A major problem has emerged with Hawthorn’s star-studded midfield in 2021 — is it time to hit the trade table?

Hawthorn’s rebuild is in its infancy and while Hawk boss Justin Reeves says it’s a delicate balance, Jay Clark writes they must be aggressive at trade time.

Should the Hawks consider trading Tom Mitchell? Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

Something big is adrift in the Hawthorn engine room.

As much as the club is sowing the seeds for its future playing a dozen youngsters each week, it seems either the white flag has gone up in the guts or their clearance system is broken.

The bulk of Hawthorn’s remaining A-Grade talent is clearly in the middle.

But it seems remarkable that a unit featuring senior stars Jaeger O’Meara, Tom Mitchell, James Worpel, Chad Wingard, Liam Shiels and Ben McEvoy can be ranked last for clearances and centre clearances across the competition this year.

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Ben Cunnington had a huge game while Tom Mitchell had plenty of it, without much impact. Picture: Getty Images

McEvoy might not be the game’s best tap ruckman but the Hawks have invested heavily in the midfield stars around him in recent years, off-loading first-round draft picks for their trio of 27-year-olds, O’Meara, Mitchell and Wingard.

They all arrived at Hawthorn from other clubs to have a crack at another premiership but the Hawks look, in reality, as far off as any team, from a list perspective, after their golden run.

Now, the question is whether the Hawks look to offload one of these prime movers to improve their draft position — and Mitchell is the one who has stagnated most, perhaps understandably, since badly breaking his leg.

In his supreme Brownlow Medal year in 2018 Mitchell averaged a whopping eight clearances a game.

While his role may not be exactly the same in 2021, Mitchell’s clearance rate has dropped by half, with less than four takeaways a game.

The former Swan had only two clearances and one centre clearance against the Kangaroos.

Alastair Clarkson’s midfield headache officially became a migraine on Sunday when the onball division was shown up by North’s youngsters, including Luke Davies-Uniacke, Jy Simpkin and Ben Cunnington, continuing a worrying trend for the brown and gold.

Mitchell had just two clearances against the Roos. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

Clarkson said bluntly after the loss you can’t win games of footy when you are annihilated out of the middle like the Hawks were.

“Three of their guys had 37 clearances between them, which is a huge tally,” Clarkson said.

“Our defence, in the end, was just overwhelmed by the sheer avalanche of stoppage wins that the North side were able to have.

“I think we lost clearances 49 to 29 or something thereabouts, and I can’t recall teams winning games of footy when you lose by that margin in the middle of the ground.

“We need to get tougher and harder and stronger around the ball.”

Vice-captain O’Meara didn’t mince his words either, saying the Hawks were “spanked” out of the middle.

“We are embarrassed. It is not good enough,” O’Meara said.

“Today’s (let-down) was probably contest and stoppage, that’s where we have got our most experience in the side, which is most disappointing for me.

“We didn’t stand up in the middle and we got spanked in there, which is, individually, why I am so embarrassed because I am a big part of that midfield group.

“We went down by 20 in the clearances and it has been a bit of a theme for us as well and it really hurts and it is something we need to get right.”

Jaeger O’Meara said the Hawks were embarrassed after a meek effort against the Roos. Picture: AAP

As a consequence of the midfield malaise, the ball has lived in Hawthorn’s back half this season.

It is staggering, but Hawthorn is ranked last for time spent in possession in the back half. The Hawks average minus 12 minutes per game camped in defence.

That is twice the next worst. GWS Giants are ranked 17th with an average minus six minutes a game in the back half.

In the past, the great Hawthorn sides have intercepted and boldly attacked on the turnover, using lethal foot skills to go around the opposition on the outside and then slice them open when they looked inside.

But this year’s Hawks aren’t hurting rivals on the counter attack either, ranked 17th for scores off turnover, according to Champion Data.

They miss classy youngsters Will Day, even if fellow backman Changkouth Jiath has shown some exciting signs with his electric dash.

But, clearly, the time is now to be aggressive in the exchange period to help accelerate the rebuild, which president Jeff Kennett said can put the Hawks back in a great position to contend again from 2023.

That seems optimistic, but clubs are nothing without vision, and Jack Gunston, who Collingwood targeted in last year’s trade period, has played only one game this year because of his ongoing injury problem.

Chad Wingard is another senior Hawk struggling to impact the game. Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

Hawks’ chief executive Justin Reeves said the list management was a delicate balance after a phenomenal era of success that produced four premierships in a decade.

“When you have so many inexperienced players in your team coming through you need to surround them with some mature and senior players to help with their development,” Reeves said on 3AW.

“There’s no use throwing 20 kids out there to be smashed every week. They won’t learn that way.

“It’s about getting the balance right, we know where we are at. We have a number of years ahead of us to go back to the draft and bring in more high-end talent.”

Originally published as A major problem has emerged with Hawthorn’s star-studded midfield in 2021 — is it time to hit the trade table?