Autopsy Round 14, 2024 : Hawks skin Tigers

[CD Xbow]

Quick scan of the socials today suggests a lot of oppo fans do seem to be of the opinion that the Hawks are indeed back

They remember.
Embrace their fear.

 

[killerspud]

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

Man we have some very average moronic dickhead supporters - this post exemplifies this.

If we ditch CJ - he goes to another club and will be a champion - I'd rather he does that here.

I feel dumber for reading through this...and we all know what you are

 

[Topiary]

Man we have some very average moronic dickhead supporters - this post exemplifies this.

If we ditch CJ - he goes to another club and will be a champion - I'd rather he does that here.

I feel dumber for reading through this...and we all know what you are

Don’t read the rubbish. I agree with you by the way.

 

[Off The Couch]

Annnd….

the rest was rubbish

 

[Kuuz]

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

The CJ hate is a bit odd. He's coming back from a long layoff, and he would still be getting back to proper match fitness + having confidence in his body. Add to the fact he's mainly playing wing now, which was NOT his usual position prior to injury, and he's doing fine. He may not have torn the game apart for last few weeks, but he works his butt off with all the running he does around the ground.

The end product will come, and he has a lot of unique attributes that we would be foolish not to develop.

But the worst thing about this post was the excessive use of paragraphs. Christ that was a difficult read.

 

[Changa10]

I hate ducking players as much as the next person, but a lot of the high frees from yesterday were due to poor tackling technique.

I know the aim these days is to pin the arms to stop the player disposing the footy, but this comes with risk as the modern day players only have to drop slightly to attract high contact. There are certain players that I would be tackling the ‘old fashion’ way, and that is low and hard. Take the duck out of play by hitting them hard between the hips and ribs.

 

[Ka Norkers]

CJ criticism from people who know zero about AFL football.
He has a role, doing it perfectly.
Compare the I50 now to the first 7-8 weeks, totally different as the opposition need to cover the fat side of the ground far more than before, Watson would never have made that beautiful run from inside skinny if the Tigers weren't stretched across the whole ground at the 50m mark, thanks CJ.
PS, as you can see from my previous posts, I'm not a huge CJ fan, but what he has done the past few weeks will have been exactly what Sam asked him to do.

 

[HoldingThe Ball]

If you don't agree, that's fine, but don't throw thinly veiled accusations of Racism to whip up a mob to your side of the argument.

It's lazy, as in 30 secs of looking at the Mabior Chol

18

Mabior Chol

Age

27

Ht

200cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.5

2star

K

5.3

2star

HB

2.2

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

2.7

4star

G

0.8

4star

D

8.0

2star

K

6.0

2star

HB

2.0

1star

M

2.3

2star

T

2.3

3star

G

0.7

4star

D

9.2

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

2.4

3star

M

3.2

4star

T

1.8

4star

G

1.2

4star

thread, it's pretty clear I've been his biggest cheerleader since day 1 - so if I have an opinion skewed by prejudice, as has been implied, I doubt if I'd be fawning over Cholly eh?




Refute it with why you think he's a 'potential champion' instead.

 

[Hodgey 15]

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

 

[kickhimoffthetourDoug]

I’ve read novels shorter than this post.

How does someone have that much time available in their life to post such drivel….

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

 

[Blackhawk42]

CJ criticism from people who know zero about AFL football.
He has a role, doing it perfectly.
Compare the I50 now to the first 7-8 weeks, totally different as the opposition need to cover the fat side of the ground far more than before, Watson would never have made that beautiful run from inside skinny if the Tigers weren't stretched across the whole ground at the 50m mark, thanks CJ.
PS, as you can see from my previous posts, I'm not a huge CJ fan, but what he has done the past few weeks will have been exactly what Sam asked him to do.

If we were playing a final next week I'd be dropping him for Morrison personally.

Although due to his popularity amongst the playing group you could argue they'd play better simply by having him run out alongside them.

 

[flinchfree]

Judging by wattos output I’m unconvinced that the around the corner works for him.

