Preview Marsh Week 2 - Hawthorn v Melbourne - UTas Stadium - Friday March 6, 7.40pm

[Mrzohs]

Preseason games even in our glory days we we're horrible! A lil alarming I'm not sure the team is good enough to just flick the switch rd 1 but not many players we're hell bent on tackling and manic presurre.

Positive
Mitch got thru, Scrimshaw got thru
Morrison confrimed he is capable.
They are all locks for rd 1!

Negatives.
-Looks like we already rely on Patton to much. We need Gunston in or Tob fit and firing.
- Presurre inside 50 and all over the ground is diabolical! we are a universe behind the dogs and tigers in this aspect!
- not sold on Mcevoy down back he was a top 5 ruckmen and looks better in the middle. I Would rather Frost at chb and a speedy ball user as a small defender.

 

[Lickmesocks]

Was tough viewing but Scully was outstanding and Morrison showed some signs. Lot to improve on still.

Scully was great. His gut running incredible.
Morrison found it but absolutely murdered it...... but he had plenty of mates last night.

 

[Blackhawk42]

Wow really I thought all of them were average besides cj when he finally came on and nash .

Morrison's stats look nice but he is just way to hesitant, when a opposition is going direct for the ball he always seems to stop and prop for a second and his lack of pace means he applies zero defensive pressure. Yes he has neat skills but he doesnt take any attacking risks which we are crying for off half back to set up play .

Hanrahan just annoys me the fact it's noted he isn't a hard trainer is probably part of it. For a guy on the cusp of the 22 he should be training the hardest, as a small fwd he barely pressures , always shits himself in contests and consistently fumbles . Would be happy to persist with nash in his role every game but clarko seems to love him for some reason .

As far as the talls go based on form and injury I'd be only playing
Frawley, frost, ceglar, obrien and Patton that is absolutely enough why we are going the other way to teams and be coming taller is confusing

Harry was easily one of our best. He was composed with the footy and clean by foot. He also laid two ripping tackles, both of which were praised by the commentary team. I wouldn't hesitate to play him round 1 based on his current form.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Preseason, so not concerned on lack of pressure. Concerned that the switch won't be flicked come round 1.

Goalkicking is a major concern. Both preseason losses we have gone at 33% for goal. Not good enough. Hope it's cobwebs

 

[Blackhawk42]

Morrison found it but absolutely murdered it...... but he had plenty of mates last night.

He still went at 70%.

 

[Hawkas1988]

As much as our ball movement and ball use frustrated me greatly last night. What I am most concerned about is we look too tall and slow out there.

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[Hawkas1988]

Let’s just hope we got the s..t off the liver tonight because there was NOTHING, repeat NOTHING to get any comfort from. We were abysmal in EVERY aspect of the game. It was a joke frankly !!!!!
An utter joke !!!!!!!!

I share the same sentiments.

As much as some people argue..it was just a pre-season game who cares we lost etc...

That's not the point. The score is irrelevant. It's how you play. How you structure up. How your off-season plans have worked or failed. Where our improvement may come from etc.

I'm not saying there isn't any improvement (scully looks better, Patton will be a great improvement to our side, Morrison finally showed something, CJ is promising etc) however from a team point of view it has to be worrying for Clarko and co from what they saw last night.

All the areas we struggled in last year seem to still be there. Teams like Richmond would have a field day against that gameplan tbh.

We may just flick a switch and turn it on come round 1 but it's not that easy in footy to do that. It is still "pre-season" and everyone is still 0-0 so we're ok. I am just very concerned.

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[Strattonsphere]

I get the feeling a lot of posters in here are the same people who bought all the toilet paper this week. Panic stations!

 

[RiverRiver]

Pittonett was/is ahead of Ceglar?! what on earth am I even reading. Simple fact is Clarko thinks the benefits of McEvoy playing CHB outweighs the pseudo effect of having a good ruckman. Ya’ll talk about these ruckman like Gawn, Grundy, Goldstein, NicNat like they are winning premierships? It doesn’t hurt to have a great one, but HFC evidently don’t find it vital.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I get the feeling a lot of posters in here are the same people who bought all the toilet paper this week. Panic stations!

 

[Luv_our_club]

I get the feeling a lot of posters in here are the same people who bought all the toilet paper this week. Panic stations!

Not a bad line.

My panic, and i am a bit panicked, is lingering in the heart because it is based on at least 24 months of watching the Hawks (not just last night).

I remember clearly the 1999-2001 Hawks team, where deep in your heart you just knew the players lacked something, even the best of them, even when they were winning.

I just really hope the Hawks declare themselves this year, good or bad.

 

[lethal03]

Appeared to be AFLW influence in skills.

 

[Yardie]

Backs - I want CJ playing as the Impey replacement, cause that is what the backline is missing. Just love how takes on the game. Might make some mistakes but a bit of chaos always creates opportunity. BigBoy showed a lot of composure and smarts in the backline, but I feel the whole unit needs to gel back there. And damn does Frost have some speed, I'd heard about it but seeing it last night was really surprised how quick he was.
Mids - Seemed a bit of a hot mess. Think it will take time for this group to find its balance with Titch coming back in. Scully is underrated and there was no Henderson last night.
Fwds - There seems to be a disconnect between the midfield and the forward line. Neither is reading the other well. Mids not seeing where the forwards are sometimes and the forwards not reading the play and being caught too far up the ground.
As others have said lets see how we are after round 4. But I'm seeing a 6-10 team at the moment as we are not cohesive.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Preseason game even in our glory days we we're horrible. A lil alarming I'm not sure the team goos enough to just flick the switch rd 1 but not many players we're hell bent on tackling and manic presurre.

