AFL Round 13 Hawthorn v Sydney: All the news, action and fallout from the SCG
Jai Newcombe put the country town of Poowong on the map with a record-breaking Hawthown debut which confirmed him as a favourite son of his local club.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There was a rush to source generators in the small Gippsland town of Poowong on Friday.
Cut off from the electricity grid by Victoria’s wild storms, some locals weren’t too worried about powering their lights and fridges.
Instead, they simply wanted to get their television sets working.
Friday night’s AFL match between Sydney and Hawthorn wasn’t a must-watch blockbuster in the eyes of many footy fans.
But for Poowong, it was not-to-be-missed television as one of the town’s own — Jai Newcombe — made his AFL debut for Hawthorn.
Stream selected Fox Footy shows on Kayo Freebies completely free this June including AFL 360, On The Couch, Bounce & more. No Credit Card. No-brainer. Register Free Now >
“We would have had something at the clubrooms, but we’ve got no power,” Poowong Football and Netball Club president Ted Attenborough said.
“I went up to my daughter’s place and watched it there. But some people in town organised generators for TVs to watch him.
“We’re all so pleased for him and his family. It’s good for a little country footy club and a little country town to have a good news story like this.”
Poowong is surrounded by dairy farms and has a population of less than 400.
There is a pub, a cafe, an IGA supermarket, a hairdresser, a church and a primary school.
But like many small country towns in regional Victoria, the football club which Newcombe has been entwined in from a young age is the heartbeat of the community.
The Poowong Magpies had not produced an AFL-listed player since Rudi Mandemaker, who was on Hawthorn’s list in 1988 and spent 1989 with Sydney but never played a senior game.
Until the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft on June 2, Newcombe was not even on an AFL list.
He was a second-year apprentice builder still living with his parents in Poowong and working in Warragul, half an hour up the road.
Newcombe would down tools of an afternoon before driving himself more than 100km each way to Box Hill to train with the Hawks’ VFL side.
But after just six VFL games, everything changed when the Hawks snapped up the 19-year-old with pick two in the mid-season draft.
Less than two weeks later, Newcombe has played in a winning AFL team, has set a new record for most tackles by a player on debut with 14 and is living with Hawthorn midfielder Jaeger O’Meara in Melbourne.
“I was halfway through the second year of the building apprenticeship this year but I obviously passed that up for the dream of a youngster,” Newcombe told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“I’ve moved from Poowong to Toorak, which is a bit of a change. But I’m loving that. Jaeger has been a massive role model. I’ve only been there for a week, but he’s been huge the whole way through.”
Newcombe trialled for Gippsland Power squads in a bid to show his wares in the NAB League and go down a traditional football path.
However, he was knocked back for those squads in each of his 16th, 17th and 18th years.
“As a youngster coming through, you think you’re good enough and when you don’t get the chance it’s a little bit disappointing,” Newcombe said.
“But you take the blows and roll on.
“I was a late developer. I wasn’t the size I am now three years ago, so that’s been the biggest development the last few years to get to where I am.
“I did plenty of gym work last year and I was on the tools, too, which helped.”
Newcombe began playing senior football for Poowong as a 16-year-old in 2018, while often still playing at least a half in the earlier under-18s game on the same day.
“Once he got his position in the seniors, the senior coach wanted him and all the kids in the under-18s wanted him so it was a bit of a tug of war,” Attenborough said.
“But he played in the seniors and more than held his own.”
While primarily a rebounding halfback, Newcombe was thrown forward at times and kicked 11 goals in a game in the under-18s in 2019.
“He took the ‘you know what’ that day,” Attenborough said.
“In the under-18s he was always one of the better players, so the ball was in his hands for every third or fourth possession.”
However, under the wing of Box Hill coach Sam Mitchell, Newcombe’s sound defensive talents were deployed through the midfield.
“(Mitchell) has been massive for me,” Newcombe said.
“He was a great inside player in his time and had some qualities that I’d like to implement into my game.
“I’m not the quickest going through the midfield, so I try and win the contest or put on as much pressure as I can when the ball’s in the area.”
Newcombe grew up a Hawthorn supporter, leading Attenborough to describe his as a “fairytale” story.
