AFL 2023: Hawthorn learning to play with Sam Mitchell’s ruthless edge, writes Mark Robinson

Sam Mitchell played on the edge, and his young team won’t back down. And the Hawks could be the most dangerous 16th placed side ever at this stage of a season, writes Mark Robinson.

Nick Daicos cops some rough treatment.

When Sam Mitchell was inducted into the Hall of Fame in June he said he hoped he would be remembered as a player with a ruthless edge.

“I hope I was nasty, but within the rules,’’ he said. “Competitiveness is about winning within the rules.

“You have to have an edge and I hope the teams I coach have that.’’

Mitchell’s Hawks were edgy on Saturday. They are too young and not yet seasonally battle-hardened to be considered the “unsociable Hawks’’, which was the moniker bestowed on the three-peat Hawks, but green shoots of nastiness are poking their heads up.

Mitchell won the coaches box battle on Saturday and his team the chocolates against Collingwood.

Fox Footy commentator Ben Dixon described it as “brilliant coaching’’ from Mitchell.

“I was there live and I have to give Sam credit,’’ he said.

“Good coaches are very strong in character and they invite challenge where some coaches can be strong in character and not invite challenge.

“This group will always have his DNA. This is his first year on the clock (because) he inherited the list last year then he cleared the midfield out (Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara), and they’ve been in the top three all year for midfield, so his DNA is all over this now.

“His edge … he is very strong-minded person who likes to be challenged, and that’s challenged by the opposition coaching box and obviously challenged by his coaching staff, and his players

“It’s good recipe for a coach.

Finn Maginness and Josh Daicos get to know each other on Saturday. Picture: Michael Klein

“He would’ve planned for Collingwood for weeks. He built this game up, told them if you’re going to write your own ticket here, there’s no bigger stage. They’re the No.1 seed, there will be a big crowd and we can get them, and we get them by getting after them and we’re going to do it nasty.

“Sam always played with an edge. It was a competitive juice not many have. It’s competing on the red line, pushing yourself physically, mentally and pushing the opposition.’’

The Hawks have won six games, which includes wins over the Pies, Brisbane and St Kilda, and would rate as the most dangerous 16th positioned team at round 21 arguably the game has seen.

They have been inconsistent, and that happens with young teams trying to learn to play offensive footy, but if you asked the players, they’d hate that their season is finishing in three weeks.

They are dangerous and that edge comes in many facets, one of which is the use of a tagger, a tactic which has been shunned for a decade because coaches opted for “team defence’’, but a tactic/role which could find itself back in footy across the board, in this finals series and beyond.

Jarman Impey shares his thoughts with Scott Pendlebury. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Hawthorn’s go-to man is Finn Maginness. On Saturday, he went to Nick Daicos – he was “Finned’’, as Hawks fans like it to be known – and when the howdy-do started and Collingwood went after Maginness, the Hawks went after Nick and then Josh, and then nobody was backing down.

“When they hit, they hit hard,’’ Dixon said. “And Collingwood didn’t like it. The Pies are very good at offensive running, so if you’re physical with them you can wear them down, and then they get in two minds when they get the ball. Sam put their offence and defence in two minds.’’

On average, the Hawks are the youngest team (average 24 years) and least experienced team (75 games) in the competition.

Mitchell has tried to coach with an offensive slant with what appears to be a desire for plenty of handball.

That changed against the Pies, hence Dixon’s description of “brilliant coaching’’.

From rounds 6-20 this year, the Hawks’ ration was roughly one kick to one handball, and averaged about 200 kicks.

Sam Mitchell gets under the skin of Joel and Scott Selwoodghis playing days.

On Saturday, that profile drastically changed. The Hawks had 250 kicks. Their marks average from rounds 6-20 was 89. On Saturday, they took 139 marks. Play-on from rounds 6-20 was 36 per cent. On Saturday, it was 29 per cent.

“Most young coaches, and this is what Sam learnt with Clarkson and the guys, is ‘We don’t save games we win games’ … you learn to win games,” Dixon said.

“Listen to the James Sicily interview after the game, he spoke about the big stage for them. “Sam built it up, saying we’ve had to get used to this, a big crowd, MCG … the boys were breathing fire.

“If you watched it closely, they kicked it around until Collingwood had to go one-on-one and then they pulled them apart.

“(I) will say it again, it was brilliant coaching.

“These young kids are absorbing it. It’s fast-tracked learning. Look at North Melbourne and compare them to Hawthorn. Who has played the most exciting brand this year? Hawthorn by a mile.

“North Melbourne has fallen back into chasing bums now, that’s all they do. Sam’s saying, we don’t chase, we make teams chase us.’’