AFL 2021 Melbourne v Hawthorn: Luke Breust snap ties up contest to leave Dees clinging to top spot
Relentless Hawthorn tackling has gone unrewarded, according to coach Alastair Clarkson, and could have proved decisive in the outcome of a thrilling draw with the Demons.
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Legendary coach Alastair Clarkson on Saturday night thrust the holding the ball rule back in the spotlight after umpires rewarded just three out of Hawthorn’s 81 tackles at the MCG.
The eerie draw against Melbourne played out at a soulless and empty MCG proved the Hawks have not lost any motivation or desire to go all-out for Clarkson, who has 27 home-and-away games left at the club.
Hawthorn’s pressure rating soared to an elite 206 (AFL average 180) — a season-high for the club in a clear sign the effort was unquestionable as it eroded a second-quarter deficit of 27 points, and the pressure was largely led by often-scrutinised Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell (39 disposals).
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But Clarkson was — again — frustrated that most of that effort was ignored by whistleblowers.
“The disappointing part was we had over 80 tackles and only three holding the balls — we just didn’t get rewarded for our super effort in that space,” Clarkson said.
“We would like to think that the effort we applied in terms of our tackling we would’ve got a little bit more reward in some of the free kicks.”
The interpretation has long bugged Clarkson, who made a similar pointed remark when his premiership dynasty collapsed in the 2016 semi-final loss to Western Bulldogs.
That night the Hawks laid 104 tackles for just three holding the ball whistles. Clarkson also vented his frustration after last year’s match against North Melbourne, when zero free kicks were paid from his team’s 69 tackles.
Clarkson would like AFL lawmakers to remove the prior opportunity ruling so that players who are set upon can be penalised as soon as they grab the Sherrin.
Shaun Burgoyne, the AFL’s oldest man, laid 10 tackles for the first time in three years while Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara, Liam Shiels and Dylan Moore all had six tackles as the Hawks won the count 81-60.
The first draw from 167 games between the clubs was also the first time the Hawks had taken premiership points off the Demons in three years and a 50-point improvement from round 5.
Luke Breust’s last-minute snap levelled scores as the 17th-plcaed Hawks took a significant step towards avoiding their first wooden spoon since 1965 by moving four premiership points plus 12.7 per cent clear of North Melbourne.
The No. 1 draft pick appears headed to Arden St while the result looks as good as a win for the Demons’ minor premiership hopes, given their percentage is inferior to Western Bulldogs and Geelong.
Former Demon Sam Frost’s risky soccer kick exiting the backline looked set to backfire when Max Gawn pounced on the loose ball and spotted Angus Brayshaw inside 50m.
But Brayshaw’s set-shot missed before Breust sent the ball back to the middle with 41 seconds on the clock.
The Hawks had been listless in their past two games since Clarkson was told he was no longer required, although the players only learned of the coaching succession plan before last week’s 62-point loss to Fremantle.
But teenage defensive architect Denver Grainger-Barras showed signs of future stardom and next coach Sam Mitchell can bank on rebuilding his backline around the prized draft pick, Will Day and Changkuoth Jiath.
Clarkson was thrilled that his young side won the final three quarters of the match.
“The pressure we were able to apply meant Melbourne were unable to get that free-flowing game going with chains from the middle of the ground, which they like to play with,” he said.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get the win, but we gained a hell of a lot out of the game. For our younger players to know they can come up against a high-quality opponent and compete and stay in the contest was really beneficial for their footy going forward.”
Clarkson said the Hawks rushed the footy early as they went at a woeful 48.1 per cent kicking efficiency in the first quarter, coughing up 12 clangers.
Jake Lever — Melbourne’s spoil and intercept weapon — repelled forward thrusts as if he was playing ping-pong against a wall.
But the Demons went at just 37 per cent in forward 50m, which was some 27 per cent worse than the slicker Hawthorn forwards.
The Demons dominated out of the middle as Christian Petracca stormed to four centre takeaways in the first half as he and Jack Viney cashed in on Max Gawn’s mighty palms.
Gawn, again, heavily impacted the finish to a frantic match in another trademark captain’s game.
Luke-warm Dees cling to top spot after Breust spoiler
A stunning result unfolded at the MCG on Saturday night, with Hawthorn and Melbourne playing out the second draw of the season thanks to a last-minute snap from Luke Breust.
It was an eerie feeling at the fan-less MCG as the siren sounded, in a battle that was far removed from the expectations of a premiership contender vs wooden spoon contender.
The result is the continuation of poor results for Melbourne against bottom-ranked sides, with the draw now sitting alongside recent losses to Adelaide, Collingwood and GWS.
