AFL news 2024: Will Day, Jack Scrimshaw injuries: Hawthorn counting the cost after win over Richmond
Hawthorn mauled the Tigers at the MCG with a first-term blitz, but will they be left counting the cost as star Will Day and key swingman Jack Scrimshaw’s seasons hang in the balance?
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Will Day better get on the phone to Jack Steele.
The Saints skipper snapped his collarbone so badly in early 2023 that the X-rays made headlines, yet he missed just three weeks.
The first quarter was so dominant for the Hawks against the Tigers on Sunday that their 9.3 was their best first term since booting 10.2 against Sydney in round 2, 1991.
But Day smashing his right collarbone on teammate Jai Newcombe was the obvious sour point.
Fans barely noticed he was slowly trotting to the bench as the Hawks launched another attack but smashing this was a moment that could stall the serious momentum pushing Hawthorn’s season.
Sam Mitchell was as optimistic as can be when he spoke post-match and said Day hadn’t broken his collarbone but the coach said the midfielder “could play next week or he might not play again for the season”.
Hawks fans were left to try and get a good night’s sleep before finding tomorrow whether this sudden premiership contender has lost its best player.
Thanks to the pre-finals bye, Day now has 20 days until a likely Saturday elimination final in the first week of finals.
Lin Jong once famously strapped up the opposite shoulder to fool his opponents and played in a winning VFL grand final for Footscray just 17 days after busting a collarbone.
But the footy world will know Day has a problem with his right wing and all Hawks fans will be refreshing their social media feeds hoping for positive scan results come Monday.
Important defender Jack Scrimshaw also sat for most of the last term with a busted pinky finger.
Seven days earlier, Carlton’s Lachie Fogarty injured his collarbone in a far more innocuous incident and was soon after ruled out for the season.
With Day in the side this year, the Hawks have gone 11-4 but without him in the first six weeks won just once – they are stats you will read over and over this week.
It’s not that the Hawks missed Day on field all that much on Sunday against Richmond though.
Their scoring power just blew the Tigers away in the first term.
Hawthorn has scored less than 80 in a game once in 11 games.
Nick Watson put the team score into triple figures before three quarter time and the Hawks have now cracked the ton in four of their last five games.
The forwardline at the MCG looked so open on Sunday and the kicking inside it was beautiful as Jack Gunston galloped around like it was 2014 again.
Predicting anything is foolish this year but right now the most likely elimination final for these Hawks is against the Western Bulldogs and what a mouth-watering MCG match up that would be.
Certainly Richmond’s defence was overwhelmed early on Sunday afternoon.
Six months ago, not many would have expected the gap between these two teams to be so monstrous.
Richmond has been belted by injury this year yet its core centre bounce group in the first quarter was all experience – Toby Nankervis, Jacob Hopper, Tim Taranto, Shai Bolton, Jack Ross and Jack Graham.
Those Tigers could barely touch it.
Skipper Nankervis had one disposal in the first quarter, Bolton two, Taranto and Graham three each.
Damningly, as a team Richmond had 30 less disposals in the first term and still laid less tackles.
When they did find the footy, the Tigers turned it over and watched it go over their heads.
Hawthorn set up the ground so well that Richmond was constantly kicking to an outnumbered contest and the Hawks were kicking to teammates in open grass.
The inside-50 count of 23-6 was brutal and the Hawks cruised to nine goals and a 50-point lead at the first break.
It was ugly.
“There’s not a lot of fight in the Tigers at the moment,” coaching legend Mick Malthouse said 15 minutes into the contest on ABC Sport.
“There are not a lot of goals that have been hard fought. They have all been very soft goals.”
Malthouse is not usually the most sympathetic of commentators but even he felt for first-year coach Adem Yze.
“I look at Adem Yze sitting up in the box and I just feel sorry for him,” Malthouse said.
At quarter time you would have got even-money odds on a margin in the triple figures.
The Tigers perked up from there and had a fair dinkum crack but this was a game that was over at the 15 minute mark.
Sam Mitchell was disappointed his team didn’t crush an undermanned Carlton late last week and his frustration became evident as the Tigers stuck around in the second half.
Yze isn’t just the coach who has arrived as the party winds up, he’s so late to the good times that the wheelie bin full of empty tins left out the front has already been emptied.
And the quality left on his list may be tipped out further in the trade period.
The Hawks aren’t yet mathematically locked into finals but with North Melbourne to come next weekend you can put them in ink.
For Mitchell and Hawks fans, the party is well and truly just kicking off.
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