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Win number six!
The Hawks survived some challenges from an improved Eagles outfit but ultimately came away the classier side on a greasy Sunday afternoon.
So many players were outstanding on the day but the question remains; how did every Hawk go?
Harry Morrison ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved the way Harry’s first thought was always to kick first, which showed by 16 of his 18 disposals being kicks.
Went at 78% with 329 metres gained and five inside 50’s and showed some real defensive prowess throughout the game.
Wasn’t spectacular but was nowhere near poor either. Putting together a nice season too.
Mitch Lewis ⭐️⭐️
The day wasn’t set up for the big fella, with Ben McEvoy as his foil for the afternoon but he competed well.
Lost the second most contests on the ground and Barrass took 18 marks to his two, but had 13 pressure acts which is above average for a forward.
Tom Mitchell ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The conditions suited Titch to a tee and he took advantage, having 33 disposals.
His ball use wasn’t pristine as per the conditions and he only had two clearances but he was a thorn in West Coast’s side around the ground all day.
Six score involvements and 14 pressure acts are two big ticks in a decent performance by the Brownlow Medallist.
Jarman Impey ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The role was under the spotlight this week and it was fantastic to see the role be granted to him again.
Jars wasn’t as impactful as last week but 20 pressure acts and a goal from a small forward is by no means a bad performance.
All three of his tackles were inside 50 and had five score involvements himself.
Good to see him hit the scoreboard too.
James Sicily ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ever the composed man, Sis donned the long sleeves and had 24 touches at 83%, with six masks.
The gripe that remains with the next captain (?) is when he has an opponent.
Sis lets his opponent get a step or two and it can be at his peril as Jack Darling in particular exposed him on occasion.
He also committed the cardinal sin of not getting back on the goal line when a dribbling ball went past him.
With the footy, he’s almost a five star player, every time.
Without the footy, he can be exposed at times.
Still, give me 542 metres gained, a dozen intercepts and eight rebound 50’s any day of the week.
Ben McEvoy ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not a lot of ruckmen are grabbing the ball 15 times a game, especially not those who have just come back from a neck injury.
Moved really nicely inside forward 50 and his crumbing goal after getting Harry Edwards under the ball was just reward and the celebration was equal to the act.
You can’t buy footy IQ in this caper and the great man oozes it.
Had 21 hit-outs and five score involvements also.
Is 3/3 in games played in 2022 and 5-1-0 in his last six.
Changkuoth Jiath ⭐️⭐️
CJ worked his backside off all afternoon and it was one of the best games he’s had in terms of his body positioning and ball hunting ability, showed by his 24 possessions.
However, where CJ goes from “potential” to “bona fide superstar” is his composure and his ball use.
Had eight turnovers which was one of the highest on the ground so when his ambition matches his ability, there’s nothing and no one that can stop him.
Jaeger O’Meara ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Was a day of “quality” and not “quantity” for the No.10 as he collected 18 disposals.
Had five score involvements, five clearances. four marks, four tackles and 14 pressure acts across the day and was pretty composed with ball in hand.
It seems a fait accompli that Jaeger will be a Hawk next year which makes a lot of sense given his footballing maturity.
Conor Nash ⭐️⭐️
Was one of those days for everyone’s favourite Irishman where he did nothing wrong but just didn’t have a big impact.
Finished with 18 disposals but only seven of them were kicks and four clearances are handy but only had 90 metres gained.
Only having the nine centre bounce attendances was interesting but with Maginness tagging Tim Kelly, that was understandable.
Will Day ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Played as a forward which surprised everyone and what was an even bigger surprise was that he flew for everything.
Not to be taken as a dig at all, Will flew for contests early, late and right on time and seemed to get absolutely battered in every aerial contest.
Kicked two goals and both came on his left foot and also had 14 pressure acts and five score involvements.
Was a quiet day for sure but every time he touched the footy, it turned to gold.
Imagine him with another preseason and his body fills out. Hello, goal-kicking midfielder.
Dylan Moore ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Was one of four that could’ve won the best on ground award and fell just short but my word, this man is a star.
From 29 disposals last week to 25 and a goal this week, Moore also had seven marks, seven clearances, six tackles, five score involvements, five inside 50’s and had a balance of inside and outside play, epitomised by his dozen contested possessions.
