Chad Wingard opens up about tough times at Hawthorn, his trade from Port Adelaide and life in isolation
Chad Wingard says the key reason he chose Hawthorn was one man: Alastair Clarkson. Wingard says he can’t wait to get back to the Hawks, just to find out what the master coach has cooked up while in isolation.
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Chad Wingard reveals why he initially struggled at Hawthorn and his trade from Port Adelaide
Chad Wingard is already thinking about the first day back at Hawthorn, just three weeks into the unprecedented AFL blackout due to the coronavirus.
As much as Wingard wants to get back to life as we knew it, as quickly as possible, a major drawcard is finding out what Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has cooked up for a competitive edge on rivals.
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“He’ll come out of the woodwork with something,” Wingard said.
“I can’t wait to get back because he’ll be thinking that far out of the box about how we can win this year or get an edge over the opposition.
“He’ll be thinking like crazy and as soon as we get back it could be an hour or two-hour meeting about what we’re going to do to approach this season.”
Wingard is desperate to atone for last season.
He was his own worst enemy, too, as repeat soft-tissue injuries ultimately led to self-doubt.
Save for a three-goal debut for Hawthorn in Round 3, following a calf setback, wildly inconsistent is the best way to describe Wingard’s first seven games across 14 weeks.
He played five, missed two, played two, and then missed another four due to a hamstring injury.
“It was my every intention to come out of the blocks and dominate and try and show Hawthorn why they got me,” Wingard said.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself, they (Hawthorn) didn’t put any pressure on, just internal pressure.
“It’s almost like getting drafted again, you come to a team and … the two All-Australians all goes out the window, you got to earn respect and earn your place again.
“As soon as I had injuries and my form wasn’t great it was pretty deflating, you have a couple setbacks and you have a little bit of doubt in your mind.”
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Wingard finally got his body right to play a big part in the Hawks winning six of their last eight games to only just miss out on the finals after blundering the start.
He went from averaging 13 disposals and 3.4 tackles (first seven games) to 23 disposals and 5.1 tackles.
The turnaround came from within.
It started with fitness and then, arguably the most important ingredient, confidence.
“Forgot about all the pressure,” Wingard said.
“Let’s just go and play, not trying to prove anyone wrong, or prove anything, just play football and that’s the same approach I had this pre-season coming into Round 1.
“It wasn’t about proving Port wrong or proving Hawthorn right, or proving to myself that I made the right decision, it was just about just enjoying my football again.”
THE MOVE TO MELBOURNE
It blindsided Wingard when Port Adelaide told him to explore options at the end of the 2018 season.
Not only was he contracted, but the Murray Bridge junior had spent his entire football life in South Australia.
Wingard only seriously considered one option: Hawthorn.
The chance to play for Clarkson was too good to pass up, not to mention the development potential of teaming up with premiership stars the calibre of Shaun Burgoyne, Luke Breust and Paul Puopolo.
Wingard has only played 15 games in brown and gold, yet the 26-year-old speaks about the club and its caring culture with a fondness of a 15-year stalwart.
It started with the work Hawthorn did to broker a complex three-way trade with Port Adelaide and Brisbane Lions to get him to Waverley.
It snowballed from there, as a wide-eyed Wingard struggled initially to settle in Melbourne away from family and friends in South Australia.
“The off-field stuff (at Hawthorn) is far superior, in terms of what they care about … each and every players’ off-field endeavours, education, wellbeing, partners,” Wingard said.
“Getting out of the AFL bubble (and) caring about home life a lot more than I’ve ever been used to.
“Even just moving to Melbourne, it was a big transition, I was lucky enough to stay at home for my whole footy career so it was a good challenge.
“I’ve really grown the last 12 months on-field and off-field.”
THAT VISION?
You know the one, where Jarryd Roughead appears to be giving Wingard one almighty dressing down on the MCG at halftime of the Round 7 match against Melbourne.
