AFL 2020: Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton laughs off suggestions in-game smiling meant struggling Hawks were too ‘sociable’

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton is happy for his players to smile on the footy field knowing anyone who decided that meant they were too nice was taking a big risk.

Ben Stratton says the Hawks haven’t lost their hard edge. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton says there’s always a place to smile on the footy field.

But the three-time premiership winner said any suggestions that the one-time unsociable Hawks had lost their hard edge, based on a couple of incidents during last week’s loss to West Coast, was plain wrong.

Defender James Frawley was seen smiling and joking with Eagles forward Josh Kennedy after halftime at Optus Stadium last Sunday, with the Hawks well behind on the scoreboard.

It moved commentator and Melbourne great Garry Lyon to declare he “hated” to see players behaving like that and questioned if Hawthorn, 16th on the ladder with just four wins, had moved from unsociable to sociable.

“I’m happy for the abuse to come my way, I might be outdated, I might be old school, I hated that,” Lyon said on Fox Footy.

But Stratton, who will pay his 200th game against Port Adelaide on Saturday, said assuming anything based on vision was “risky” and denied the suggestion the Hawks had lost their edge.

“There’s always a place on the footy field to smile. I love seeing Chipper (Frawley) smile and the way he goes about it, I don’t think he’s doing that on purpose. He has played his whole career like that and he’s had a pretty good career, so I’ve got no issues with that.

“It’s one bit of vision that has been blown out of proportion. Basing everything on that would be a risk.”

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Stratton did concede the Hawks were in a “rut” this year, but having signalled an intention to blood more young players, the captain was excited about what was to come.

Injuries to James Sicily (knee) and Jaeger O’Meara (hand) have opened the door for at least two changes, with youth the likely direction for coach Alastair Clarkson.

Stratton said the Hawks had “found a ripper” in Will Day, who has played six games this year and was compared by the captain to star Magpie defender Jeremy Howe.

“The way he reads the ball, there’s a bit of Jeremy Howe about him, he just sweeps across halfback,” Stratton said.

“I’m not sure he has the hangers in him like Howe does, but he floats across and he’s not afraid to put his body on the line, which is the thing I am most impressed about.

“There’s not much to him as far as size, but he just has a crack. We’ve found a ripper there and hopefully we find a couple more over the next few weeks.”

Stratton, 31, said he was yet to make a decision about his own playing future beyond 2020.

“We’ve got six games left, I’ll put my heart and soul into them and see what happens after that,” he said.

Originally published as AFL 2020: Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton laughs off suggestions in-game smiling meant struggling Hawks were too ‘sociable’