Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn: Mitchell Lewis. Extended to 2026!

[Dewnior]

primary goal isn't to win games?

these are very driven ppl wanting to play & win.

The primary goal is to win premierships.

 

[TheFourPillars]

The primary goal is to win premierships.

Yes and to do that u must win games

 

[Dewnior]

Yes and to do that u must win games

Not this year. Getting games and development into our squad is more important. The wins will come.

It's important to keep in mind we fielded the youngest squad last weekend. This group forms the core of any premiership tilt this decade.

We have to get it right because if we don't it will be the first time in most of our lives that we won't have claimed a flag in every decade.

 

[TheFourPillars]

Not this year. Getting games and development into our squad is more important. The wins will come.

It's important to keep in mind we fielded the youngest squad last weekend. This group forms the core of any premiership tilt this decade.

We have to get it right because if we don't it will be the first time in most of our lives that we won't have claimed a flag in every decade.

You don't pick and choose when you want to win. You go out there with that intent every time. We had a strategy this year to win as many games as we can. We are not throwing that out after four games. Players have plenty of time to show something at box hill to force their way into the side. Just like Seamus this week there will be others that will come in through injury or form and get a chance at AFL

 

[thehardway]

You don't pick and choose when you want to win. You go out there with that intent every time. We had a strategy this year to win as many games as we can. We are not throwing that out after four games. Players have plenty of time to show something at box hill to force their way into the side. Just like Seamus this week there will be others that will come in through injury or form and get a chance at AFL

And don't underestimate what a win does for the club. It gives everyone a huge lift. The players were gutted after the loss on Sunday. Have a win and the players can celebrate and sing the song. The supporters can celebrate while here on BF we go over the top with praise and start talking about premierships.

 

[burner1]

Of course any time a player steps on to field they are going 100% for a win. But doesn’t mean club doesn’t make selection and list management decisions with an eye to the future - particularly where we are. We did it last 2 years (eg playing Mitchell and JOM out of position to expose our mids)

Back to Lewis - his injuries are becoming an issue - his body just doesn’t seem to stand up. Dunno if was carrying something already as was well down. Can we build a forward line around him? Or is just going to be one of those tall types who plays 10-15 times a year etc.

 

[TheFourPillars]

Of course any time a player steps on to field they are going 100% for a win. But doesn’t mean club doesn’t make selection and list management decisions with an eye to the future - particularly where we are. We did it last 2 years (eg playing Mitchell and JOM out of position to expose our mids)

Back to Lewis - his injuries are becoming an issue - his body just doesn’t seem to stand up. Dunno if was carrying something already as was well down. Can we build a forward line around him? Or is just going to be one of those tall types who plays 10-15 times a year etc.

Yes we did that, last year and the year before. At the start of this season both McCartney and Sam came out and said that selection would be on merits and not on playing kids just because they need exposure. We have a bunch of kids currently in the side that need AFL exposure and we will continue to develop them form and injury permitting. The days of trying out kids for the sake of it are over. They will need to earn it.

P.S. as for Lewis yes he is a concern

 

[Dewnior]

You don't pick and choose when you want to win. You go out there with that intent every time. We had a strategy this year to win as many games as we can. We are not throwing that out after four games. Players have plenty of time to show something at box hill to force their way into the side. Just like Seamus this week there will be others that will come in through injury or form and get a chance at AFL

I think what we are both saying can co-exist.

 

[Simon Crawshay]

Yes and to do that u must win games

Basically I think the main aim of any team should be to finish top 4 which gives you the best chance to make a preliminary final.

And you need to bank a lot of wins during the year to do that.

 

[TheFourPillars]

I think what we are both saying can co-exist.

It could but from what has come out of the club it wont. Every player that comes in or out of the side will be through form or injury. If we 0 - 15 things may change but i just dont see that atm

 

[Dewnior]

It could but from what has come out of the club it wont. Every player that comes in or out of the side will be through form or injury. If we 0 - 15 things may change but i just dont see that atm

It's more than just the players we field. It's the roles they play and the game plans and tactics being tested among other things.

 

[lethalselbow]

Unfortunately, Lewis being a late out was never a surprise.

Fingers crossed for next week, but will believe Lewis can get up for a game when he actually runs out onto the park.

 

[SSSSSS]

Mitch ''Hodge' Lewis is getting awfully close to Mitch 'Gumbleton' Lewis.

 

[Siri]

Unfortunately, Lewis being a late out was never a surprise.

