- Jan 17, 2013
- 7,956
- 9,136
- AFL Club
- GWS
Hawks aren’t young though
-
LIVE: Sydney Swans vs GWS Giants - 3:20PM Sat - 1st QF
Squiggle tips Swans at 63% chance -- What's your tip? -- Team line-ups »
-
LIVE: Brisbane Lions vs Carlton - 7:30PM Sat - 1st EF
Squiggle tips Lions at 73% chance -- What's your tip? -- Team line-ups »
-
AFLW 2024 - Round 2 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
the baby hawks are hell impressive
- Thread starter dmt
- Start date
- Tagged users None
SSSSSS
Brownlow Medallist
- Apr 18, 2011
- 21,304
- 48,165
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Six decades of domination
We are the 2nd youngest team in the comp?
- Jun 19, 2006
- 10,986
- 21,276
- AFL Club
- Geelong
On the weekend Adelaide, West Coast, GWS, Gold Coast, Richmond and North Melbourne all played younger teams. So 7th youngest.
You're still fairly young but nothing like as young as you were early in the year.
On the weekend North had 16 players 25yo and younger Hawks 15.
Coaches votes v Pies the 7 that got votes 5 were 25yo and under.
Moments in games …… from the Hawks younger brigade has been significant over the last couple months and no where near the finished product. Love what Mitch has done over the last two and a half years. Current list reminds me a bit of the transition Hawks went through in the 2000’s
Coaches votes v Pies the 7 that got votes 5 were 25yo and under.
Moments in games …… from the Hawks younger brigade has been significant over the last couple months and no where near the finished product. Love what Mitch has done over the last two and a half years. Current list reminds me a bit of the transition Hawks went through in the 2000’s
- Jul 13, 2015
- 37,746
- 42,551
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
Worth re-visiting your thoughts here ?
When the consensus changes from 'they've cut too hard, they're too young!' to 'they're not actually that young y'know!' within 18 months, you know the club is doing something right
- Jul 14, 2022
- 1,818
- 3,086
- AFL Club
- West Coast
Who’s the A grade talent I’ve missed? Dylan Moore probably.
- Jul 13, 2015
- 37,746
- 42,551
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
You think we are beating all those teams without A-grade talent?
All the following are elite in their positions.
Sicily
Meek
Scrimshaw
D'Ambrosio
Day
Newcombe
Weddle
Hardwick
There there is:
Moore
Amon
Nash
Frost
Our last 3 months have been better than every team other than the Swans. And they are currently falling away.
Give us 9 behinds and we would be 3rd on the ladder right now.
- Jul 14, 2022
- 1,818
- 3,086
- AFL Club
- West Coast
Yeah well I look forward to your mid table mediocrity with those b graders
Some guys can have patches of 'A-Grade' form, but that's different to actually being an A-Grader.
Sometimes the stars align and guys look like superstars. Then suddenly they're not.
There's a long, long way to go before you can call any Hawthorn player other than Sicily an A-Grader.
- Oct 13, 2006
- 2,748
- 2,252
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Man City
Long long way? Moore will likely break AA this year and is a definite A grader in his position, Newcombe was in the AA squad last year, if Day wasn't injured for the first 5-6 games would go close to the AA squad, Meek has been a top 3 ruckman this year based on impact and hit outs / HTA, d'ambrosio could go close to the AA squad...
Frost is like an A-Grader right now.
Most of them are!
They weren't during rounds 1-5 though. But they are now.
Will they be from rounds 19-22 (or however many rounds there are)?
Will they be A-Graders during finals?
Will they be A-Graders next year?
It's like the Des Headland tale. Was he an A-Grader? He was in Brisbane in that team. Was he at Freo? Nowhere near it.
Reality is that Hawthorn have slipped under the comp's guard. They've had bigger fish to fry rather than worrying about what lowly Hawthorn have been up to.
Meanwhile... Hawthorn are on fire and have punched a few in the face.
At some point, and it will likely be right now, opposition coaches will start putting in significant work on Hawthorn and what they're doing.
They'll get worked out. And when they do, we'll find out who the real A-Graders are.
Last edited:
Hawks don’t need stars to win premierships. Just ask the All Australian selectors who only gave us 2 spots in each of our premiership wins.
- Oct 13, 2006
- 2,748
- 2,252
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Man City
So you've gone from saying we're a long long way off having more A graders, to saying we have players who are playing at an A grade level but they need to prove themselves. Vastly different statements.
- Jul 13, 2015
- 37,746
- 42,551
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
My favourite was Geelong in 2008 getting 9 or 10 AA. Delicious.
Sicily managed to be the best defender in the comp 3 years in a row for a total of one AA. Meanwhile Stewart is automatically picked no matter how well or how poorly he plays.
I think they're the same thing aren't they?
Being an A-Grade player versus playing at an A-Grade level in a team unit that is on fire are two different things.
I'd argue that most AFL players are capable of playing at an A-Grade level. That doesn't make them A-Graders.
SSSSSS
Brownlow Medallist
- Apr 18, 2011
- 21,304
- 48,165
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Six decades of domination
Is the day and night cycle faster in Glenferrie or something? Are Hawthorn players like cats and dogs where one year is worth seven?
