Toast How can this Hawthorn side be stopped?

[Mr Meow]

You started what 7-0, nowhere near that now, not even close
We started 0-5 and are now blowing teams off the park kicking 20 goals or finding ways to win when behind against better teams than Geelong.

Games at GMHBA are an anomaly and the ground is cigar shaped and ridiculous.
As I said, see you soon on a proper sized ground, if your boys can keep up that is

I love what Hawthorn are doing and unlike others feel no need to diminish their list's current quality or prospects. However the blatant fact is that if Hawthorn had done the double on us, they would currently be 2nd on the ladder while everybody else is crumbling - home QF vs Fremantle or Brisbane incoming? Geelong would be 11th. That is at least a little bit funny.

 

[Dewyyyyy]

Frost is no guarantee to play given his lapses each game. It's the same reason Lewis Young was pushed out of the team last year and remained on the outer since.

Ollie Hollands doesn't get a game at full health as Docherty would be playing wing with Acres instead.

Watson will end up a star but right now he's no better than Martin or Williams when healthy at this stage. I'd take both over Watson in 2024 easily.

Breust... Maybe a few years ago. He's bog average now, will retire within the next year or two and be remembered as one of the best to do it, but those days are a long way behind him.

Do you watch anyone besides Carlton?

Frost’s lapses could be valid, last year? I have barely seen one all year, he’s been immense as a shut down KPD who knows his limits and does his role.

Jiath would provide a massive upgrade to your sides lacking pace, he would play.

Watson is better than both already, the work he does off ball with pressure, on top of getting shots off and his smarts, guaranteed Voss would lunge at the chance to get him. Williams you can make a case for but Martin is not good and shouldn’t even be on a list.

Strange, the same Luke Breust who kicked 47 goals last year? 12th in the Coleman, he has battled a groin niggle all season and has finally shook it off to get fit again, and has kicked 6 in 2 weeks. It is hilarious because Carltons smalls are bog average and he would get a game. All of Hawthorns smalls would, it’s how poor your small forwards are.

 

[hawkman]

Frost is no guarantee to play given his lapses each game. It's the same reason Lewis Young was pushed out of the team last year and remained on the outer since.

You haven't watched much this year. He rarely has one anymore

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Do you watch anyone besides Carlton?

Frost’s lapses could be valid, last year? I have barely seen one all year, he’s been immense as a shut down KPD who knows his limits and does his role.

Jiath would provide a massive upgrade to your sides lacking pace, he would play.

Watson is better than both already, the work he does off ball with pressure, on top of getting shots off and his smarts, guaranteed Voss would lunge at the chance to get him. Williams you can make a case for but Martin is not good and shouldn’t even be on a list.

Strange, the same Luke Breust who kicked 47 goals last year? 12th in the Coleman, he has battled a groin niggle all season and has finally shook it off to get fit again, and has kicked 6 in 2 weeks. It is hilarious because Carltons smalls are bog average and he would get a game. All of Hawthorns smalls would, it’s how poor your small forwards are.

 

[Dewyyyyy]

I’ll start agreeing with danster out of spite if you do this

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

I’ll start agreeing with danster out of spite if you do this

I can't help Hawks fans with severe levels of delusion.

Every player in ur team is a star apparently but u haven't been in the 8 at all this season and are no certainties to make it from here...

 

[Hannebrake]

Key Back: Sam Frost
Key Forwards: Mabior Chol, Calsher Dear

This side will get ironed out by a good team in finals if they make it. Not good enough in the key positions.

They are now at a stage where they should be targeting areas of need through trade and free agency.

Hmmm I’m not sure if going tall, at least in the forward line is the way to exploit this hawks side.

Teams have got hold of them by smashing them in the aerial contest and winning the territory game; forcing them to play slow. However loading up on tall forwards can backfire horribly, given their suite of mobile medium-tall defenders (like vs Adelaide on the weekend).

Geelong went tall in the backline and were able to take their game away from them. But more often than not it would seem that being undersized is a feature and not a weakness of this current hawthorn side.

 

[scrim reaper]

I can't help Hawks fans with severe levels of delusion.

Every player in ur team is a star apparently but u haven't been in the 8 at all this season and are no certainties to make it from here...

Carlton has 1 more win than Hawthorn with their star studded line up.

So which is it?

 

[Dewyyyyy]

I can't help Hawks fans with severe levels of delusion.

Every player in ur team is a star apparently but u haven't been in the 8 at all this season and are no certainties to make it from here...

You just showed that you hadn’t seen enough of them to make a good point. Breust kicked almost 50 goals last year but hasn’t been good for a few years? You say Frost has had lapses in 2024 when it’s been quite the opposite since 2023. Refusing to see the obvious lacking run in your side and small forwards who are average.

Carlton are very good but they are a top heavy side, their best players are very good but their bottom handful aren’t and would be easily replaced. It’s why other sides have been better because of their better spread of talent and depth.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Carlton has 1 more win than Hawthorn with their star studded line up.

So which is it?

Blues should comfortably dispatch the Hawks next week to further that lead, key defenders and key forwards are bog ordinary and the midfield is mid tier at best.

If they don't it will be a bottle job like no other

 

[scrim reaper]

Blues should comfortably dispatch the Hawks next week to further that lead, key defenders and key forwards are bog ordinary and the midfield is mid tier at best.

If they don't it will be a bottle job like no other

then why aren’t the Blues way better?

