The ‘tough love’ which put Hawks back on track
Hawthorn star Josh Weddle says the “direct feedback” between players after a third straight loss was the tonic they needed ahead of their Launceston blockbuster against Adelaide. Hear from the young gun before Friday’s clash.
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Hawthorn livewire Josh Weddle has described the “tough love” the players exchanged after their meek loss to Collingwood as a vital factor in their bounce back win over the Bulldogs.
Before this week’s clash with Adelaide in Launceston, Tasmania’s first-ever Friday night game, Weddle said the direct feedback within the group after the 51-point loss to the Pies helped them reset.
The defeat was their third straight after losses to other flag contenders Gold Coast and Brisbane, and the Hawk’s low tackle counts in particular came under fire.
For Weddle, 21, it was the first time the club had endured external pressure after their scintillating late season form last year meant they were flag favourites before a ball was kicking in 2025.
After the Collingwood game, dressing room cameras showed the Hawks players left to their own devices to discuss the performance, with coach Sam Mitchell touching on the ploy in his post match press conference.
“The conversation was a lot of tough love,” Weddle said.
“As a young group it sometimes comes across as you don’t know how to deal with that, but that direct feedback is something we needed to get back to.
“All the good teams do it very well and are able to use that as motivation and feedback, instead of someone just having a go at you. That conversation was very important.
“It was definitely a long meeting. We split up into our line groups, forwards mids backs and chatted between ourselves and spoke about what’s going well and what’s not going well, then we spoke about it with the whole group.
‘With Sam out of the room it was just us players talking about it. When it’s coming from a player-to-player point of view, it means a lot more.”
The Hawks (8-5) are sixth on the ladder, while the third-placed Crows (9-4) set up a Launceston blockbuster by beating Brisbane on Friday night.
“It (three straight losses) was a valuable lesson. Obviously you don’t want to go on a losing streak, but we found a lot of valuable things out of it,” Weddle said.
“Our tackle count through those games wasn’t up to standard. We definitely went back to the basics of footy and tried to get our tackle count up, which helped us against the Dogs.
“We started last year 0-5, but didn’t have much expectation from the outside world. After our good form we found the end of last year, (then) losing three straight games against quality opposition, it was a big week and we learned a lot.
“We went through everything we need to do as a team and what our values are. We made sure what we thought we were slackening off in, we picked it back up.”
Weddle’ speed and long kick was on display after his individual running goal in the first quarter helped spark the Hawks against the Dogs.
“I’ve worked on my speed a lot, just getting more knowledgeable on the game and helping my teammates as well,” he said.
“I’ve been working on my leadership a bit this year. Hopefully that can help so it’s not just the leadership group out there, there’s a bunch of other leaders.
“It’s a big growth point of mine and I’ll continue to work on that, so far that’s helped with my game.
“This year I had an inconsistent start, I’ve focused on some small things like KPI’s, things I can do without thinking about it and it’s benefited me the last few games.”
NEW-LOOK BACKLINE A WORK IN PROGRESS
During their recent struggles the Hawks’ backline has come under the microscope. Skipper James Sicily’s below average form has made headlines, as has the fact integrating recruits Josh Battle and Tom Barrass into the back six remains a work in progress.
Weddle has been thrown up forward at times when necessary, as has Sicily, but he views defence as his long term position.
“I’m very happy down back, it’s definitely where I feel most comfortable and have played most of my footy,” he said.
“Whatever the team needs or whenever Sam feels it necessary to go to the forward line or wherever, I’m happy to do so. But obviously with the amount of experience I’ve had in the backline, I definitely feel more comfortable down there.
“The connection between us took a bit of time, it’s tough when two new and experienced players come into the side when the backline was pretty set last year.
“We’re very glad these guys have come along, they complement the team nicely with Barrass in the air and with Battle’s running capacity as well.”
Weddle said being comfortable with giving direct feedback was an obstacle he had to overcome.
“That connection of being able to give them criticism as well was definitely something for me personally to get over,” he said.
“Hopefully we can continue with that and it showed last week we were building something nicely.
“It’s not just me who they have to figure out who to play with, we have to understand how we all play. They’re starting to understand how I want to play, trying to get on the back of some attacking plays, and when it’s their turn to not attack and sit back and defend.
“TB (Barrass) does that very well. He’s not the most attacking player but he does his job very well, and that’s in the air and defending the key forward each week.”
HISTORIC FRIDAY BLOCKBUSTER
Weddle has won all seven AFL games he’s played at UTAS Stadium.
The only defeat the Hawks have suffered in nine Launceston clashes from 2023 onward was against the Crows in round six that season - the week before Weddle made his debut.
Adelaide kicked the last three goals, including a Darcy Fogarty pearler from the boundary in the dying seconds, to win by three points.
“I haven’t lost down there yet so hopefully we’ll keep that streak going on Friday,” Weddle said.
“It’ll be a fun and exciting game. They (Adelaide) are an exciting team to watch and kicking a lot of goals.
“Their forward line is very strong and even their smalls like Rankine and Keays are damaging. We’ll have our hands full and it will be good match ups all over the ground, to be honest.”
Earlier this year Hawthorn extended its deal to play four games a year at Launceston until 2027, with the Devils slated to join the league the year after.
“Hopefully this is going to be a home away from home for a long time,” Mitchell said.
“We love coming down here, and hopefully they can work something out to make it a long term play for us.”
Weddle agrees, and he hopes the current political unrest will be resolved with the Devils’ survival.
“Having gone down there for three years now, it’s a big footy state and with all the love the Launnie locals and other Tasmanians who come to our games (show us), they definitely deserve their own team,” he said.
“I completely agree they deserve a team, it will be a great opportunity for them to get a team and I hope it goes forward.
“I would like that (if Hawks keep playing games there), I do like playing in Launnie. It’s been a fortress for us and we have a good record down there, we wouldn’t want to take that away would we?”
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