AFL Hawthorn v Collingwood: Alastair Clarkson masterminds 19-point win
If this was a job application for the position of Collingwood coach, Alastair Clarkson aced. But the Hawks mastermind was in a philosophical mood after the win.
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After Alastair Clarkson sent a reminder he is still one of the best coaches in the game with a typically defiant win over Collingwood, he had a message to the Hawks’ supporter base: “Stick fat”.
After the 19-point win over the Pies, a philosophical Clarkson waxed lyrical about his time at the club, recalling the past exploits of a young Lance Franklin and planting the seeds of the Hawks’ dynasty at the draft.
He said the same excitement is now there for a new generation — even if he won’t be around to steer the ship.
“I can remember, in 2005, when we drafted some of these young lads, like the Rougheads and the (Tom) Murphys and the (Jordan) Lewises and the Franklins and (Cyril) Riolis and (Grant) Birchalls through that two or three-year period that our members were there supporting us,” Clarkson said.
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“Our club has enjoyed more success than any other club in the competition (in recent years), but there’s also been some tough times and that’s what footy brings.
“That’s what life brings. That’s the great beauty of the game, it’s all part of an overall journey, we can’t always be up the top.
“I still recall the day Bud kicked his first bag of six against Richmond down at Launceston in about 2006. It was a milestone for him and that’s what we’re searching for.
“We’re hoping that there’ll be wins along the way ... but sometimes the wins will come in just the exposure that these guys get to playing AFL footy.
“For our supporters, have excitement that you are there when you’re seeing Lachie Bramble debut for the Hawks and the day that (Jacob) Koschitzke kicked five goals.”
Clarkson said “not one bit” had changed for him, despite the knowledge he has two games left as coach of the Hawks, before Sam Mitchell takes over.
“It’s about trying to get every minute and every hour that these lads can train and prepare,” he said.
“We know where we’re at as a footy club, we know we need to get better.
“We’ve got the Bulldogs next week and then Richmond. Wow, what a great way to test ourselves, just see where we’re at, give some lads some more exposure.
“I know the club’s been bashed around a little bit in the last little while with the way that we’ve handled this (succession plan).
“It’s not all doom and gloom.”
Interim Collingwood coach Robert Harvey said he was yet to discuss his future with the Magpies’ hierarchy as he focuses on steering his side through the last two games of the season.
“It’s just trying to get all the pieces together and trying to get what we are trying to achieve in this last nine weeks,” Harvey said.
“I’d like to win a few more games, yes, and that’s disappointing, but, in the end, it is good fun, I like it, it’s what I do.”
He said any discussions about his chances of becoming the full-time coach at Collingwood were on the backburner.
“That’ll come in time, the right time,” he said.
“I said at the start I’m solely committed to doing the job at hand, so nothing changes there.
“I’ve still got two more weeks of that, so I’m going to try and execute that as best I can.”
The Pies limped out of the blocks against the Hawks and found themselves five goals down at halftime, before mounting a late effort to peg the margin back to 19.
While disappointed with his side’s effort, he was pleased with the Pies’ young brigade, particularly 19-year-old Finlay Macrae, who was given a taste of elite footy by 44-possession Hawk Tom Mitchell.
“He’s learning against some very seasoned experienced guys, so he’s only going to get better,” Harvey said of Macrae.
“He spent some time on Mitchell today or (James) Worpel or (Jaeger) O’Meara, so there’s some good learnings for him out of that.
“We’re on record as to saying that we want to get these games into these kids and we want to see what they can produce and I think we’re liking what we see.”
CLARKO ORCHESTRATES MAGPIE DOWNFALL
Another day, another Clarko masterpiece.
Collingwood fans have been fed an up close and personal look at what their reality could be next season as departing Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson orchestrated their side’s downfall to the tune of 19 points at the MCG.
And wouldn’t they be salivating?
Of course, plenty has to play out, but the Pies must move heaven and earth to ensure the best coach in footy is at their helm next season.
In a clash between two teams in the lower echelon of the ladder, Hawthorn executed its coach’s plan better: the Hawks controlled the footy, had a mountain of uncontested possession and heaped pressure on the Pies every time they touched it.
The Hawks average 88.8 marks a game in 2021. They had 87 to halftime on Sunday — an indication Collingwood’s pressure just wasn’t there. Remarkably, all eight of their first-half goals came from Collingwood turnovers. Game over.
Tom Mitchell just loves playing Collingwood. He had leather poisoning with 44 disposals, adding this destructive performance to previous iterations of 54 and 50 touches against the Pies.
Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley once said Mitchell’s influence on the game was “overblown”, intimating that he found a lot of the footy, but didn’t necessarily hurt teams.
On Sunday, he sliced the Pies to pieces and was the Hawks’ chief creator with 12 score involvements and a goal.
Chad Wingard is in a purple patch of form, backing up his 32 touches and two goals in the Hawks’ upset win over Brisbane with 30 disposals.
For the Pies, Jordan De Goey continued his improvement in the midfield with 28 disposals, including12 contested, while Taylor Adams (30) and Jack Crisp (28) found a heap of it, but they had few helpers.
The ruck battle was an intriguing one, with both Brodie Grundy and Jonathon Ceglar having an influence for their respective clubs.
The Hawks will take an injury concern out of the win, with James Worpel subbed out early in the last with a foot complaint.
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
With finals out of the question, there wasn’t a whole lot to play for, but, if fans were looking for something to smile about, they’d be pretty pleased with the youngsters at both clubs.