Positive
Mitch got thru, Scrimshaw got thru
Morrison confrimed he is capable.
They are all locks for rd 1!

Negatives.
-Looks like we already rely on Patton to much. We need Gunston in or Tob fit and firing.
- Presurre inside 50 and all over the ground is diabolical! we are a universe behind the dogs and tigers in this aspect!
- not sold on Mcevoy down back he was a top 5 ruckmen and looks better in the middle. I Would rather Frost at chb and a speedy ball user as a small defender.

Absolutely agree. We looked really slow and already Impey being out is noticeable.

Hendo played across HB at the Crows, so wonder whether we have Scully and Smith on the wings with Hendo across half back with Frost and Sicily.

The players do not seem to have adapted to this play on style of game plan either, with many up field running to the wrong spots and our lack of quality footskills and decision-making resulting in a large number of turnovers.

 

[threesixpio]

Hendo, Gunners and Timmy to come back in. Clarko and Sammy to have a good yell at the boys

we will be fine

 

[RiverRiver]

Absolutely agree. We looked really slow and already Impey being out is noticeable.

Hendo played across HB at the Crows, so wonder whether we have Scully and Smith on the wings with Hendo across half back with Frost and Sicily.

The players do not seem to have adapted to this play on style of game plan either, with many up field running to the wrong spots and our lack of quality footskills and decision-making resulting in a large number of turnovers.

Im hoping Hendo comes in and plays on the wing instead of Smith. I know it’s a preseason game but Smith was getting a bath by Tomlinson but was jogging around with a smile. Maybe half back flank for Smith? And agree that Impey is vital.

 

[Hawkie_McHawkHawk]

When you watch such putrid football it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and think this is what lies ahead for the season.

Then you remember we played some awful games early on last season, players badly out of form, then for example the Geelong game after the break we looked like a different team.
thankfully last night wasn’t the real deal. I’m still optimistic and think this season will reveal some good young players, some good wins with some bad losses and fingers crossed a finals birth.

 

[thejockey]

We've looked very ordinary no doubt about it , is it worrying ? I would say a little but no where near panic stations.

- last season we didn't make the 8 , despite beating some quality sides on the way home this puts us in the 'average' bracket .
- we don't know how seriously we are taking these games , plus we dont know how seriously the oppisition are either.
- we are now missing two defenders who are sure by foot in a link up play ( Harwick and Impey) , I think we can cover 1 ( Impey , see last season ) but 2 may be tough for us.

Brisbane have schooled us recently even when they were poor ladder wise .
If we run them close/beat them I would say thats an early indicator we have improved and could have a very good season.
If not we may be in for more of the same.

 

[Mojo]

Didn't see the game last night but I get the feeling our problem areas are:

1. Synergy as a playing group (concerning with Round 1 in 2 weeks)
2. Too top-heavy - I just can't see a starting 18 comprising Ceglar, Big Boy, Patton, Lewis, TOB. 5 guys that aren't winning the ball when it hits the ground.
3. Too few small/fleet-of-foot players - this is compounded because the ratio of tall to small is ghastly lop-sided.

 

[JustKickIt]

Clarko not hung up on last quarter fall away

The official AFL website of the Hawthorn Football Club

www.hawthornfc.com.au

 

[Mrzohs]

ex

We've looked very ordinary no doubt about it , is it worrying ? I would say a little but no where near panic stations.

- last season we didn't make the 8 , despite beating some quality sides on the way home this puts us in the 'average' bracket .
- we don't know how seriously we are taking these games , plus we dont know how seriously the oppisition are either.
- we are now missing two defenders who are sure by foot in a link up play ( Harwick and Impey) , I think we can cover 1 ( Impey , see last season ) but 2 may be tough for us.

Brisbane have schooled us recently even when they were poor ladder wise .
If we run them close/beat them I would say thats an early indicator we have improved and could have a very good season.
If not we may be in for more of the same.

Spot on!!
A very tough first month is my only concern we will soon know after rd4, i wanted to hit the season with some synergy! Brisbane,Freo(inperth)Pies,Cats

 

[westhawk]

Frustratingly last night I felt that Nash, Scrimshaw, Ollie, CJ and Harry (especially Harry) played pretty well. It's frustrating because the most expendable players still contributed, so I have no idea what changes can be made heading into round 1 that would actually improve the side.

I did feel that we looked a tad tall, and the two main players to return are Gunston and TOB. That's problematic also.

Agree that Scrimshaw, Harry and CJ were good, Ollie on the other hand was putrid. He is way too timid and when he gets his hands on it, his disposal is ordinary.

 

[OnTheRocks]

I'm not sure the team goos enough

This could be a problem, yes.

 

[Mrzohs]

Im hoping Hendo comes in and plays on the wing instead of Smith. I know it’s a preseason game but Smith was getting a bath by Tomlinson but was jogging around with a smile. Maybe half back flank for Smith? And agree that Impey is vital.

Absolutely agree. We looked really slow and already Impey being out is noticeable.

Hendo played across HB at the Crows, so wonder whether we have Scully and Smith on the wings with Hendo across half back with Frost and Sicily.

The players do not seem to have adapted to this play on style of game plan either, with many up field running to the wrong spots and our lack of quality footskills and decision-making resulting in a large number of turnovers.

Agree,
Hendo is better suited to halfback flank Smithy is to soft in the contest.
I have a feeling they move Smith around to give Morrison the exposure which he was more than serviceable.

 

[Roger Rogerson]

Thought we looked flat. Shiels is a bit of a barometer and Mr Reliable and even he looked disinterested and fumbly and even had a laugh at one stage.