches footy without poo and yellow glasses on could see this form was a great chance of happening.

I wasn’t silly enough to assume the Hawks would have 45 fit players for 23 games. You based all of your preseason comments on best case scenario (cuz Hawks) and now you feel silly for it.

 

[Red Bull]

Not a single vote of confidence in captain Sicily … and it’s completely understandable.
This wouldn’t be lost on coach Mitchell … so what are his options?
Do nothing …
Strip him of the captaincy …
Open him up to opposition offers …
The hawks in rebuild need young quality coming through in bulk with Tassie on the horizon.
Challenging times for a rookie coach …

 

[theiaofseed]

I follow the AFL and I’m on an AFL forum. Am I not allowed to comment on the Hawks because it makes a few of your pre season predictions look silly?

Whose predictions? Which predictions?

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Hawthorns injuries are nothing out of the ordinary. It’s a completely standard injury list and anyone who watches footy without poo and yellow glasses on could see this form was a great chance of happening.

I wasn’t silly enough to assume the Hawks would have 45 fit players for 23 games. You based all of your preseason comments on best case scenario (cuz Hawks) and now you feel silly for it.

As I posted previously, not many sides can lose their CHF, their best mid, their best goalscorer and then running defenders and small forwards, let alone one as young as ours.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Hawks absolutely think they can play finals in 2024, and so they should. The team they became in the back half of the year once the midfield clicked knocked off the two grand finalists and were more than competitive with a bunch of other finalists.

Could’ve quite easily had 10 wins in 2023 after losing to Giants, Tigers has Crows by a kick, and have arguably more scope for improvement than just about any club in the comp being the youngest list with 4 additions via trade.

How good is BigFooty’s search function.

“More scope for improvement than just about any club in the comp”

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

I might be biased, but Hawks lost to Giants, Tigers and Crows by less than a kick and defeated, Pies, Lions, Saints and Dogs with a brand new midfield and arguably the worst forward in the league(particularly while Lewis was out with the ACL strain).
Could’ve easily had 10 wins in 2023 with a little bit more composure at certain times.

If Lewis and Breust play 20+ games and Ginnivan and Chol chip in 25 each at a minimum(they’re both capable of more), we’ll be challenging for a spot in the bottom half of the 8 in 2024.

You got the bolded spot on

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Strapping Young Lad - a quick search on Bigfooty and your posting insinuates you were close to expecting Hawks to play finals

Sounds awfully like you couldn't find a single post where I said we'd play finals.

In fact, you may have even found this one below, but chose to ignore that I called out exactly what the biggest issues were that needed to not happen.

There's quite a lot of teams who didn't play finals in 2023 that have the potential to lift themselves into the equation. Hawks will need a relatively good injury run to move passed some of the more seasoned sides.

Against :

• Still the second youngest list in the comp.
• Development isn't always linear.
• Don't have much experienced depth in key posts.
• See above, susceptible to injury/suspension if anyone up the spine misses games.
• Competition for spots in the top 8 will be strong.

 

[BuddysBiggestFan]

Day, Lewis, Watson, Breust, CJ, Wingard, Blanck. If you want to share your opinion and be taken seriously at least know the subject matter.

We wouldn’t be anywhere near finals even with them in our team. Our list is the worst in the AFL.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

You got the bolded spot on

Reckon I got the last line right too.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

We wouldn’t be anywhere near finals even with them in our team. Our list is the worst in the AFL.

The Hawks don’t have the worst list in the AFL, definitely a bottom 4 list though.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

How good is BigFooty’s search function.

“More scope for improvement than just about any club in the comp”

I said 'arguable' too, but you missed that bit.
The improvement hasn't happened to date in 2024, but I stand by the idea that the youngest lists in the comp have more improvement in them than the older ones.
It's why Freo and even Swans bolted from the bottom in the last couple of years.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Not a single vote of confidence in captain Sicily … and it’s completely understandable.
This wouldn’t be lost on coach Mitchell … so what are his options?
Do nothing …
Strip him of the captaincy …
Open him up to opposition offers …
The hawks in rebuild need young quality coming through in bulk with Tassie on the horizon.
Challenging times for a rookie coach …

What are you talking about?

 

[Red Bull]

What are you talking about?

Arguably the worst captain in the AFL and what are coach Mitchell’s options going forward …

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Arguably the worst captain in the AFL and what are coach Mitchell’s options going forward …

You try so hard.

 

[extractasam]

I smell a lot of untreated trauma from hawthorn beltings in this thread

 

[Red Bull]

You try so hard.

You’re thoughts?

 

[Yoda_]

Getting back on topic;

Hawthorn tanking? Maybe they aren't trying as hard to win games. Cutting as deep as they did has never ended well for any club that's gone down a similar path.

 

[Crankyhawk]

Getting back on topic;

Hawthorn tanking? Maybe they aren't trying as hard to win games. Cutting as deep as they did has never ended well for any club that's gone down a similar path.

It eventually ended well for Melbourne. Sure it took 10 years and a few coaches..

 

[Yoda_]

It eventually ended well for Melbourne. Sure it took 10 years and a few coaches..

Ive beeb a big advocate of the leadership they bright in when Daniel Cross etc. came across. Do the Hawks need something similar?

(not having a dig) take your Hawks glasses bias off, is there a leadership gap at Glenferrie? At Essendon there has been, is there something similar with the Hawks?