Can we judge him over a little more than a few rounds in his first year playing AFL firsts football?
How do you think Buddy went with his style of kicking based on a career?

A kicking action is much like a tennis stroke or golf swing.
Nearly every person has a slightly different way of moving the club/racquet/foot back and then returning to the strike point.
As long as at the moment of flush you've returned to a square position allowing the face of the equipment to meet the technically correct part of the ball, it's all you want.

I actually find it incredibly bemusing how many experts there are on here with their advice, as though either the player himself or the instructors provided by the Club are somehow arriving at this moment without understanding what's happening.

If in practice he's hitting 80% but game time it's 10%, perhaps there are other factors at play than him just being unable to execute?

Maybe, just maybe, allow his career to unfold a little first before being so convinced he is wrong and the skeptics amongst us are right.

 

[peetoo]

Had to Laugh the afl.com.au write up described a ‘frosty’ night

It wasnt, unless your name is Lynch

 

[TylerDurden]

Frost dominated Lynch.

It's one of the great stories of the year. Frost was absolutely cooked, and is now one of the best key defenders in the comp. Bloody wrapped for him.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Dusty absolutely acknowledged the Hawk players, and thanked them as he went past.

Think you will find he has alot of respect for us as he was an eyewitness to our great era. Probably why he seemed to save some of his best footy against us.

Frost dominated Lynch.

It's one of the great stories of the year. Frost was absolutely cooked, and is now one of the best key defenders in the comp. Bloody wrapped for him.

Not according to some salty Tigers fans. Lynch was getting molested all game apparently which is why he barely touched it . You could make the same argument for both Sicily and Dear. Cal had his arm chopped repeatedly going for his marks yet total crickets. Lynch plays like a flog which doesn't help his cause.

 

[KermitJagger]

Frost dominated Lynch.

It's one of the great stories of the year. Frost was absolutely cooked, and is now one of the best key defenders in the comp. Bloody wrapped for him.

What really annoyed me about the Frost talk this pre-season is how much people had to blatantly make shit up to call him cooked. Spent most of last season playing through injury and finished the season in recovery but apparently he'd been dropped and kept out of the side by Blanck and Scrimshaw, he was done and the coaches knew it. Funny.

 

[OnTheRocks]

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

Wtf does this meth fuelled diatribe mean?
Ffs I drink a lot of tequila and quite often say inappropriate shite but fmd... cat stephens bwahaha
Yo off ya head kent

 

[TylerDurden]

Moore, no charge.

 

[Suntory Boss Coffee]

Moore free

 

[Slainte]

Just quietly, Nash is putting together a really solid month or two of footy. Did notice how often Sicily kicked to him as an outlet from the back lines. He doesn't lose too many one on ones in the contest and his hands are really strong ATM.

Very important to our midfield structure.

Yep - great observation. Nash is really making progress with his overhead work, which was once awful. I reckon by next year, he will have a pretty complete game and could be an AA candidate.

 

[cryptor]

How often does AFL.com.au highlight incidents from games that aren't even looked at by the MRP?

 

[FB19]

Chol
d'Ambrosio
Ginnivan
three best recruits we could ever have hoped for. As good as Bramble has been this year, the little fellah from Essendon is a level above. Played himself into the AA 40 squad today, as did Moore and Sicily.

TBH, wasn't our best game, lots of handling and skill errors, but the pressure has yet again been elite.
12 hours ago, I would have said Mitch Lewis might come in for a tired Gunston, but after watching Scaife live today, he might get first go.
Seamus Mitchell was incredible, he surely is an AFL player, he'll be beating down the door.

You clearly haven’t watched the dogs. He’s the same player selfish self preserving self interested Billy Hartung 2.0. My dogs mate thought he was a steal I told him just you wait and now he has additional wrinkles and hardly any hair left!

 

[KermitJagger]

Just quietly, Nash is putting together a really solid month or two of footy. Did notice how often Sicily kicked to him as an outlet from the back lines. He doesn't lose too many one on ones in the contest and his hands are really strong ATM.