“It’s a tough road that he’s taken and there’s hurdles that he’s had to overcome, but it’s just so great to see not only one of your own but just a young bloke achieve something like that when not much has gone his way,” Attenborough said.
As evidenced on Friday night when he went head-to-head with Sydney stars Luke Parker and Josh Kennedy through the midfield, Newcombe looks a natural in the big league
But fitting in in upper class Toorak might be a different story.
“His old tradie ute might look a bit out of place there, but it still does the job,” Attenborough said.
JAI NEWCOMBE’S AFL DEBUT
21 Pressure Acts
14 Tackles
13 Disposals
4 Clearances
3 Score Involvements
3 Inside-50s
1 Mark
HAWK BOILOVER CONFIRMS WHY PIES MUST HEAD HUNT CLARKO
Ronny Lerner and Jon Ralph
Hawthorn has pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season on Friday night by blowing out overwhelming favourites Sydney by a stunning 38-point margin at the SCG.
In what was by far their best performance of the year, the Alastair Clarkson-coached Hawks hit the ground running from the opening bounce and were rarely challenged by the Swans.
Hawthorn defied its standing as the 17th-ranked team in the competition for contested possessions to lead that category by a huge margin of 13 at quarter time (47-34), before ultimately monstering the Swans 164-139 at the final siren.
Stream selected Fox Footy shows on Kayo Freebies completely free this June including AFL 360, On The Couch, Bounce & more. No Credit Card. No-brainer. Register Free Now >
WHY MITCHELL TALKING TO PIES DOESN’T UPSET HAWKS
Their superior pressure, ability to control the ball with more than double Sydney’s marks (25-10) and a convincing lead in disposals (101-78), helped them take a six-point quarter-time advantage.
The game continued to be played on Hawthorn’s terms in the second quarter and they exploited the Swans’ lack of zip to skip out to a 30-point lead after booting five of the first six goals.
And after a largely uneventful third quarter, the general tone of the match resumed as the Hawks exposed a disorganised, listless Sydney backline to pile on five of the last six goals for an emphatic result.
The shock result denied the Swans the chance to enter the top four this round and puts a huge dent in their hopes for a double chance.
The game came at a cost for both sides with Sydney and Hawthorn losing Will Hayward (concussion) and Harry Morrison (hamstring) respectively due to injury, while the Swans’ Sam Wicks could come under scrutiny from the match review officer for a headhigh hit on Will Day in the third quarter.
O’MEARA COURAGE SEALS THE DEAL
The game-winning play came nine minutes into the final quarter when Jaeger O’Meara took a courageous, contested mark against Tom McCartin on the half-forward flank.
McCartin came off second best and was left lying on the ground for many seconds which allowed O’Meara to capitalise and spring back to his feet.
The former Sun sent a long kick forward which cleared the pack and the crumbs were collected by Liam Shiels, who sprinted to the goalsquare to put Hawthorn up by 28 points.
INSTANT RECORD FOR NEWCOMER NEWCOMBE
Jai Newcombe wasn’t on an AFL list nine days ago, but after being picked up in the mid-season draft by the Hawks, he made a swift transition to senior footy this week and he didn’t disappoint on debut, laying a whopping 14 tackles — an VFL/AFL record for a first-gamer.
He also picked up 12 touches (seven contested) and four clearances).
FROST ICES FRANKLIN, MITCHELL HAS A BIG ONE
Apart from one brain fade in the third quarter, which saw him give away a silly 50m penalty to Wicks to turn a 50-50 chance at goal into a certainty from the goalsquare, Frost played one of the best games of his career.
The key defender limited Lance Franklin to just nine disposals and one goal.
Tom Mitchell also was instrumental in the Hawks’ win with 34 touches (16 contested), seven tackles and a goal.
JUMPIN’ JIATH INSPIRES HAWKS
Changkuoth Jiath got off to a great start when he pinged Lance Franklin for holding the ball on centre wing early in the first quarter.
It was a moment which set the tone for the exciting Hawthorn defender as he played one of the best games of his career, giving his side plenty of dash from defence with 28 touches (nine contested) and 10 intercepts.