Trailing by 26 points late in the second quarter, Hawthorn were sparked into action by three successive red time goals to Jacob Koschitzke, Tom Phillips and Luke Bruest, the Hawks narrowed the deficit to just 11 through two quarters.
The prospect of a stunning upset intensified in the third quarter, with the Hawks suddenly becoming the more dangerous of the two teams with the ball in hand, zipping the footy from end-to-end while more than holding their own in tight.
The prolific Tom Mitchell neatly finished on his left at the punt road end in the dying minutes of the third quarter to bring the Hawks within one point at the final change.
With all the questions being asked of the suddenly shaky Demons, Mitch Lewis added to the concern by calmly drilling a set shot from the pocket in the first minute to give Hawthorn their first lead of the night.
Consecutive goals to Bayley Fritsch and Kysaiah Pickett steadied the ship for Melbourne, but the Hawks refused to die, before premiership hero Breust produced the classy snap with 43 seconds left to level the scores and secure the shock draw for the Hawks.
PRIOR OPPORTUNITY?
Melbourne speedster Jayden Hunt provided an early highlight, emerging from a congested pack to curl one home from 45m out on a slight angle to kick the Demons first goal of the night.
The Hawks had every reason to feel hard done by however, as Hunt attempted to step around Daniel Howe who stripped Hunt of the football.
No whistle was blown, leaving Hunt to scoop up the footy and finish truly. Surely attempting to step around an opponent is prior opportunity.
FUTURE OF THE HAWKS ON FULL DISPLAY
It’s been a tough season for Hawks fans but a passage from a young trio in the second quarter was just one of many moments that would bring a smile to their face.
Collecting the ball on half back, James Cousins took two bounces down the members wing before delivering the ball for Emerson Jeka to crash a pack.
Cousins then followed up his own work to deliver a pinpoint pass to Koschitzke who went back and slotted Hawthorn’s third goal of the night, giving fans an exciting glimpse into the future.
PETTY CONCERN
Important Melbourne defender Harrison Petty went down to the rooms in the second quarter appearing to be touching his hamstring.
To the relief of Demons fans, the tall back would re-enter the game minutes later, playing an important role repelling the Hawks persistent attack to finish with nine disposals and four intercepts.
SCOREBOARD
DEMONS 4.4 6.7 9.10 11.13 (79)
HAWKS 1.2 5.2 10.3 12.7 (79)
PITMAN’S BEST
Demons: Petracca, Oliver, Viney, Salem, Fritsch, Gawn, Petty
Hawks: Mitchell, Worpel, Breust, O’Meara, Phillips
GOALS
Demons: Fritsch 3, Pickett 2, Brown, Hunt, McDonald, Neal-Bullen, Spargo, Brayshaw
Hawks: Breust 3, Lewis 2, Howe, Koschitzke, McEvoy, Phillips, Worpel, Mitchell, Moore
INJURIES
Hawks: Conor Nash (was at exposure site) replaced in selected side by James Cousins
UMPIRES
Power, Stevic, Stephens
VENUE
MCG
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
PITMAN’S VOTES
3 Tom Mitchell (HAW)
2 Christian Petracca (MEL)
1 Clayton Oliver (MEL)
Goodwin admits consistency is a problem
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin was disappointed to come away with a draw against Hawthorn, lamenting the Demons’ lack of consistency over the last month of football.
“To be a really, really good club you want to be consistent. Every time you step out on the field you want to play the same way and for the large part of the season, we’ve been able to do that but there’s been patches in the last month where we have fluctuated,” Goodwin said.
“It’s another lesson for us in terms of what’s required. This is about building a winning culture; we just weren’t ruthless enough tonight in the areas we really value.”
The result continued a recent trend of struggles against lower ranked teams, with Melbourne missing multiple opportunities to strengthen their spot on top of the ladder.
“We respect the competition. Every team we play against is a challenge. There’s no question our best games have come against the top eight teams and some of the teams we are expected to win we haven’t quite got the results.
“I’m not too concerned about what that looks like, I am concerned about how we play and become unconditional about how we play week after week and that’s what builds a really strong footy team.”
The mood was flipped in the Hawthorn camp, with Alistair Clarkson proud of the young Hawks ability to stand up in the contest.
“Enormous satisfaction for us. We’re a young side coming up against a top of the ladder side, we gave them a three or four goal head start, for us to get ourselves back into the contest and give ourselves a chance to win was a real credit,” Clarkson said.
Naturally, the debate around the draw was a talking point, with Goodwin in favour of playing until a winner is declared.
“I like to see a result. We play the game to win. If you looked at the last centre bounce of the game, we were setting up to try and win the game. I think our supporters and fans love that, to see a result at the end of the day, however that may take place I think as a competition we should look at it.”
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