Matthew Lloyd on why Hawthorn looms as a premiership wildcard
THE most successful club of the past decade might look completely different to the side that won four premierships in seven years but doubt Hawthorn at your peril, Matthew Lloyd writes.
Hawthorn
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A MASTER coach, unquestionable top-end talent and a dream run home sees Hawthorn as the biggest premiership wildcard in this even season.
Hawthorn will play finals, it is now just a question of how high on the ladder it can finish to give itself a genuine opportunity at going deep into September and maybe even a premiership tilt.
It sounds crazy, but a golden opportunity stares the Hawks in the face over the next few months, one that no other side above them has.
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Hawthorn’s nine wins includes the scalps of premiership fancies Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne.
Call it opportunity, call it luck, call it whatever you like, but Hawthorn plays the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 18th-ranked sides in five of its remaining seven home-and-away games.
The Hawks also play Geelong and Sydney, who they are more than capable of beating when at their best, so they could not have asked or dreamt for a better run home than what they have ahead of them.
Giants captain Phil Davis spoke during the week on Fox Footy about the inequity of this AFL fixture and how some better credentialed sides will miss out on playing finals, yet others not so good will make it because of their fixture.
Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield went even further, labelling the 22 games a season for each club farcical because we now have 18 teams in the competition and the fact that two teams can play each other twice in a season before having played another side once.
I agree with their opinions and think a 17-game season would be ideal.
Phil Davis was most likely speaking of Hawthorn’s run home when discussing the inequity and would believe that the Giants are a superior side to the Hawks, considering they beat them in Sydney just two weeks ago, yet will probably miss out on the eight.
Hawthorn wouldn’t care what any other team thinks and would suggest that it was injury and early season form slumps that cost the likes of GWS, Essendon and Adelaide the privilege of playing finals. Fixturing is a league problem, not Hawthorn’s, and the Hawks need to take full advantage of the situation they find themselves in.
Fourteen wins for Hawthorn should be the minimum which consolidates their position in the eight; 15 or 16 will have them knocking on the door of the top four.
That should be the aim considering that the Hawks’ next three matches are against Brisbane, Carlton and Fremantle.
Alistair Clarkson has his team playing high pressure football, which keeps them in games consistently.
The Hawks have averaged 10 goals a game as a result of turnovers which is the third best in the competition. Only Richmond and Melbourne have applied more pressure create a scoring opportunity.
Hawthorn are ranked 5th in both points scored and conceded which is a great sign of a perfectly balanced game plan. Hawthorn don’t have an elite key forward or defender any more, but they do have some of the best flankers in the game who are in red hot form.
Luke Breust has 36 goals and is currently the best small forward in the game. Jack Gunston is still at the peak of his powers while James Sicily would be the All-Australian half-back flanker if the team was to be announced this week.
Isaac Smith continues to rival Andrew Gaff as the best winger in the game with his run and carry and ability to kick goals.
Tom Mitchell is not as damaging as many would like him to be, but he may well be a Brownlow Medallist in a few months. I think the football media just need to judge him for what he is, and that is an inside clearance machine who makes every other midfielder around him better.
Mitchell continually gets the ball going Hawthorn’s way through his clearance work which allows for Hawthorn to lock the ball inside their forward fifty — and that is how they generate most of their score.
Clarkson spoke candidly a number of weeks ago in that he had one eye on next year as it was unlikely that the Hawks were capable of winning this year’s premiership.
I just wonder if the goalposts have moved in recent weeks.
The Hawks’ midfield depth is their biggest concern but Richmond aside, there wouldn’t be to many teams that would be scaring Clarkson at the moment.
Injuries are decimating teams like Sydney, West Coast and Collingwood so if Hawthorn can take full advantage of the draw and maintain a healthy list, a spot in the last four is there for the taking.
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Originally published as Matthew Lloyd on why Hawthorn looms as a premiership wildcard