Written by Rhys Knight
How does one really feel after a draw? The Hawks were so close, kicked accurately, laid an insane 81 tackles and at times made the best defence in the competition look lacklustre, and with a group of eight players having under 20 games of experience, salvaging a couple of premiership points was an awesome effort and are now moving onto to the next challenge. Here is the player review from the Demon draw.
Mitch Lewis
Kicked a clutch set shot in the fourth quarter to put the Hawks in front and although conditions didn’t suit him, he competed really hard. Steven May had a season low three marks and Jake Lever had six so already a win for the Hawks there and Lewis had six score involvements, four marks, as well as two goals. Huge tick for the key forward.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tom Mitchell
Another unbelievable performance from Titch with his 39 disposals (19 contested), half a dozen marks, tackles, clearances and rebounds, 610 metres gained, (most on the ground) as well as five inside 50’s and a goal. Only three score involvements is a concern but he was the Hawks’ best and luckily, teammates came along for the ride.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
James Worpel
Ball use was the only thing keeping Jimmy from being the TH BOG as a couple of turnovers led to Dees goals. 51% disposal efficiency isn’t good reading for those uneducated but on a wet night where territory was the game, he was unreal. Read this; 29 touches (10 contested), eight score involvements (equal team high), five clearances, five inside 50’s, four rebounds, 519 metres gained and a goal? Yes please Jimmy, yes please.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ben McEvoy
The skipper teamed up with Ned Reeves to make a really good ruck contest against Max Gawn and Luke Jackson and it was a success. On a day where conditions didn’t suit big men, 13 touches, 14 hitouts, four marks, three inside 50’s, three tackles and a snag were good numbers by a skipper having a good season.
⭐️⭐️
Sam Frost
Oh Fristy, how we love you despite the anxiety you give us. He bit off a corridor ball late in the game that was a disaster and kicked the ball off the ground and hit Angus Brayshaw on the chest a bit later to make Hawks fans shudder but did have six rebounds, five tackles and four marks are pretty good numbers.
⭐️⭐️
Shaun Burgoyne
This man is 38 and laid nine tackles. Nine tackles! It’s just unbelievable the more we read it but we love what Silk is bringing. Only the 13 touches but went at 84% efficiency, three rebounds, three score involvements and always looks like the smartest player on the field.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jaeger O’Meara
This was an underrated performance by Jaeger. Didn’t set the world on fire but 25 disposals (nine contested), six tackles, five clearances and three inside 50’s are all really nice numbers. Oliver and Petracca might have been prolific but Jaeger was more than handy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lachlan Bramble
If you’re a Hawks fan who isn’t in love with this guy as a player, what’s stopping you? The way he burned off three Demons players in his midfield run was elite, he’s played a handful of games and is taking kickouts and is a really good user of the ball. 18 disposals at 88% efficiency, five tackles, four rebounds and a couple of clearances, goodness me they’re great numbers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Daniel Howe
A quieter game for Howey as he rotated between Ed Langdon, James Jordan and Jayden Hunt. Ten out of his 14 disposals were contested, he kicked a nice goal and had three tackles. Not his usual 2021 input but will bounce back for sure next week.
⭐️
Tom Phillips
Welcome to the party Flip! A year best performance by Flip as the 25 year old had his age sake disposals, took five marks, four score involvements and three tackles. Halved a lot of contests and against Ed Langdon for long periods, wasn’t shamed at all and actually beat him.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Luke Breust
Somewhat back to his best in poor conditions, Punky was so clean when it counted. Even adding into the game tying goal, he beat Michael Hibberd convincingly on the night. 14 touches, eight score involvements (equal team high), five tackles and five inside 50’s, he also kicked 3.1 and was one of the best for the Hawks.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tim O’Brien
Had a couple of nightmare kick ins to fan chagrin and was a good structure piece down back but didn’t have a great influence on proceedings. Had four rebounds for his trouble amongst 11 disposals but wasn’t the most productive game from TOB.
⭐️
James Cousins
The late inclusion for Conor Nash and the fear that the Hawks could be having a gun midfielder on the outer is real. 20 disposals (eleven contested), seven inside 50’s, five tackles, three clearances and 70% disposal efficiently was fantastic. Made a lot of runs without reward but his entries inside 50 were terrific.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Liam Shiels
Pup’s form’s been really good for a lot of 2021 and this was no exception. As a part of the midfield group that performed really well, Pup had 24 disposals (ten contested), eight inside 50’s, six tackles, four clearances, three rebounds, marks and score involvements. Gave away six free kicks but most were in tackles which you can hardly knock and 526 metres gained is amazing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kyle Hartigan
For what seems like the umpteenth time, the defence was under siege at times but stood up over and over again, especially in the last two and a half quarters. Hartigan had three rebounds, tackles and marks, Tom McDonald was barely sighted and Luke Jackson as the resting forward wasn’t a factor at all. That’s a tick.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Damon Greaves
Got the role on Charlie Spargo in the first half and struggled with his body position quite a bit. Had a dozen touches, four rebounds, three tackles and three marks. The whole defensive unit was excellent on Saturday night as they were under siege but stood up really well.
⭐️⭐️
Jacob Koschitzke
Kosi did a lot right on Saturday night except finish his work. Leans back when he takes set shots and plants his non kicking leg, not allowing him to drive forward momentum through his body to drive the ball home. However, his leading patterns, ability to crash packs and the fact every one of his handful of touches were score involvements, are fantastic.
⭐️⭐️
Dylan Moore
Was a bit of a quieter performance from Moorey, considering he’s usually good for 18 and a goal but just the dozen and had really good moments. Had 12 touches at 83% efficiency, six tackles, six score involvements, three inside 50’s and a goal. No one can argue those numbers and he wasn’t out marked either.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ned Reeves
Ruckman kicking the footy always makes us nervous but Ned had really good moments, especially up against Max Gawn in centre bounces. He might be the CEO’s boy but he’s the man to lead the Hawks ruck stocks for a long time and we are so here for it. Wouldn’t mind those three clearances consistently too from the big fella.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Denver Grainger-Barras
Channel 7 have caught on to how good our man is and so they should. Denver took six marks on his way to ten touches and looks so comfortable at the level. Almost took a ripping mark that bounced off his leg, head and back but also had a couple of rebounds as well. We are loving what he is producing.
⭐️⭐️
Emerson Jeka
On more than one occasion, Jek was caught from behind in contests and was found wanting. However, he will be better for the run on extremely good opponents but zero marks or tackles is a touch concerning. If he plays Brisbane, he’ll have another good opponent so curious to see how he goes.
⭐️
Tyler Brockman
The commentators wanted to froth over Kosi Pickett but Brocky was fantastic in his moments on Saturday night. Seven disposals but made them gold standard. Directly set up a couple of goals through smart play, had four score involvements and even better, four tackles. Should play every game he’s fit for and fans are here for it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