If he is added to the midfield mix permanently, he, Josh Ward, Connor MacDonald, Nash, Jai Newcombe, James Worpel and the maturity of Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell is a frightening mix.
Jack Scrimshaw ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
One word; composure.
Everytime Scrim gets the ball in his hands, Hawthorn fans relax because good things happen and they did again, with our No.14 going at 87% efficiency.
Took ten marks, had eight intercepts, five score involvements and kicked a fantastic goal.
On a day where Grant Birchall was farewelled to Hawks fans, the current No.14 just reminded us of what’s to come for the next decade.
Blake Hardwick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Interviewed on Triple M’s Dead Set Legends, Leigh Montagna noted that most teams had players who go under the radar like Dimma does.
However, no club has a man that is so balanced in stopping an opponent and finding the ball like our man.
Liam Ryan kicked 1.1 and Dimma had 22 touches, six marks, five intercepts, five rebounds, three inside 50’s and 404 metres gained.
Enough said.
Luke Breust ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How do you go past six goals?
Kosi Pickett seems to have dominated the media with his half dozen but Punky put on an absolute clinic with his set shot goal kicking and footy IQ.
Of his 16 disposals, eleven of them were contested, he had eleven score involvements, 372 metres gained, five inside 50’s and in one of the more bizarre stats of 2022, had a ruck contest!
Punky winding down the clock is a sight to behold and there’s nowhere better than the MCG to watch him strut his stuff.
Denver Grainger-Barras ⭐️
Are any questions needing to be asked of our No.6 pick from 2020?
Denver had eight intercepts and six one-percenters which are both ticks but he conceded more scores from contests than anyone on the ground and only had 43 metres gained.
Time is certainly not up by any stretch and as a player who isn’t finding a chunk of the footy, he needs to stop his opponent from doing so.
Another pre-season into him and putting on some size, and he’ll be stopping the monsters.
Josh Ward ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dear doubters,
This is why we drafted him!
Only Nick Daicos has had more touches in a game than Ward’s 34 from the 2021 Draft and the youngster looked so composed and belonging at the level.
Had 23 kicks as well which is something fans have been screaming for and continually out teammates in good spots.
Went at 71%, had eight score involvements, seven marks, 15 pressure acts, six clearances, five tackles, five inside 50’s and four rebounds.
All of this with just six centre bounce attendances, 22 uncontested possessions and an astonishing 618 metres gained.
Welcome to the big time Wardy, go finish the year strongly!
Connor MacDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This kid has more class than a law school and it was firmly on show on Sunday.
Whilst he only had the 13 disposals, he laid seven tackles, had 25 pressure acts, took five marks and kicked 2.1, with his behind a bit stiff to not be paid as a push in the back.
This draft class is looking so good.
Finn Maginness ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Andrew Gaff was a potential target for Finn but his target was eventually Tim Kelly and he did an admirable job.
Kelly had 21 disposals and kicked a goal but was nowhere near how damaging he was at the last visit to the MCG; 40 disposals and two goals against Richmond.
Finn himself had 21 touches, six marks, a dozen score involvements (!), five inside 50’s and 346 metres gained but couldn’t quite finish his good work, kicking two behinds.
Been really impressive with a set role and can only hope it continues. Has a future in this caper and still needs to tidy his ball use.
Josh Morris ⭐️
Tank didn’t have a great impact on the game but wasn’t punished for it.
Only had the eleven disposals and went at 54%, with five turnovers.
Had three inside 50’s but overall, wasn’t a performance to write home about.
James Blanck ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Played on Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling and lost a total of two contests.
If you can’t find the footy, stop your opponent from doing so and he did it well.
Has a unique ability to just get a hand in at the last moment and disrupt the contest.
Went at 86% too so didn’t waste it when he had it.
Ned Reeves ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Hawks winning the hit-outs is rare but the advantage wasn’t huge, given the +38 hit-out differential but a -7 clearance differential isn’t a perfect result.
However, the performance by the Noodle was still a positive, with a reverse swinging shot at goal the highlight.
For a ruck as well, he looks so composed with ball in hand.
Jai Newcombe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
For three quarters, this man was bashed, battered and blasted in every contest and kept on going, having 25 disposals.
Finished the day with 28, along with 23 pressure acts, 391 metres gained, five clearances, four marks, four tackles, four inside and rebound 50’s.
Seriously, how do you not love this kid?