Adam Cooney admits he got a little bit of enjoyment seeing Hawthorn smashed by Gold Coast

I’M not proud of it but I got a sick sensation of joy watching the Hawks battle away against the Suns; the evil in me came out. Welcome to the real world lads, it sucks.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson after speaking to his players.

CYRIL, Paul, Isaac, Luke, Liam, Will, Jack, welcome to the real world lads.

While watching the Hawks’ capitulation against Gold Coast on Sunday evening — leaving them 0-3 — I must admit the evil in me came out a touch.

I’m not proud of it but I got a sick sensation of joy watching the Hawks battle away with no luck, belted off the park by a usually inconsistent Suns side.

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HORROR START: WE’RE UP FOR THE FIGHT: CLARKSON

You’ve had your time in the sun, fellas, now surely it’s time to embrace the grind of inconsistency, multiple losses and that feeling that sits in your guts from Sunday night until Wednesday after you’ve lost three in a row and question yourself as a player and team and wonder when your next win is coming from.

It’s uncharted waters for a host of Hawthorn players who are so used to success that this period of on-field instability will test them in ways they are certainly unaccustomed to.

From the outside it looks like the Hawks are in for a long year.

Hawthorn are bottom of the ladder after three rounds.

Shaun Burgoyne, Luke Hodge and Josh Gibson could all depart at season’s end if the team’s performance doesn’t improve.

Given the fact they sold the farm to get Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell, letting Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis go for peanuts, while trading in Tyrone Vickery, it looks likely the Hawks next rebuild-redevelopment phase is in full swing.

If it’s not it should be.

Believe me, I’ve been through these phases of redevelopment enough to know that times can get tough, whispers in the corridor get louder, young players whinge to other players about senior players performances, coaches get questioned.

What the Hawks’ leaders need to do now is stick together, make sure they squash any unwanted chatter if they hear it, and work towards getting better and getting plenty of games into their younger players.

It will be a monumental task now for the Hawks to make the finals, so it will be interesting to see how the players mentioned off the top, will handle the pressures of being in an underperforming team.

The Hawks face Geelong and West Coast in the next fortnight, two losses there and it’s officially season over for the once formidable outfit.

Where does this leave Alistair Clarkson?

No doubt his future at the club is 100 per cent in his hands.

He’s arguably the best coach in the history of the game, but does he think he is the man to stick around for the next couple of years while the Hawks build up to their next crack at a flag?

There are a number of teams with coaches under the pump this season, could Clarko look at taking the reigns at one of these clubs, as a new challenge to test himself again and take a group from outside the eight to premiers?

Or does he stick around to take this new group of Hawthorn players through this next phase?

Jaeger O’Meara didn’t enjoy his return to Metricon Stadium.

What the Hawks have in their back pocket is room in their salary cap to entice another big name to the club.

If, by some miracle, they entice Nat Fyfe to the club at season’s end, in my opinion, that fast tracks their development back into finals contention again straight away.

What they also need is speed. They look slow the Hawks and no doubt speed will be the focus in the coming draft and trade period.

Soon they will have the league’s best facilities out at Dingley, they have a huge membership base, and importantly, a history of success.

Staff turnover has been high in the last 12 months with quality people leaving the club — combine this with their ongoing search for a new CEO — stability starts at the top.

I may have gone prematurely, but in my opinion I think it’s season over for the Hawks, it’s time to stay positive with the playing group and look to the future.

It’s going to be an interesting period for the Hawthorn Football Club, one which will test many of their players like never before.