Hawthorn was once one of the most feared sides in the AFL, but its defensive pressure is now the worst in the competition
Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton has defended his players’ friendly attitude on the field as stats reveal the Hawks’ alarming slump down the pressure rankings this season.Coach Alastair Clarkson would be shocked at Hawthorn’s fall down the pressure rankings this season. A once intimidating side during the peak of its powers, the Hawks are now anything but in 2020.
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Hawthorn has lost its mean streak.
The team this week lashed for being too chatty with its opponents has also lost its distinct physical edge on its tumble down the ladder this season.
The once “unsociable Hawks” have become friendly pet budgerigars.
For years, Alastair Clarkson’s men have ramped up the pressure on the opposition. It’s been a staple.
Games against the Hawks always left good teams battered and bruised.
But in 2020, the brown and gold budgies are officially the worst pressure team in the competition.
According to Champion Data, the Hawks rank 18th in the league for general play and post-clearance pressure.
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That is a jaw-dropping number for a club which prided itself on its ground ball hunt, especially inside forward 50m, throughout its golden era.
The Hawks were ranked top-three for post-clearance pressure for five-straight seasons between 2012-16.
And it was still right up there last year as the Hawks were ranked second in the competition in pressure differential at + 5.4.
But that physical intimidation is gone as the Hawks move into a new, more youthful era. In other words, into the unknown.
They’re out of finals contention and have introduced a youth policy with one eye – according to president Jeff Kennett – already on 2021.
And Saturday’s clash against Port Adelaide has become mission impossible without two of their best players James Sicily (knee) and Jaeger O’Meara (hand).
Sicily is out for 12 months and O’Meara could be done for the year.
But young or not, Clarkson will want the Hawks’ new faces to re-establish some physicality and pressure on the opposition over the run home.
Individually, there have been some significant drop-offs.
Of the players to have played more than 15 games over the past two seasons, Connor Nash (-13.6), Liam Shiels (-11.9) and Paul Puopolo (-6.7) have suffered the biggest reductions.
Captain Ben Stratton on Thursday faced questions about the Hawks’ players’ approach after they were heavily criticised for their on-field friendliness in the loss to West Coast on Sunday night.
Stratton said he was happy for players to smile on the field 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.”
Premiership warrior Luke Hodge said the Hawks had lost their edge.
“They’re easygoing, they’re not that physical, brute team they used to be,” Hodge said on SEN.
“But it doesn’t look good when you’ve got your defenders joking around with the forwards, especially when you are 40 points down.
“On the flip side, I think Clarko knows how to get his players up. The group they’ve got now is more of a calming influence rather than that physical mindset of crash and bash.”
Melbourne great Garry Lyon said Clarkson would not have liked seeing Hawthorn players chat happily with their West Coast opponents at the weekend.
“There was a time not that long ago where the Hawthorn Footy Club was the most feared team in the competition and no one wanted to play them,” Lyon said on Fox Footy.
“A – because they were the best team there, but they played on an edge and had an edge about them and they became known as the unsociable Hawks.
“Sometimes they teetered over the edge but they wore it as a badge of honour because they made a really hostile environment for any opposition.
“I want to introduce you to a new team. They are the sociable Hawks.
“What you do now is you wander out as a full forward and you get a little joke, a couple of zingers, a pat on the back, a bit of a rub on the head.”
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Originally published as Hawthorn was once one of the most feared sides in the AFL, but its defensive pressure is now the worst in the competition