Bumped Hawthorn - the beginning of the end? Will they make the fnals in 2017?

[Pessimistic]

Brisbane coming of a losing attempt at 4 in a row, the Hawks went out in straight sets. Brisbane blew up, finished the season with a 140 point loss and have been in the wilderness for 12 years. Hawthorn have just lost to the worst team in the competition of the last few years by a staggering margin. Are Hawthorn over the cliff?

If like to ask Jono brown if he and his mates were fat n happy after the good years. He seems to have a few opinions to share

Not that I'm grumpy or anything

 

[Pessimistic]

Anyway if we are going to be down for three years or more. Hold your powder guys yo can sledge us at will

I sense there's a desperate rush to kick us now cos people sense the ' good times'. Won't last

 

[falcons2]

Oh and we have 4... You have 11. Almost 3 times as many. Enjoy your 12th this year campaigner.

Really? Are you 14? If you are under 50 you haven't seen a Hawk spoon. And name calling....please

 

[Cardio Carl]

0-3 could also be used to describe the amount of premierships the Saints have won compared to the Hawks in the past 8 years. Love it!

You do know your picture is of a player your club let go dont you. Yes you are trying to hold on emotionally but you need to let go crybaby, just like you have to let go of playing finals.....0-3 love it!

 

[pinot]

I think the Hawks need to trade out this year for draft picks 3 year rebuild should start in 2018.

Birchall, Duryea, Smith, Breust, Stratton, Hartung, Shiels should all go on trade table and accumulate picks

 

[falcons2]

I think the Hawks need to trade out this year for draft picks 3 year rebuild should start in 2018.

Birchall, Duryea, Smith, Breust, Stratton, Hartung, Shiels should all go on trade table and accumulate picks

You are probably right. Maybe not any of these players but expect the hawks to be aggressive at trade time. But its round three. The next premiership tilt will be based around Mitchell, O'Meara and Burton. We are no further away from the 2022 flag than anyone else. Short period of GWS dominance and then we're back.

 

[pinot]

You are probably right. Maybe not any of these players but expect the hawks to be aggressive at trade time. But its round three. The next premiership tilt will be based around Mitchell, O'Meara and Burton. We are no further away from the 2022 flag than anyone else. Short period of GWS dominance and then we're back.

Yes all potential A graders at the moment need seven bonafide A graders to have a tilt imo so being 27 and under for three year rebuild and tilt

Mitchell, JOM, Burton (potential)

Rioli (bonafide)

Then one big blank.. I am sure Hawks have loads of salary cap space to play with but would not give up any draft picks need to trade out accumulate while they still have value in their mid-late 20s

Big decisions for Clarko... Hawks list is fairly weak.

 

[cryptor]

You do know your picture is of a player your club let go dont you. Yes you are trying to hold on emotionally but you need to let go crybaby, just like you have to let go of playing finals.....0-3 love it!

Doesn't matter if we play finals this year or not. We've had our time in the sun and got 4 flags. And I reckon Hawthorn will add another 4 before St Kilda get another one

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

Really? Are you 14? If you are under 50 you haven't seen a Hawk spoon. And name calling....please

Why does it matter if I've seen one or not? Facts are facts, its a bit odd to have a go at a club for having a heap of wooden spoons when your club historically has almost 3 times as many and are struggling. Yes you've been a very very good club and had an amazing period, doesn't change the fact you still have 11 spoons, soup kitchen.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

O'Meara is 23! Fact check if you are going to form strong opinions.

Which makes him over 23 doesn't it??

 

[WWSD]

A lot of people don't seem to understand what Clarkson is trying to do here. All he's doing is making sure Hawthorn finish last so when we make a big jump up the ladder next season he finally get the coach of the year award.

 

[falcons2]

Why does it matter if I've seen one or not? Facts are facts, its a bit odd to have a go at a club for having a heap of wooden spoons when your club historically has almost 3 times as many and are struggling. Yes you've been a very very good club and had an amazing period, doesn't change the fact you still have 11 spoons, soup kitchen.

What you live and what you know from history are very different things.

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

What you live and what you know from history are very different things.

That legitimately means nothing in this context. All I did was pull you up on an over zealous post rubbing it in to one of the worst teams in the comp, trust me, we know we're bad. That was school yard rubbish and you'd expect a supporter of a club thats been so successful recently to be remotely pleasant and reasonable, no one likes arrogant winners, it does make the crash back all the more enjoyable to watch though. If you want to sprout odd things like that and pretend that history and life aren't related then go ahead. You just sound odd. Thought it was rather common knowledge that we study history to learn from people who have lived before us. Hawks took 11 spoons to learn, hopefully we've only taken 4

 

[threesixpio]

I liked it better before Sunday where everyone (including me) was trolling Sydney



Now they're trolling my team

Waaah!

 

[threesixpio]

Which makes him over 23 doesn't it??

Not really. His 24th year is still going. And people generally round to a year.

Unless your 5 years old

 

[Cardio Carl]

A lot of people don't seem to understand what Clarkson is trying to do here. All he's doing is making sure Hawthorn finish last so when we make a big jump up the ladder next season he finally get the coach of the year award.

well he is getting the first part right as they look pathetic atm so will get the wooden spoon probably next 4 years. hawk supporters need to brace for some pain IMO

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

I'd like to dismiss this opinion out of hand, but given your close up experience with playing group disasters as a Richmond fan, I can't help but sit up and take notice. I understand you'd be pessimistic, given the number of times Richmond fans have been convinced to 'stay the course' only to find the GPS was broken and had set a path directly off the nearest cliff. But this is Hawthorn, not Richmond.

