Autopsy Round 19, 2024 : Hawks flatten Pies

[SA HAWK]

I think we are the most exciting team to watch right now.

What an amazing transformation since Round 5.

I will never question Sammy as coach again.

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

I recall after the Round 5 frustrations of 5 losses, bemoaning where our endurance running was at if that was what we wanted to be known for.

Well, it is now very obvious that we must be close to the hardest running team all over the ground, big or small.

Add some speed and some dare and we are making many sides look pedestrian. And then our bone crushers get back to work at every centre bounce. Rinse and repeat.

It is beautiful to watch.

 

[CHUBBSS]

View attachment 2053726

Boy did we miss him, what a gun

 

[Maurice Mitchell]

Very good in front of goal. Lovely all round user.

Also brilliant evasive skills. With the ball he is sensational. All class. Seems to hold the footy too long but always finds a way to dispose of it effectively. Never gets caught.

Whether he gets it enough; whether he’s competitive enough without it will be the important part.

Wasn't sure how familiar with Mabs you all were when i posted this in the preseason. It was a pretty good example today.

Very evasive and a good user. Happy for him.

 

[toomanysquibs]

Big, emphatic win.

I knew the excitement was just around the corner, but it's back already!

Ward and Mackenzie are going to lift this side another cog. Calsher and Wiz as well.

So much more improvement to come, particularly if we land some free agents.

Hopefully we make it to finals, and win one or two!

 

[Makedonija]

Late night post but all I can say is - I love this club.

Can’t wait to watch the replay hungover tomorrow.

 

[jerry_atrick]

Just watched the game.. What can I say, but. "we're back. baby!"

Compare the team today to that of the first 5 rounds - what a turnaround. Kudos to the coaching team. Still have a way to go, and a tough next three games, but, honestly, we are probably going to go in favourites, with the exception of injuries. Is there anyone who would have thoght that we would be knocking on a finals berth after the first 5 rounds?

I have to admit, I wasnt' sure Sam was the best when he was appointed, and maybe the turnaround was slower than it should be, but, even in the darker start of the season, I have been onboard. And these are the reasons why:

• Belief: The players now back themselves and each other with confidence. Our close-in ball skills have improved immensely, but have a little way to go; our ability to make the right decision and back others to make the right decision is a stark contrast to the many games where many were aksing, "WTF did he do that for?". Even Frosty seems to me making deliberate decisions that add value.
• Disciplined for the team: Despite the Wiz, I think in the 3rd, running along the boundary with every bone and inch of his body saying "take the banana for goal", he centred (a little late for me) to D'Ambrosio.
• Love of the jumper (this is sort of playing for the team as well): Ginnivan's first goal exemplified it when he raced towards the crowd, kissing the Hawks emblem on his jumper. Chol (great to see his two goals - and they were perlers), doing the hard stuff that doesn't earn stats, but adds value (Mitchell's words in the presser).

Throw a blanket over the Hawls team, and there is your best on ground - even Impey scored a goal! Pies were not just flattened; they were eaten alive.

We have gone from a bottom four side to being disappointed if we don't get a berth in the finals in 12 weeks of footy. What a turnaround.

 

[tommyk72]

No Sicily, no Ginnivan, no Dear.

And in Geelong.

 

[Khmerhawk]

View attachment 2053892
Loved the game from the forwards today - we have our mosquito fleet in action and it was beautiful

I started getting Johnny Platten vibes when I watched that !

 

[madhawksfan]

Ginnivan took the disrespect shown to him by McRae and went MJ on Collingwood last night.

The most enjoyable game to watch in a long time. CMac and Wiz were incredible.

Forgot to acknowledge Moore and Day in my previous post. Both were excellent all game. Moore had to be AA this season if it’s a serious award. So consistent and damaging. Day is on the trajectory to becoming a top 10 player in the comp. Could give the B&F a shake despite missing games at the beginning.

 

[peetoo]

20 goals in that rain is insane. Modern footballers skills really are better than olden days

 

[Phil McCreviss]

We have come in from 1300/1 after round 5.

 

[local hack]

Does that dog Maynard get weeks for intentional fend off elbow to Ginni’s chin?

 

[Crankyhawk]

WTF was the cameraman doing running out onto the field after Ginnivan's second goal?

