AFL Round 22 Hawthorn v Western Bulldogs: All the news and fallout from Tasmania

He walked off to a standing ovation in Launceston after Hawthorn’s upset win and then Alastair Clarkson warmed Tassie hearts even more by backing its push for its ‘own team’.

Hawthorn’s coaching genius Alastair Clarkson signed off on his time coaching the Hawks in Tasmania by declaring the AFL should give the state its own stand-alone team by 2025 or 2026.

After masterminding the downfall of premiership contender Western Bulldogs with an injury-riddled line-up, the 11th-hour loss of Jaeger O’Meara and James Worpel, and super-young side at UTas Stadium on Saturday, Clarkson’s thoughts were for the people of Tasmania and the “dream of the team”.

“Clarko” walked off to a standing ovation and fans holding signs thanking him for all he has done since taking on the job in 2005.

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Outgoing Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson celebrates their upset win with Tom Mitchell and Chad Wingard. Picture: AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“Until Tasmania gets its own side, we hope to keep playing games in Tasmania,” Clarkson said.

“I’m a bit like the Premier [Peter Gutwein], if you’re going to have a Tassie side, let’s get it cracking from scratch.

“Don’t have a relocated team, and don’t have a quasi-team. That’s been in place for a long time and while that has been good for the game down here, Tassie has done enough for the game to deserve its own side and I hope they get it.

“If I was the AFL, I’d say let’s have Tassie in by 2025 or 2016 and let’s get them started now. Put infrastructure around it, get an AFLW team, a team in the under-19s, and a team in the VFL and build from the ground over four or five years.

“By 2025 or 2026 Tassie could be a really viable option in terms of being the 19th team in our competition.”

The four-time premiership coach could not be more proud of the way his players responded to the news he would stand down at season’s end, winning every game since.

Clarkson receives a standing ovation in Tasmania. Picture: AFL Photos/via Getty Images

O’Meara (knee) and James Worpel (toe) should be available for Clarkson’s swan song against Richmond.

“Who knows if they even get into the side after the effort of the boys today — we are just so proud of the group,” Clarkson said.

“We had a really nice balance of older players and young players, and hopefully we showed our supporters there’s a really exciting future for this footy club.”

Hawthorn’s late-season rally brings back memories of 2006.

“We had four wins in the last part of the season and it really launched us into 2007 and a finals campaign,” Clarkson said.

“I’m not suggesting that will necessarily happen but I’d like to think our footy club is well-positioned to bounce back next year. We’ve got some really important players out of our side — eight or nine of our starting 22 — and it has given our young guys an opportunity to emerge and get exposure at the level.

“And we’ve been able to knock off a side that may very well hold the silverware at the end of the year.”

Clarkson hugs Sam Frost after the Launceston game. Picture: AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Dogs flag credentials take huge body blow

The Western Bulldogs’ premiership credentials took a body blow in Launceston on Saturday with a damaging 27-point loss to the “unsociable” Hawks in Alastair Clarkson’s final game in charge in Tasmania.

Clarkson invented unsociable football and used it masterfully against his former Hawks colleague Luke Beveridge and his Bulldogs as Hawthorn fans farewelled “Clarko” with their third win in a row — their first since 2019.

It was the first time this season the Bulldogs have lost back-to-back after Essendon took them by surprise at Marvel Stadium last weekend.

The loss of key forward Josh Bruce for the season and key defender Ryan Gardner’s ban from entering Tasmania because he had visited a Tier 2 Covid exposure sight hurt the Dogs at both ends.

Watched by 7822 mask-wearing fans, Hawthorn’s return to bone-jarring intensity around the contest and pressure on the ball-carrier was reflective of their premiership threepeat in 2013-14-15.

Hawthorn’s Jacob Koschitzke celebrates a goal. Picture: Getty Images

Wet and windy weather made it hard to hit the scoreboard early until but Cody Weightman finally opened the Bulldogs account entering time-on in the first.