Fingers crossed for next week, but will believe Lewis can get up for a game when he actually runs out onto the park.

Agreed. Sam said in his post match conference that Lewis is having more scans tomorrow, & then they'll know if it's a couple of days or something else. This is just absolutely terrible to hear. Effectively, this season has almost mirrored '23 in terms of Lewis' reliability, and there may be even more delays. Just can't count on him. It's imperative we target a key forward who can stay on the park. His prospective partnership with Chol was such a massive part of our rebuild. It ain't happening & our ineffectiveness in the F50 is having massive repercussions. Love the bloke, but hate his body.

 

[CHUBBSS]

Lewis form mirrors that of Brisbane, wonder how big the off season was,

Football is so fast now it doesn't let you get away without the right amount of conditioning

 

[The Chad and I]

Posted this 1 month ago.
I've gained stronger conviction on this since.

There could a club in need who thinks their program can get more out of Lewis than ours.
The club should play hard to get and extract max. value in a trade.

Lewis could be our Thommo/Hay and expedite our rebuild.

A couple of caveats on the following post below:
- Chol continues 1.5-2 goals a game. - Dear continues trajectory of improvement. I give each an 80% chance.

Lewis - if he doesn’t get on the park consistently this season and put up +40 goals I’d be inclined to trade him while his value is high.

I have rated Lewis highly since his first/second season but he just hasn’t put it together.

If rumours of a JUH play are true it makes his position especially tenuous if the first two conditions play out.

People won’t like this but it’s optimal.

Dear is gonna change a lot of our plans about the forward line imo.

 

[Bugs1977]

I putting my silver foil hat on LOL I am going to assume the knee causing him grief is the one he hurt last season with which at the time it was reported that he sprained his acl. There absolutely must be more to this as the soreness just keeps on rearing its ugly head. My just be time to put him in cotton wool and get it cleaned up or whatever the hell it needs just to get it right.

 

[Thrashor]

Posted this 1 month ago.
I've gained stronger conviction on this since.

There could a club in need who thinks their program can get more out of Lewis than ours.
The club should play hard to get and extract max. value in a trade.

Lewis could be our Thommo/Hay and expedite our rebuild.

One obvious candidate is Brisbane. Desperately need another key forward, in the window, don't need their first round draft pick this year.

 

[lethalselbow]

One obvious candidate is Brisbane. Desperately need another key forward, in the window, don't need their first round draft pick this year.

Isn't Lewis like Hipwood? They've got Danihher too. They don't need key forwards.

Keep him. I think it the club needs to get Lewis right. Wasn't fit/healthy in opening rounds and nothing has seemed to change. Specialist needed? Overseas specialist trip for a week to find out what's going on?

 

[TylerDurden]

If he needs surgery, put him in now. Our season is already in tatters anyway.

 

[rei154]

If he needs surgery, put him in now. Our season is already in tatters anyway.

If we get nothing out of him this year, but he doesn't miss a game for the next two I'd say that's definitely worth it.

 

[Bugs1977]

If he needs surgery, put him in now. Our season is already in tatters anyway.

It kinda makes you think why players for e.g. like Lewis (knee) or Weightman (elbow) don't get these injuries sorted out properly in the offseason rather than waiting and seeing if they settle down when it's been kind of obvious that they won't. In Lewis' case there was an incident when he slid for a mark after coming back 1/4 of the way through last season. Whilst going for the mark his knee bashed into the turf and from there he missed multiple games again until he was put on ice for the rest of the season.

IMO (just need to acknowledge it's my opinion) there has to be some relationship to the acl he strained which hasn't been able to settle down. It's almost getting to the point where a player that has suffered a full acl rupture and has had surgery to fix it would be healthier than where Mitch is with rest. I'm not saying I'd have preferred him to have ruptured his but something must be really compromised in the knee for it to not have settled down by now. As fans we're all frustrated so I can only just imagine how frustrated how Lewis must be.

 

[Yardie]

Mitch ''Hodge' Lewis is getting awfully close to Mitch 'Gumbleton' Lewis.

This is the ad I got at the bottom of the page.....!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Chad and I]

What's odd is that our best CONTESTED MARKING FORWARD is often in the top 2-3 for kms covered during a match.

Surely this has to change.
He is most dangerous close to goal.
Just keep him there and maybe he might not get injured so much.

 

[Big Hotdog]

heck it...get shem tatapu back on the list