Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell on why a poor first half hasn’t overshadowed his team’s form

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell insists the Hawks’ strong early-season form remains intact despite a disappointing first half against Port Adelaide.

Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell isn’t letting one poor half against Port Adelaide overshadow the Hawks’ promising form to start the season.

The Hawks tasted defeat for the first time in the final game of Gather Round after they conceded 12 of the first 13 goals of the game.

Mitchell admits the Hawks “have got some work to do” but feels his side’s form remains in tact.

“It’s really important the players know that was a bad performance, it doesn’t make us bad,” he said.

“We need to perform better than that and we know there are things we can do in our game we can do to ensure that we can play better.

“I think the players have a good understanding, we still feel like we’re a side in pretty good form.

“We had a really bad half of footy and that’s not going to be competitive against the best sides and that’s what we want to be.”

Hawthorn tasted defeat for the first time on Sunday night, falling to a red-hot Port Adelaide. Picture: Michael Klein

Hawthorn is set for another test in Round 6 when it takes on Geelong in the annual Easter Monday bout at the MCG.

Conor Nash will be fit to play despite being substituted out with a wrist injury while Connor Macdonald and Jack Scrimshaw are in the mix to return.

Mitchell says taking on perennial contender in Geelong is another chance for the Hawks to prove how much they have progressed.

“They’re a quality side, I think everyone knows what Geelong are going to produce, their worst is pretty good and their best is elite,” he said.

“I think they’re a side, if we look at our progression and what we’re trying to achieve, the evidence suggests: work hard, get better, make our way towards where we want to go.

“There are teams in front of us at the moment, Geelong is certainly one of those and Port Adelaide were one and we couldn’t get that one done.

“Geelong is another one and that is another opportunity to see how far we’ve come, we know we’ve got progress, we’re far from a finished product, we’ve got plenty of work to do.”