Hawthorn’s first two minutes into the second and was skipper Ben McEvoy’s 100th career major

Hawthorn led by nine points at the long break but the Bulldogs eliminated that with three goals in three minutes early in the third and looked like they had found the accelerator.

Goals to Tom Mitchell, Mitch Lewis and Chad Wingard put the brakes on the Doggies and from there they scored no more majors.

Led by Daniel Howe (34 possessions, three clearances), Hawthorn’s on-ballers crew including Chad Wingard (26 touches, 4 clearances) and Tom Mitchell (27 disposals, 6 clearances) muzzled the Bulldogs, consistently outnumbering their opponents at the drop of the ball and dominating clearances.

In attack, Jacob Koschitzke kicked two goals but importantly gave the Hawks crash and bash, while Lachlan Bramble and Oliver Hanrahan kicked singles and signalled their potential for new coach Sam Mitchell next season.

An outgoing coach and impending retirement of Hawk hero Shaun Burgoyne is driving the Hawks.

“Clarko and Shauny are giving us added motivation to attack the back half of the year. They are two greats of our club so we’re going it our all and not have a wasted last few rounds,” Koschitzke said.

“Hopefully we can get the job done next week and send them out on a high.”

Marathon flight in

The usual hour-long flight from Melbourne took Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs two and a half times as long as it should have for their Covid clash at UTas Stadium.

The fly-in fly-out mission was delayed by an hour and a half sitting in the terminal and on the tarmac, but Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said his boys were not fazed by the delay to the shared flight.

Neither club was told why.

“Both clubs got a look at business class with four seats each, so the big fellas were happy,” Beveridge said.

“We got held up at the airport, but that’s a story for another day, but both clubs experienced the same thing and our boys were OK.”

Did Clarko show his hand?

Alastair Clarkson may have shown his hand in regard to plans for next year, dropping a thought bubble on his former protégée now Bulldogs coach.

In “Clarko’s” final time coaching Hawks in Tasmania before he moves on, and the expectation he could coach Collingwood, Carlton or the team of another unsuspecting coach, the four-time premiership mastermind told “Bevo” during the week he might “disappear overseas next year and hide” from media speculation about his future.

Dogs play smaller

The Western Bulldogs have abandoned their West Coast Eagles-style Three Peaks in attack now that Josh Bruce is out for season.

Tim English is required in the ruck with injured Stefan Martin still up to two weeks away.

After the Bulldogs were smashed at the stoppages in their surprise 13-point loss to Essendon, the “priority one” is at the stoppages with the ruck situation _ everything else revolves around that. “Priority two” is getting the “athletic mix” right in the Aaron Naughton-led attack. The Doggies are still searching for that configuration, having only five scoring shots in the first half, no goals after the 10 minute mark of the third term and Naughton managing only 1.1.

The long road for Ceglar

It was a long and winding road for Hawks bigman Jonathon Ceglar but after nine seasons and numerous of injuries, including two seasons on the sidelines, he reached the 100-game milestone.

The 30-year-old missed Hawthorn’s 2014 premiership team, replaced by now skipper Ben McEvoy, and ironically injured his knee in his 50th game and a full knee reconstruction kept him out until 2018.

Ceglar is averaging 14.4 disposals a game in 2021 – above his career average 11.5 – and produced a season-best performance in Round 13 against Sydney finishing with 35 hit-outs, 20 disposals and a goal.

BEST

Hawthorn: Howe, Wingard, Koschitzke, Mitchell, Hardwick, Ceglar

Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Bontempelli, Daniel, Dale, Liberatore, Wood.

VOTES

3 Howe Hawthorn

2 Wingard Hawthorn

1 Koschitzke Hawthorn

CROWD

7822

INJURIES

Bulldogs: Taylor Duryea (bruised back), Dunkley (shoulder)

Hawks: None.