If we started the season as the second youngest list in the comp we are probably going to finish the season as the second youngest list in the comp. Maybe I didn't get the memo that the Hawks picked up my geriatric father in the MSD just to bump up our averages.
Mofra
Moderator
- Dec 6, 2005
- 68,565
- 202,308
- AFL Club
- Western Bulldogs
- Other Teams
- Footscray, Coney Island Warriors
- Moderator
- #219
I had my doubts about Sam Mitchell but everyone has to acknowledge the guy can coach.
There's a method and a spirit among the group you wouldn't have expected given expectations of them before round 1. Given they've had some genuine injury issues too (Will Day early in the season, Mitch Lewis) he's had to spin the magnets at times.
There's a method and a spirit among the group you wouldn't have expected given expectations of them before round 1. Given they've had some genuine injury issues too (Will Day early in the season, Mitch Lewis) he's had to spin the magnets at times.
- Sep 6, 2011
- 13,635
- 22,099
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- GWS (Kayo) Also AFL Member so all clubs
Definitely is not a team of stars. 8 mid range players from other clubs, a number of mid season/rookie draft type players.
But I enjoy the culture that Mitchell is building. I am of a similar age to Mitchell and do not understand alot of the gestures/bonding stuff the players do on TikTok but I suppose its the modern version of a few beers after the game.
But I enjoy the culture that Mitchell is building. I am of a similar age to Mitchell and do not understand alot of the gestures/bonding stuff the players do on TikTok but I suppose its the modern version of a few beers after the game.
By the way, can we do something about the thread title?
WTF does that even mean? Sounds like a horrible Americanism gone wrong.
WTF does that even mean? Sounds like a horrible Americanism gone wrong.
Strapping Young Lad
Moderator
- Apr 19, 2006
- 99,667
- 247,542
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Storm, Spurs, Socceroos
- Moderator
- #222
Yeah, look a lot of this is incorrect.
Frost has looled like an A Grader since Round 1. He’s had his best year ever.
People who take media bites and look at game results wanted to carry on with hot takes like “tassie will win a flag before Hawthorn” or “it’s a ten year rebuild, Mitchell won’t survive”.
Footy brains like Jimmy Bartel never wavered though. We’d not won a game and he was still saying that he was very bullish on just how good we were going to be. In his own words “I’m buying Hawthorn stock right now, don’t worry Hawks fans it will change very soon”.
On top of that we had Hoyne of CD telling people who would actually listen that Hawthorn may not have won any of the for first 5 games, but their shape and style had improved from 2023, even though we had injury and issues in the middle to contend with. He tried to tell people in May that Hawthorn were becoming a serious team.
The idea that clubs didn’t know anything about them, hadn’t planned for them or that their oppo analysts let them “get under their guard” is just blatant fantasy in a competition where any given club can win each week.
- Oct 13, 2006
- 2,748
- 2,252
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Other Teams
- Man City
They're the same thing?
How exactly is a team with multiple players who are playing at an A grade level but need to prove it over a longer period of time equal to a team that is a LONG LONG way from having more A graders?
I would have thought a team with no players playing at an A grade level would be closer to that. And yes, most AFL players are capable of playing at an A grade level... but most of the are not actually playing at that level (unlike the players I mentioned).
- Jul 13, 2015
- 37,746
- 42,551
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
They may have been mid range at other clubs but are playing far better with us.
D'Ambrosio should make the AA squad if the selectors are serious about picking players for positions, not players for stats. He is the 2nd or 3rd best wingman in the game.
Ginnivan has just had his best all-round game of his career and is steadily growing from an already solid base.
For the older ones:
Chol doesnt have the goals that other key forwards have, but his offensive pressure is far ahead of any other key forward.
Frost is having easily his best year and is rarely beaten in a contest and his disposals have significantly improved.
Unsure if youre including Scrimshaw but he has been brilliant over the last few months as well.
There is a reason we are top 2 in defence and top 4 in attack over the last 3 months. Maybe opposition coaches are underestimating Hawthorn as much as many BF posters...
That's naive.
It happens every season.
Teams look to the ladder leaders to prepare and improve. The mindset of 'we'll need to get through them to win it' is not limited to the AFL. It happens in every sport.
The league leaders in all sports have a target on their backs, and teams are trying to work them out.
I mean, of course they do forward scouting every week on all teams, but the term 'we prefer to play our way' is what happens against the lower teams.
Almost every year someone slips under the guard. Sometimes a team comes flying out of the gates and catches everyone off guard. Wins a bunch of games early then gets the staggers once the opposition coaches out a target on their backs and take them seriously.
Other times a team starts slowly then comes with a rush. In some cases they get worked out just in time once the comp realises they're legit. Other times, like with the Bulldogs, and Collingwood, it's too late. By the time the opposition puts work into them, it's too late. The flag gets pinched.
I have zero doubt that the top 8 teams have been putting all their efforts into working out how the hell to dismantle Sydney. And teams like Hawthorn would have been nothing more than an afterthought in terms of being taken seriously as a threat.
That's clearly changed.
Hawthorn will get worked out. It's inevitable. Thats not even up for discussion.
The question is whether it will happen in time, or can they maintain the momentum and pinch it whilst everyone has been looking at Collingwood and Sydney?
What is for sure though, is that they're no longer under the radar.
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Poll
