Autopsy Round 15, 2019: Hawks kick themselves out of it against the Eagles

[Dixie Flatline]

By the numbers:

#4 - Jarman Impey (15 kicks, 5 marks, 6 handballs, five tackles, 5 rebound 50s, 3 inside-50s): Super game from Impey, particularly in the second half, when he was absolutely sensational across half-back. Was a key cog in Hawthorn's fight-back in the third term with his run off half-back. Really coming into his own at Hawthorn. Great game.
#5 - James Worpel (15 kicks, 8 handballs, 1 goal, 9 tackles, 9 clearances): Played third banana in the midfield behind O'Meara and Shiels and wasn't overly effective in the first half. Improved his output in the second half, like many of his teammates.
#6 - James Sicily (13 kicks, 5 marks, 5 handballs, 4 rebound-50s): Horrible first half by his lofty standards and I suspect he was reminded of it by the coaches at half-time because he came out a different player in the second half. Hopefully he can settle back in defence for the rest of the season.
#7 - Ben McEvoy (3 kicks, 3 marks, 3 handballs, 35 hit-outs, 4 tackles): Had his hands full with Naitanui and Hickey and was well down on his usual effectiveness. I do wonder what might have been had it been McEvoy pushing forward to take contested marks over Ceglar.
#9 - Shaun Burgoyne (12 kicks, 4 handballs, 1 goal, 6 tackles): Wants another season at Hawthorn, by all accounts, but I think his career is at a cross-roads. Nowhere near as effective now that he's in his late-30s compared to even 18 months ago. Had one great play that reminded everyone of his talent in the fourth quarter, but I feel like we're potentially in the last few weeks of a decorated career.
#10 - Jaeger O'Meara (23 kicks, 14 handballs, 10 tackles, 12 clearances): A monster game from O'Meara with the let-down of his kicking for goal (0.3). With the Eagles' best run-with player (Hutchings) on the bench with injury, O'Meara did a great amount of work in the clinches and when he received support from his teammates in the third quarter, the Hawks lifted.
#11 - Conor Nash (4 kicks, 3 handballs, 1 goal, 4 tackles): Snapped a fantastic goal in the first quarter that brought the house down where I was sitting, set up Breust with a lovely weighted kick for another goal and created an opportunity for Hanrahan with a deft tap to put him in space. Certainly found it difficult to consistently impact the game, but when you either score or create three goals (out of nine) for the game, you're doing your job. Just needs to build on it.
#12 - James Frawley (7 kicks, 3 marks, 1 handball, 1 tackle, 2 rebound-50s): Shut Kennedy completely out of the game, who ended up chasing up the ground for kicks. One of Frawley's better games.
#15 - Blake Hardwick (10 kicks, 2 marks, 2 handballs, 7 tackles): Had his hands full with the Eagles' complement of small and medium forwards and consequently found it difficult to set up attacks for Hawthorn, although he did finish with six rebound-50s.
#16 - Isaac Smith (15 kicks, 1 mark, 6 handballs, 5 tackles, 8 inside-50s, 1.2): A bit of a brain fade from Smith cost the Hawks a goal when the Hawks had hit the lead, but he buttered up and squared the ledger with a nice goal shortly afterwards. Found a bit more freedom to find the ball than Henderson.
#17 - Daniel Howe (8 kicks, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 1.1): Brought in to the side to create space for O'Meara and Worpel to operate and also to do the job on Elliot Yeo (16 disposals). Howe went off the ground late in the final quarter with the blood rule and Yeo was a key cog in creating a chance that led the Eagles to kick a late goal. Still has his flaws that a good opponent will expose but the Hawthorn midfield did seem to be better for his inclusion.
#18 - Jonathon Ceglar (7 kicks, 6 marks, 6 handballs, 18 hit-outs, 0.2): But for his goalkicking, this would have been a super game from Ceglar, who benefited from being matched up mostly against Tom Hickey and was able to push forward to take some strong contested grabs. But his goal-kicking was substandard.
#19 - Jack Gunston (10 kicks, 5 marks, 2 handballs, 1.2): Not a memorable game from Gunston. He used to be very reliable in kicking for goal from set shots, but his accuracy seems to have deserted him. Found it difficult to get into the game.
#21 - Tom Scully (12 kicks, 1 mark, 8 handballs): Did a lot of hard running but I don't think the Eagles minded Scully getting the ball. I didn't think he was particularly damaging when he had possession.
#22 - Luke Breust (5 kicks, 2 marks, 12 handballs, 5 tackles, 1.0): Kicked a goal early in the game from a nice Nash pass, but apart from that, he found it difficult to thrive in the current Hawthorn set-up.
#23 - Tim O'Brien (7 kicks, 2 marks, 2 handballs, 3 tackles): Like a few of his teammates in defence, his second half was much better than his first half and he probably benefited from better control by the Hawthorn midfield after half-time. Struggled at times on Darling but he kept on fighting.
#26 - Liam Shiels (22 kicks, 5 marks, 8 handballs, 8 tackles): The second banana behind O'Meara, Shiels was industrious in the midfield but lacks polish to be the player who regularly kicks the ball into our forward line.
#28 - Paul Puopolo (5 kicks, 7 handballs, 8 tackles, 0.1): Played like his hair was on fire and it was good to see. Almost had a chance at snagging a Mark of the Year nomination late in the game but seemed to be surprised that the ball made it through to him and he spilled the mark. Just needed to hit the scoreboard.
#31 - Ricky Henderson (9 kicks, 3 marks, 6 handballs, 1.0): Credit to the Eagles' coaches, they knew which player they should target for some attention. Henderson ended the game with just 15 disposals (and had only eight to half-time), which stifled the Hawthorn run and carry. He did break clear in the third quarter and was a key component to Hawthorn's fight-back. Opposition analysts and coaches will no doubt take note and it's up to Hawthorn to try to find ways of getting him in the clear.
#36 - Dylan Moore (1 kick, 7 handballs, 5 tackles): It's hard going playing half-forward for Hawthorn at the moment, and this was Moore's least productive of his seven games so far (in terms of raw statistics). A learning experience.
#41 - Oliver Hanrahan (4 kicks, 3 marks, 6 handballs, 1 goal): Making his debut as the 927th player to represent the Hawks, Hanrahan enjoyed a moment he will savour for a long time when he kicked a goal in the third quarter to put the Hawks in front. Showed a few positive signs for the Hawks and you'd think that he's done enough to earn at least another game against Collingwood on Friday night.