Very important to our midfield structure.

He did this little toe poke of the footy up to Day (I think) while holding his opponent out of the stoppage. Right at the start of the last quarter, didn't get a stat for it but it led to a clean centre clearance. He's the king of that stuff in our midfield.

 

[Ka Norkers]

well, FB 19, you better let the coaches know. He's been in their votes several times, and will be again after this weekend.

 

[Glacier]

Annnd now to someone else I cannot unsee doing poor things.

CJ.

He clearly got some robust feedback during the week about his questionable desire to attack the ball or the contest culminating in him letting himself and the team down under the high ball with 3 mins left Vs GWS last week.

He got immediate harsh feedback from Weddle who had to run 20m to cover the GWS forward. That clearly was a focus of the Monday briefing and I'm sure CJ talked things through with Sam.

Main thing was - the players saw it, and a couple reacted on field.

This Genie doesn't go back in the bottle I'm afraid.

He's done it all career, head-ducked a couple of times prior to his injury - got feedback from opposition players both times as well.



Got injured - Out for a longtime and came back.

No criticism from me about him being tentative in the first 2 back from a year off.



But it wasn't getting better. He wasn't attacking the loose ball. Jumping into contests.Standing under the high ball.

Then last weeks very poor effort at the end.

So to Richmond on Saturday.

I was out of my seat.
Fist-pumping.
Shouting praise at CJ for those 2 huge contests in the opening quarter.
Crashed packs and marked.

The players knew. Hardwick ran 40m to pat his behind and talk quietly - praising him - so clearly the players / coaches had given CJ feedback - what a response!!

And then, apart from another tackle later on leading to a set shot for HTB, all that desire just seemed to drift away.

By the second half, he was back to avoiding contests - he actually ran around and ignored 2 contests in the second half rather than mark or spoil or just get involved.

Phoenix Spiceresque.

The stupid thing is - he averages 2 tackles a game. He can do it. He choses not to.

The players noticed.

I can tell you right now, 3 of our most committed back 6 all looked at CJ and then at each other when CJ just chose to not get involved and stand off the contests when we were under a Richmond attack.

I, and others I was sat with, saw it clear as day from my seat.

When players notice one of the guys aren't cracking in, it causes tension.

I have no idea what Sam can do - CJ can do it - he just decides when he wants to.

That won't work in this team.



Ward, Weddle, McKenzie and MacDonald all came under criticism from multiple posters for being soft at the contest last season.

MacDonalds carried on into the first couple of rounds of this one!

But they all decided to change - and they have.


Weddle went from shitting himself on a regular basis to being absolutely fearless. Crashes in. Flies backwards into a pack.

Does not take a short step. Incredible turnaround.


Ward and McKenzie both turned their respective corners when during a game they were in, they each at some point were faced with a choice.

Take the hit and the hurt but win the ball OR avoid the contest.

They both took the hit and have never looked back.

McKenzie takes some brutal hits every game, and doesn't break stride.



MacDonald is probably the best of the lot.

I don't think he even knew half forwards had to defend. He certainly didn't.

Man, credit where it is due, he has reinvented himself.

Tackling harder.

Hard at the ball and man.

His two way running yesterday was awesome. He learnt and adapted.

And that's the issue - CJ chooses not to.


CJ gets dropped Vs WCE for Finn (tag on Harley Reid) - has to be.

CJ has to win back the trust of the playing group. They've seen it, don't like it, made it known.

If he can't or won't, a fresh start for CJ elsewhere might be for the best, so he can start again.

This rascal stuff? This over-celebrating after goals and at the end?

He knows he's letting himself and the team down, hence the bravado.

Blokes like Dylan 'Cat' Stephens, Jeremy Sharpe, Zac Fisher are all known to be soft at the contest at times, but all found another club where, for some reason, they aren't pulled up.

This Hawthorn side that's building to be something special - this ain't one of those clubs.

These days I’m more of a reader than a poster

But gotta just comment on this

What a load of absolute piss dribble


There, I feel better now