Arms were waved around and fingers pointed, as premiership Hawks Paul Puopolo, Roughead and Breust fanned around Wingard like a slips cordon.
The vivid imagery led to robust commentary, not surprisingly, about Wingard the trade bust.
Melbourne great Garry Lyon described it on Fox Footy as a “sharp induction into the Hawthorn way”.
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd went further on the Sunday Footy Show.
“The sizzle looks good but deep down … he doesn’t do a lot.”
But Wingard has finally shed light on what went down that Saturday afternoon in May, maybe half expecting the question after it was greeted by a chuckle.
“One of us wasn’t in the right spot,” Wingard said.
“It was me Punky (Breust) and Poppy all playing a similar role and one of us didn’t fill the role and basically we didn’t know whose fault it was, so trying to argue ‘I was here I was there’.
“It was just a bit of back and forth, it looked a lot worse than what it really was, we have those chats during games all the time, trying to get (players) in the right positions.”
SHUTDOWN YES, HOLIDAY NO
It feels like “another” pre-season.
Hawthorn stripped the gym, issuing players one dumbbell and one weight plate, along with a couple of resistance bands, to replicate at home what would usually be done at the club.
Wingard is getting by with a 35kg dumbbell, 20kg plate and Burgoyne’s wealth of knowledge and experience every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
“If we had to play this week I’d feel pretty comfortable most of the boys would be ready to go,” Wingard said.
“We’ve got to be ready to play at any moment, whether it is as soon as they hope (early June) or if it’s postponed again.
“Once we find out what that (comeback) date is they’ll change our training loads, they might down it if it’s going to be longer or they might up it, at the moment we’re training to play in June.”
STAY AT HOME
Put simply, the swarms of people flocking to beaches and house parties in the early days of social-distancing interventions galled Wingard.
“I just think it’s very selfish to be honest,” Wingard said.
“It’s people not really putting themselves in other people’s shoes.
“I just can’t imagine how my grandma or nan would feel about me if I was posting (party) photos or caught in a very populated place with hundreds of people and not showing any care.
“Because, that’s really what it’s (ignoring social-distancing) showing, ‘I don’t care if they get sick’.”
Wingard has kept busy at home, powering through isolation staples like puzzles and PlayStation, but also interacting with fans and followers on social media.
“Just doing a few Tik Toks, a couple funny social things just to have a bit of fun and try and create some lightness out of the darkness we’re all in at the moment, and trying to keep the mood positive.”
He plans on taking up yoga and stretching next, as well donating blood for the first time in about 10 years next week.
“If you just do nothing and don’t explore or try new things it’s going to be very stale and you don’t know how long (isolation) is going to last for, so I’m trying to find a new hobby, something to take up.”
WHY CHANGES WILL HELP OLDER STARS
Chad Wingard says shorter games will prolong AFL careers, including that of evergreen teammate Shaun Burgoyne.
Wingard expected veterans Gary Ablett and Robbie Gray would also benefit if the AFL retained 16-minute quarters plus time-on.
The pandemic era could mean smaller lists, as clubs brace for draconian cuts to spending, but it would likely affect developing and project players before seasoned campaigners.
At 37, Burgoyne is the oldest player in the game, but a surprise move forward could see the 377-game utility become only the fifth member of the esteemed 400 club.
“If this (shorter quarters) is going to go into next year, it’s going to help a lot of the older guys,” Wingard said.
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“The less time on legs, for Shauny for instance, we could play him up forward and he could be effective for another two or three years if he really wanted to.
“The same with Gary Ablett (and) Robbie Gray even, guys who are getting on (but) are still so skilful and might not have the endurance or want to keep doing the (long training and) games.
“The careers of players could really go for longer.”
Burgoyne last year signed his third one-year extension to stay at Hawthorn after rejecting a multi-year deal at Gold Coast.
Wingard has been training with Burgoyne three times a week during the COVID-19 shutdown.