 

[deanc]

Which AA KPD is he keeping out of the side?

Oh wow... None.

OK, so let’s say he’s the worst KPD in the league. Problem is, we don’t have a better one to replace him with*.

We have no KPF, which is becoming a liability we simply cannot afford...
We have no midfield depth, which is becoming a liability we simply cannot afford...

See how going full-Tige & just dumping frustration makes the board harder to read without adding anything to the conversation?

We kicked 9.17 FFS & you want to lay blame for the loss on Tim O’Brien??

Your posts are usually far better than this...






*for the sake of your argument, please don’t say Brand.

Gee, I didn't realise nor do I recognise we have so many issues? I was simply sharing an observation on the last 2 minutes of the game which involved one of our players getting stuck in no-mans land which he has a habit of doing.
No one player is ever responsible for a loss but there are often two or three players that contribute to a loss or a win. To state the obvious our poor conversion from set-shots was the reason we lost last Saturday. I was there, it was hard to watch.
I support any player who wears the jumper but O'Brien has been in our system for six years and while there is no question that he is a talented athlete his development as a player is sadly restricted because of his inability to read the play.
Our senior coaches are obviously aware of this which is why he has a predominately run with role on the big forwards.
In my day the ability to read to play helped beat your immediate opponent but you could still be competitive if you had talent. Today is different, where the ability to read the play is critical given players specific roles and/or the teams game plans or structure.
The ability to read the play is an instinctive skill, it's not easy to coach, most players at top level have it, very few don't.

With Birchall and Scrimshaw's pending return I doubt O'Brien will retain his spot.

 

[Jack Gun Cyril Stun]

Set shot goal kicking, for the most part, isn't something that can be fixed by technique changes - otherwise every club would be prioritising it.

There's so much pressure in the modern game, and the modern player is so much more exhausted from the pace and intensity that the game is at now. If you'll note, most of them don't miss when they line up for shots before the game. That's because there isn't any pressure, they aren't running around on tired legs.

As far as our kicking goes in general, I feel we've suffered in that area since David Rath moved on. Some people are just irreplaceable.

Agree on Rath.