I just realised he must have gone out onto the field to get the close-ups of him. That's the first time I can remember it happening.

I noticed it after our first goal (worpel) as well. Have heard it could be due to no spider bot camera, or maybe the recent IT issue fritzed the zoom function?

 

[madhawksfan]

Does that dog Maynard get weeks for intentional fend off elbow to Ginni’s chin?

You’re dreaming. Fox were talking it down as reckless instead of intentional because he had the ball. Looked pretty intentional but given he got off the Bradshaw incident I doubt he will get done for that.

 

[Crankyhawk]

Crows massive favs with the bookies next week. Wtf???
Amazing how the footy public still doesn't rate us.

The pies bf board have noted a sort of curse that since the bye teams that beat Collingwood lose the next week

 

[Agent_99]

We are box office.
Most entertaining team in the comp the watch.
Other players would be looking at the fusion we have and the enjoyment of playing the game and wanting In on this action.

 

[Khmerhawk]

The pies bf board have noted a sort of curse that since the bye teams that beat Collingwood lose the next week

Well I don't think the crows in Adelaide will be easy even without Rankine and Dawson, they can't make finals now and that's when they are usually at their best, when they have zero expectation on them.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

True, but we continually play the kicking game against them.
If we took the run and gun gamestyle we'd have a far better record over the last 20 years

The one time we have in recent memory 2022 we beat them playing that way. Ran through them. Got out the back goals more time than we have in a while.

 

[jumpingjai]

Many terrific points have been made about individual players on this forum.
But the most significant work done to enable this revival is that of Sam Mitchell. He is a genius.
But he is a genius who backs it up with hard work and commitment.
Make no mistake his coaching Is the reason this team is where it is. He has the ability to improve players and make them significantly better.
Look at Meek, Chol, Ginnivan and Massimo. All handy players when we recruited then, now play league best.
And at the same time improving the young player on the list. Players he was largely responsible for recruiting.
We are so lucky

 

[triangulation_squared]

Scrim 100 games up as well. Great effort to the lad to become elite after.

So many great performances. Such a fantastic execution of skill from the entire team. No bad performance, 23 great performances.

Three moments for me

When the game was in the balance and yet to be won, the second Wiz goal where he wheeled around to his right in the wet and drilled it was really special. 3.0 for the night. What was interesting is that I didn't see him miss a shot in his pre game warm-up. Great work by the coaches to turn his finishing around.

Dimma, I think in the third had a moment in the wet where the ball was coming in on a fastbreak and we were outnumbered. He's attacked it from fullback at full gas and collected the ball at full tilt in the wet. Just amazing skill and a luxury to have such a skillfull player in our defensive half.

A passage of play where Weddel takes a few bounces from half back and straightens us up. He's got it all and makes us seriously unpredictable.

So many of the old hands on this thread have been telling us to wait until we have 50 and 100 games into the team. Great call, this is what it looks like.

Final shout out to Lloyd Meek for giving us clearance domination and 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

for keeping the pressure going until the final siren.

The ceiling is high.

 

[SammyC]

i loved it all but got the biggest buzz watching bruest show that body permitting he still has it. One more year, 300 and help us go deep in 2025.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

The only thing Collingwood does better than lose grand finals is having their fans piss off well before 3QT when they are getting beat. Such a heartless fanbase when they aren’t up and about.

The absolute nuffies are there till the end. It's always the arrogant bandwagoners that leave games early IMO. Only reason I would leave early is if I had somewhere else to be urgently. Think it's a terrible look personally.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Crows massive favs with the bookies next week. Wtf???
Amazing how the footy public still doesn't rate us.

There style of play won't beat us either. Only because it's in Adelaide it's 50/50. Playing well but they will have huge problems dealing with our smalls and defending transition, Bombers opened them up all night.

 

[QuietB]

There’s something really special about this team. The way they work for each other and the joy they play with is infectious. They work incredibly hard and have so much fun doing it.

There was a moment on TV yesterday where Impey was sitting on the bench next to Watson and gave him a pat and was genuinely smiling and happy for Watson. Not over the top carry on - just a genuine happiness for his teammate. Watson didn’t even see it - these guys are building something special.