Another concussion blow for luckless Hawk

Hawthorn will rally around young ruckman Max Lynch after his horror luck with concussion continued in his AFL return against Adelaide at UTAS Stadium on Sunday.

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 23: Sam Mitchell, Senior Coach of the Hawks addresses his players during the 2023 AFL Round 06 match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Adelaide Crows at UTAS Stadium on April 23, 2023 in Launceston, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

HAWTHORN coach Sam Mitchell said the club will rally around luckless ruckman Max Lynch after he suffered his third concussion since the start of last year in Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to Adelaide at UTAS Stadium.

Playing his first AFL game for the season, Lynch got clipped in a marking test in the second quarter. The Hawks confirmed afterward that they didn’t bother conducting a concussion test given his history.

The 21-year-old has only played 11 games and had an extended break after suffering a concussion against Brisbane in round ten last year, also in Launceston.

He returned to play the final round against the Bulldogs, and Mitchell said they weren’t about to take any chances with the youngster in the 11.13(79) to 11.10 (76) loss.

“He’s had concussion history so as soon as we heard they were taking him for a concussion test I didn’t hover on that decision too long,” Mitchell said.

“We were very quick to pull him out of the game and hopefully he’s OK. I haven’t seen him yet after the game, hopefully it’s not too bad.

“We were ready to make that change pretty quickly given his history. It’s disappointing for him because he’s worked so hard to get back into the side.”

Head knocks are a major talking point in the game, with Sydney’s Paddy McCartin also out long term due to multiple concussions.

“Anyone who has head knock history, there’s obviously some concerns but we’ll wrap our arms around him and make sure he’s in a good place,” Mitchell said.

“There’s a much greater understanding of what it looks like in the competition now, which is a good thing.”

Max Lynch of the Hawks at UTAS Stadium on Sunday. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Hawks were desperately unlucky for the second straight week not to secure victory, which would have been their second at Launceston this year.

Just seven days after Harry Himmelberg’s spectacular mark and goal gave the Giants a two-point win over the Hawks, Adelaide’s Darcy Fogarty nailed a set shot from the boundary to give the Crows a three-point win.

Conor Nash was outstanding for the second straight game with 28 disposals, seven tackles, seven clearances and a goal, while Sam Frost’s intercept marking also kept them in the game.

The Hawks made 87 tackles, more than any team in any game this season.

“You couldn’t questionour desire and effort across the day. Whether it sapped them or not (towards the end), maybe there’s a bit of work to do on that,” Mitchell said.

“Our efficiency dropped right away in the last quarter, the last part they got on top in clearances and ability to break tackles.

“It’s a game of small margins for us at the moment. Even when they kicked that goal (Fogarty’s) we had three or four really good entries where they just got a finger on it.

“There’s lots of parts we were pleased with. We didn’t concede three straight goals (for the first time this year), we’ve been conceding a run of goals in every game this year.

“It was a coin flip in who could win that game, but in the end they were a bit cleaner and executed better right at the end.”

Although Fergus Green kicked three goals, the Hawks are sorely missing a tall option up forward and hope Mitch Lewis (sprained ACL) will return against the Bulldogs next week.

“Box Hill had another strong performance again, Jacob Koschitzke, Max Ramsden and Mitch Lewis are likely to be available,” Mitchell said.

“Obviously we miss the player he (Lewis) is, but also his energy and what he brings to the group.

“But he’s not going to totally change our whole forward structure and we’re not going to play a totally different way when he comes in.”

Originally published as Another concussion blow for luckless Hawk