Watching players slot goals pre game and at training easily means jack if 1- there is no routine behind it and 2- no one is standing the mark.
Otherwise it’s pretty much wasting time.

 

[Off The Couch]

With Birchall and Scrimshaw's pending return I doubt O'Brien will retain his spot.

I would be surprised if he lost his spot. I’ve got a lot of time for TOB since he went back and while he still makes some errors I think he is coming along nicely and is going to make a really good defender

 

[deanc]

I would be surprised if he lost his spot. I’ve got a lot of time for TOB since he went back and while he still makes some errors I think he is coming along nicely and is going to make a really good defender

For his and the teams sake I hope you are right, I really do, unfortunately he has a flaw that is not easy to correct...

 

[Gaston]

How cool is this by Conor Glass.

Friends not foes: Irish kindness for an Eagles star

We loved the caring nature of Conor Glass towards Liam Ryan on Access All Areas

www.afl.com.au

Footage in the first 30 seconds of clip.

 

[cryptor]

How cool is this by Conor Glass.

Friends not foes: Irish kindness for an Eagles star

We loved the caring nature of Conor Glass towards Liam Ryan on Access All Areas

www.afl.com.au

Footage in the first 30 seconds of clip.

Definitely a good thing he did there. It's just a little sad that something like this is considered a notable event. Acting as a reasonable and caring human being should be the norm.

 

[H2F]

The only disappointing thing for me continues a two year gripe of mine and that’s our leaders.

Stratton, Smith, Gunston, Breust just aren’t leading like they were grown to throughout our Mitchell, Hodge era. It’s not just performances it’s leading and inspiring and setting standards.

I know I’ll get shot down but I’d trade one of these guys and as hard as it is to say it would be Gunston for me. Has the most currency and IMO has been consistently in second gear for two years. He was my favourite player behind Gibbo so this has taken (well) two years of denial to come to but I’d trade him. He just isn’t going at full pace and hasn’t for too long. Stratton, Shiels, Smith have always had flaws in their games and I can justify why they’ve at times not been the next gen leaders we’ve needed but Gunners breaks my heart and I’d trade him. We’d get a top 5 pick and we need it.

 

[H2F]

In his defence he’s a lead up forward and incredibly elite runner so can swing back and forward but Sicily eats him in defence and with our current talent we’re forced to Bonn the ball in high which doesn’t suit him. But it doesn’t change the lack of effort.

In comparison Burgers is just about shot but when games are in the balance finds it in his old body to go into beast mode when it matters still. Gunston doesn’t switch gears. His six goal haul a while back showed what he can still do when the effort turns up and it was the nail in the coffin for me.

We have so much going for us despite what short sided outsiders might be scribing. Worpell, Sicily, Harwick, Cousins, Impey, JOM, TOM, Scrimshaw, Moore etc...

But we need a high pick and Gunners is the one I’d crushingly let go of.

 

[H2F]

We need to take a big step forward next year and nail our list changes.

We need desperately:

- Small pressure forwards x 2
- Marking big forward
- Inside midfielder

We just trade to get another high pick.

Two top ten picks, then an elite free agent and some smart mature age type.

This is a crucial year for our list and as hard as it is to trot out this Gunston will give us the pick we need and after two very disappointing years I’m finally convinced it’s what we must do.

 

[Gralin]

Wrong thread H2F ?

 

[H2F]

Wrong thread H2F ?

Oops yes, sorry about that

 

[HODGEYROAD]

We need to take a big step forward next year and nail our list changes.

We need desperately:

- Small pressure forwards x 2
- Marking big forward
- Inside midfielder

We just trade to get another high pick.

Two top ten picks, then an elite free agent and some smart mature age type.

This is a crucial year for our list and as hard as it is to trot out this Gunston will give us the pick we need and after two very disappointing years I’m finally convinced it’s what we must do.

Just thought I'd point out Gunston kicked 50+ last season and was a deserving All Australian.

 

[Brant]

Just thought I'd point out Gunston kicked 50+ last season and was a deserving All Australian.

Ah, facts... Ever the mortal enemy of a good rant...

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Listening to the FItz and Chips podcast today and Chips and Sicily said that Clarkson walked into the rooms after Saturday and said "well boys, the best team lost today".

Interesting listening to how easily Sicily and Chip think the season could be different, with a couple of these one kick games going the other way.