Given their age, we are likely to get bugger all for Hodge, Gibbo and Mitchell at the trade table. Players in that age bracket very rarely have any currency, no matter how good they are. They are taking unders to allow us to make plays for O'Meara and Tom Mitchell, which means they are worth a lot more to us on our list than they are as trade bait. Clarko tried 7 debutantes this year. A brilliant move , as we now have a bunch of extra players with AFL games under their belt, which adds considerably to their trade value when we start arranging deals to get in our next wave of elite mids.

The players you mention have just given us three flags, and deserve some reciprocal loyalty from the club. Based on the fact they've received contracts for next year, it seems they are receiving it. You don't build the fabric of a successful club by shitting on your most loyal servants. Someone might have to go to get Mitchell and O'Meara, but it will not be any of the players you've mentioned.

There is clearly a plan in process. Lake and Hale were nudged last year. We tried a lot of inexperienced players this year. The next stage is to get two new mids in to replace half of the soon-to-be retirees. Next, we'll likely see two of the older mids retire at the end of next year, and then we'll need to get another two incoming mids in the year after, either from those on the list already, or from draft or trade. Outside of our aging mids, the rest of group has a younger age profile, so our mids+Gibson are the immediate priority.

The main risk is that 2 years to retire the current bunch is too long. It requires probably Mitchell and one other of Lewis, Hodge and Burgoyne to go 2 more years, which might be a year too long (Mitchell can go 2 more I think, not sure about everyone else). There is also a big risk with O'Meara. Has the potential to be one of the best mids in the competition if he is truly right to go, but I have my doubts. Less risk with Tom Mitchell, and while he is no Sam Mitchell, he does provide raw ball winning ability at the coal face, which we need to address going into next season.

I'd be surprised if we can't play finals again next year (certainly I think Hawks for top 8 is a much safer bet than Tigers), and if the mini rebuild that clearly started at the end of last year works well, I think we could still be hoping for top 4 next year, and maybe even the year afterwards. As with any year, top 4 requires a few things to go right for most teams, and we are certainly no longer a team that can just expect it to happen just based on talent alone. Would expect us to need above average luck with injuries to make another prelim, and doubtful anyone is going to be able to go with GWS over the next few years anyway. From that point of view, you might be right in terms of this being a good time to give up on finals for a few years to accelerate the rebuild, but rebuild on the fly clubs have done ok in recent years (we did it ourselves after 2009's down year), and it is a much less painful path for supporters (and helps maintain the 'destination club' status which has been very handy for us over the years).

Good work. You almost got every single thing wrong.

 

[threesixpio]

Ha ha

Pathetic statements going 0-3

2 guts held that team together

Bad days ahead for the Hawks

Failed to develop depth just relied on old blokes

I love Saints supporters getting excited about a demise in Hawthorn's fortunes. They're my favourite

 

[WWSD]

well he is getting the first part right as they look pathetic atm so will get the wooden spoon probably next 4 years. hawk supporters need to brace for some pain IMO

Short term pain, long term gain. We'll likely have pick number one in the draft next season.

Then there's the free agency supermarket that Hawthorn likes to shop at that can just as easily fix any weaknesses on the list.

Hawthorn will have three retirements at seasons end. Luke Hodge (highest paid player), along with Burgoyne and Gibson who are both earning over 600,000 which will free up nearly 2 million in cap space.

 

[Vindicater]

Short term pain, long term gain. We'll likely have pick number one in the draft next season.

Then there's the free agency supermarket that Hawthorn likes to shop at that can just as easily fix any weaknesses on the list.

Hawthorn will have three retirements at seasons end. Luke Hodge (highest paid player), along with Burgoyne and Gibson who are both earning over 600,000 which will free up nearly 2 million in cap space.

So Fyfe and Martin is your cure?

Good luck with that.

 

[WWSD]

So Fyfe and Martin is your cure?

Good luck with that.

Fyfe is too expensive.

We'll be content with Pittard, Trengove and a Rockliff.

 

[threesixpio]

Fyfe is too expensive.

We'll be content with Pittard, Trengove and a Rockliff.

They're actually the ones I want too

 

[Vindicater]

Fyfe is too expensive.

We'll be content with Pittard, Trengove and a Rockliff.

Rockliff I can see coming to you guys if the rumours of him being an arseh*le are true (Brisbane might be content to let him go)

Can't see you getting both Port boys unless you throw massive money at both of them. (and if you do that you are setting yourself up for mediocrity)

 

[threesixpio]

Rockliff I can see coming to you guys if the rumours of him being an arseh*le are true (Brisbane might be content to let him go)

Can't see you getting both Port boys unless you throw massive money at both of them. (and if you do that you are setting yourself up for mediocrity)

You can only hope. Seems like there's just no way out yeah?

 

[WWSD]

Rockliff I can see coming to you guys if the rumours of him being an arseh*le are true (Brisbane might be content to let him go)

Can't see you getting both Port boys unless you throw massive money at both of them. (and if you do that you are setting yourself up for mediocrity)

Not really. Pittard is actually a decent young player. He's one of the quickest half back flankers in the game and he's also an excellent kick. Something that Hawthorn can do with right now given how slow the back-line is.

Trengove is only 26 and would be an ideal center half back given Hawthorn's lack of key position players.

Now I'm not saying those players are coming to Hawthorn, but they would be ideal targets given the Hawthorn list is so unbalanced right now. There's not many players in that 22-26 year old range.