 

[Dewyyyyy]

Blues should comfortably dispatch the Hawks next week to further that lead, key defenders and key forwards are bog ordinary and the midfield is mid tier at best.

If they don't it will be a bottle job like no other

Weitering is awesome but your tall defenders outside of that are mediocre, your intercept players also, McGovern the best at it but wouldn’t be close to those at Hawthorn (Sicily, Scrimshaw etc)

Carlton have an elite top line midfield but lack depth, good small defenders, great tall forwards. Other areas have promise and are inconsistent with their talent, small forwards, intercept defenders etc.

Hawthorns midfield is good, especially scoring from stoppage.

Key forwards is the one place Carlton are better than any other team by far, Dogs close. Hawthorn have solid options but their elite small forwards make up for it.

How you can be so supremely confident after the last few weeks of losing to Port, barely beating North, losing to the Dogs, and losing to GWS is interesting. 1 win 3 losses in the last month. Hawthorn are 3-1.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

then why aren’t the Blues way better?

Given we're still in 4th place after losing 3 fairly straight forward games in the last month I think we're going alright.

Especially considering we've consistently had 10+ on our injury almost all season long.

Blues form earlier in the year was easily the 2nd best in the competition behind Sydney, hence why we're still in the top handful for odds to win the flag despite an ordinary month.

Hawks fans seem to forget they got smashed by the Cats recently who the Blues made look like pre schoolers a few weeks before that. The turn in form and a few injuries have put the Blues in an uncomfortable position but our best footy is miles better than teams like the Hawks.

 

[Sherrinator]

The trick to beating them is to not get sucked in to the off the ball stuff. Give no frees off ball and do not tackle a small forward I50, only corral them as they drop the legs and uppercut your forearm.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

The trick to beating them is to not get sucked in to the off the ball stuff. Give no frees off ball and do not tackle a small forward I50, only corral them as they drop the legs and uppercut your forearm.

Watson, Ginnivan, Moore

The AFL's concussion lawyers worst nightmares

 

[scrim reaper]

Given we're still in 4th place after losing 3 fairly straight forward games in the last month I think we're going alright.

Especially considering we've consistently had 10+ on our injury almost all season long.

Blues form earlier in the year was easily the 2nd best in the competition behind Sydney, hence why we're still in the top handful for odds to win the flag despite an ordinary month.

Hawks fans seem to forget they got smashed by the Cats recently who the Blues made look like pre schoolers a few weeks before that. The turn in form and a few injuries have put the Blues in an uncomfortable position but our best footy is miles better than teams like the Hawks.

The cats game you’re referring to is our only loss in our last 9 games

 

[Dewyyyyy]

Given we're still in 4th place after losing 3 fairly straight forward games in the last month I think we're going alright.

Especially considering we've consistently had 10+ on our injury almost all season long.

Blues form earlier in the year was easily the 2nd best in the competition behind Sydney, hence why we're still in the top handful for odds to win the flag despite an ordinary month.

Hawks fans seem to forget they got smashed by the Cats recently who the Blues made look like pre schoolers a few weeks before that. The turn in form and a few injuries have put the Blues in an uncomfortable position but our best footy is miles better than teams like the Hawks.

Blues best isn’t as good as the Lions or the Dogs.

One blip in probably the best form run since Round 8 by the Hawks to the hands of the Cats is entirely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, especially in Geelong. Every side has had a bad game, they’re allowed one.

Miles ahead? No.

 

[Mr Meow]

Given we're still in 4th place after losing 3 fairly straight forward games in the last month I think we're going alright.

Especially considering we've consistently had 10+ on our injury almost all season long.

Blues form earlier in the year was easily the 2nd best in the competition behind Sydney, hence why we're still in the top handful for odds to win the flag despite an ordinary month.

Hawks fans seem to forget they got smashed by the Cats recently who the Blues made look like pre schoolers a few weeks before that. The turn in form and a few injuries have put the Blues in an uncomfortable position but our best footy is miles better than teams like the Hawks.

I respect the bravado but stop watering it down by adding this to so many exchanges. Just chest beat in the normal way.

 

[Dewyyyyy]

The cats game you’re referring to is our only loss in our last 9 games

Cats loss is the only relevant bad game since Round 7s loss against Sydney. Two losses since (1 point to Port and the Geelong game). That is 12 games worth of form to judge, 10-2.

 

[Delisted]

They hate us cos they ain't us.

 

[Sherrinator]

Watson, Ginnivan, Moore

The AFL's concussion lawyers worst nightmares

If you concussed them, I’m not sure that you could ever actually be suspended. I think that someone should just belt one of them and put it through the tribunal/legal test.

 

[theiaofseed]

Blues should comfortably dispatch the Hawks next week to further that lead, key defenders and key forwards are bog ordinary and the midfield is mid tier at best.

If they don't it will be a bottle job like no other

Yet you're not confident enough to bet your account on the result, which says plenty of how you actually rate Hawthorn.

 

[Phil McCreviss]

The trick to beating them is to not get sucked in to the off the ball stuff. Give no frees off ball and do not tackle a small forward I50, only corral them as they drop the legs and uppercut your forearm.

It's not that simple. You have to eventually commit to a tackle because our small forwards are very good at kicking goals from anywhere

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Yet you're not confident enough to bet your account on the result, which says plenty of how you actually rate Hawthorn.

Are you?

 

[Mr Meow]

Are you?

Careful we don't actually want to lose you. De-escalate.