PHILLIPS KICKS GOAL OF THE NIGHT
Tom Phillips kicked one of the goals of the night at the 18-minute mark of the second quarter when he gathered the spillage and quickly curled it around from a very tight angle next to the behind post to give the Hawks an 18-point lead.
It was a just result, too, because moments earlier Dane Rampe was inexplicably not penalised for holding the ball despite seemingly being stripped of the ball by a perfect Dylan Moore tackle.
Six minutes later, Luke Breust kicked an equally impressive goal from a similarly sharp angle 45m out.
SCOREBOARD
SWANS 3.2 5.3 6.4 7.9 (51)
HAWKS 4.2 9.3 10.4 14.5 (89)
LERNER’S BEST
Swans: Mills, Lloyd, Parker, Rampe, Amartey.
Hawks: Mitchell, Jiath, Frost, Ceglar, Hardwick, Newcombe, O’Meara.
GOALS
Swans: Amartey 2, Hayward, Franklin, Heeney, Florent, Wicks.
Hawks: Koschitzke 2, Moore 2, Phillips 2, Breust 2, Ceglar, Morrison, Mitchell, Wingard, McEvoy, Shiels.
INJURIES
Swans: Hayward (concussion).
Hawks: Morrison (hamstring).
LATE CHANGE
Ned Reeves (ankle) was replaced in Hawthorn’s selected side by Jonathon Ceglar.
UMPIRES
Stephens, Chamberlain, Fleer
VENUE
SCG
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 T.Mitchell (Haw)
2 C.Jiath (Haw)
1 S.Frost (Haw)
What Hawks will sacrifice for top-end draft picks
Hawthorn is adamant it won’t “sell the fabric of its football club” but will consider all options including trades of senior players seeking an Essendon-style influx of elite draft talent.
Hawthorn football boss Rob McCartney told News Corp on Friday the Hawks would keep their first pick — currently No. 2 overall — and were open to packaging two early second-rounders for another top-10 pick.
While Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell has been mentioned as a player who could be traded, McCartney said the club hadn’t had a single conversation about moving him on.
But clearly Mitchell, Chad Wingard and Jaeger O’Meara are the trio of talent who rivals will consider as players who the Hawks would trade for the right price.
The Hawks are open to mature conversations with senior players at year’s end given they must secure multiple early draft picks.
“We know we need to generate top-end picks through the draft but in saying that we also need to be aware you can’t sell the fabric of your football club,” McCartney said.
“It’s a careful and considered approach. We are nowhere near knowing names or considering who we might be able to generate opportunities through. But we can’t say it’s not something we wouldn’t consider. I am big on this and the club is big on this — the fabric of football clubs is really important.
“When a name is thrown up whether there is credence to the story or not, it generates discussion around the philosophy and for us it’s more about the philosophy than Tom Mitchell.
“We are definitely not at that stage and there hasn’t been a conversation with his manager or anyone at club level that suggests there is any sort of credibility to the story at the moment.”
The club’s only top-10 players drafted to the club are Will Day and Denver Grainger-Barras, with Day (ankle) back into the senior side on Friday night and Grainger-Barrass (knee) returning in a multi-club scrimmage on Sunday.
The Hawks will also give summer rookie selection Lachie Bramble games in coming weeks after a hamstring injury, having added Jai Newcombe and Jackson Callow in the mid-season draft.
Just as Essendon traded talent to secure picks 8-10 in the national draft, Hawthorn is open to trading into the top-10 given it holds the No. 20 pick and Collingwood’s second-rounder (pick 21).
“When it’s a really high-end pick (currently No. 2) the likelihood you can get a player who is a significant part of your football club there is pretty likely,” McCartney said.
“So we are less likely to do something like split that. But having our second-round pick and Collingwood’s second-round pick gives us some flexibility. Packaging that up could get us higher or we could take three picks.”
‘Angry’ Bathurst driver causes red-flag chaos
Penrite Racing’s Matt Payne secured provisional pole, but not before two huge crashes marred Bathurst 1000 qualifying.
Stalwart eyeing ‘Roos return
He has been missing from the past couple of Socceroos squads, but one of Australia’s best players remains hopeful of being recalled to the national team.