The Pies had four teenagers in the side and two of them made an immediate impact, 18-year-old Jack Ginnivan booting their first goal and Finlay Macrae, 18, the second. Fellow 18-year-old Ollie Henry then bobbed up with the first of the second quarter.
At the other end, Mitch Lewis, 22, snagged the Hawks’ first and 21-year-old Dylan Moore their third — sandwiched between 38-year-old father time Shaun Burgoyne’s deadeye set shot — before 22-year-old Jack Scrimshaw kicked the fourth. Jacob Koschitzke caught the eye with three goals in his return to the side.
Moore has come on in leaps and bounds in 2021. The 2018 VFL premiership player with Box Hill had struggled to lock down a spot in the senior side, but has played 20 games for the Hawks this season and booted an impressive 27 goals.
CLARKO NOT PHONING IT IN
He might be on the way out the door, but the fire and passion is still there for Clarkson.
Vision emerged from the coaches box of Clarkson having a little trouble with the phone.
You think he was pleased?
The lip readers would have had a field day as Clarko whacked the desk in front of him and his blood boiled an assistant tried in vain to fix the issue.
Bless him.
THE STITCH-UP
You couldn’t help but laugh when big Pie Brodie Grundy snapped up the loose ball, heard a familiar voice and gave a laces out handpass.
Problem was, that voice was former teammate Tom Phillips.
Phillips, who played 89 games for the Pies before crossing to the Hawks at the end of last season, had clearly called for the footy and gleefully accepted his former clubmate’s delivery, driving the Hawks’ forward.
MAYNE MAN ‘HEART AND SOUL’
Chris Mayne is a lesson in persistence.
Few players were as maligned as the workmanlike Pie when he crossed from Fremantle and struggled.
But the 32-year-old, who this week announced he would hang up the boots at season’s end, reinvented himself and, under Robert Harvey, has settled on the half-back line.
“It’s great to see a guy go out with plenty left in the tank,” Harvey said of his charge on Fox Footy.
“We’ve talked about him a lot this week, because he’s a heart and soul guy for us.
“I’ve got great respect for what that guy’s done, the self-belief, the work rate, the mental toughness of that fella to be able to get through is a lesson for all and we draw on that a lot.”
Mayne was among the Pies’ best triers with 26 touches and seven marks.
SCOREBOARD
HAWTHORN: 4.2 8.3 13.5 15.7 (97)
COLLINGWOOD: 2.2 3.3 8.4 12.6 (78)
GOALS
Hawks: Koschitzke 3, Howe 2, Moore 2, Burgoyne, Lewis, McEvoy, Mitchell, Nash, O’Meara, Scrimshaw, Worpel
Pies: Ginnivan 3, Elliott 2, Mihocek 2, Cameron, Grundy, Henry, Macrae, Sidebottom
MICHAEL RANDALL’S BEST
Hawks: Mitchell, Moore, Scrimshaw, Wingard, Ceglar, Hardwick
Pies: Adams, De Goey, Grundy, Crisp, Mayne
INJURIES
Hawks: Worpel (left foot)
Pies: Nil
MICHAEL RANDALL’S VOTES
3. T. Mitchell (Haw)
2. D. Moore (Haw)
1. J. Scrimshaw (Haw)
What Clarko won’t do in his final weeks as Hawks coach
— Marc McGowan
Outgoing Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says last week’s shock defeat of Brisbane is proof of the “roll the sleeves up” attitude the Hawks are adopting in his final games in charge.
The weeks-long saga surrounding his exit came to a head eight days ago, when Hawthorn confirmed he wouldn’t coach out his contract in 2022.
Whether the boilover against the top-four-contending Lions was mostly emotion-charged remains to be seen, but Clarkson said resolving his situation had helped the players.
“When there’s a little bit of uncertainty it creates some instability, and every club has been through this over their journey,” he said.
“Our club’s been really stable for the last 16 or 17 years, but the time when I came to the club (in late 2004), our club was going through a period of instability then as well.
“No club is immune from it, unfortunately. It’s a very passionate industry we’re in and a lot of people influence how your club is shaped and the direction it goes in.
“I think when you’ve got really strong alignment that gives you the best chance to have success.
“Once the decision was made that I wasn’t going to continue beyond next year … the view, including mine, was the sooner we can get some fresh air and create some clear and decisive paths forward for all our stakeholders, but particularly our players, the better it will be.”
Clarkson emphatically stated he would not use his departure as a source of motivation for his side in the final rounds and that everyone had tried to return as much to normal as possible.
He sidestepped a question about whether he considered resigning immediately but said all decisions from here would help shape what next year looked like.
“Strangely enough, in this caper there’s not a hell of a lot of time to actually think about what the aftermath might look like,” Clarkson said.
“So it’s just roll the sleeves up and get back to work and that was the case at the weekend.
“It was a pretty tumultuous day for us, last Friday – for everyone involved with the club, and that includes our members…
“The performance at the weekend of our players and coaches and staff was a reflection of us being able to roll the sleeves up and do what we know we can do really well, and that’s get ourselves back on track to playing good footy.”
Clarkson bumped into Western Bulldogs coach and former assistant Luke Beveridge mid-week at a restaurant and said he was just one of many in the industry he held a “huge regard for”.
“When you’re confronted with a bit of adversity, whether it’s personal or collective, you soon find out where your friends are,” he said.
“I’ve had plenty who have given support over the last little while.”
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