For 3 quarters on Friday evening – and particularly up till quarter time – Hawthorn and Sydney had been nothing wanting sensible.
In a contest that ebbed and flowed from finish to finish with dashing, daring runs and dazzling expertise, each side unencumbered by opposition strain that carried with it loads of low season rust nonetheless, two of this yr’s flag favourites proved each inch of that moniker.
The distinction ultimately was, the more durable the sport obtained, the upper the depth and the more serious the climate, the Hawks had an additional string to their bow.
They had been, to place it merely, more durable.
Harder on the laborious ball, led by the sensible Will Day and a midfield that outhunted, out-tackled and outwilled a Swans on-ball brigade that includes two trendy greats in Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner and spectacular depth besides.
Extra ferocious of their tackling, maybe greatest summed up by a lunging Connor Macdonald chasedown on Nick Blakey within the second quarter that compelled an errant kick, sparked a turnover, and led to an opportunity to attain.
And extra prepared to place their heads over the footy when the heavens opened and the sport grew to become a scrap within the final quarter – attested to by a sequence of excessive contact or within the again free kicks brought on by Swans opponents arriving second to the ball.
For all Hawthorn achieved in a outstanding surge up the ladder in 2024, the toughness of this crew nonetheless goes underrated – and naturally it does, when you’ve got Nick Watson kicking dazzling targets, Jack Ginnivan celebrating the whole lot with gusto and a aspect characterised by game-breaking sprint down the bottom and extra velocity than some other within the league.
However on Friday, Nick Watson was barely sighted, clamped devastatingly by Sam Wicks in a brand new position as nagging small again. Josh Weddle too was nicely down, the pacy line-breaking Hawk restricted to only 122 metres gained and 12 disposals because the Swans refused to let him turn into a Nick Blakey-esque menace. James Worpel was injured at half time; Connor McDonald seldom influential with ball in hand.
And the Hawks gained anyway.
That ‘Hokball’ stereotype does them a little bit little bit of a disservice. This can be a crew that, proper now, lacks for almost nothing, be it personnel or fashion. Sydney gained’t be the final crew this yr to match them in loads of features however fall quick throughout the board.
Structurally, the Hawks have all bases lined, with their newfound defensive power enabling Sam Mitchell to make a decisive last-quarter transfer with out compromising behind the ball.
With 21-6 intercept marks, the Hawks dominated the skies down again on the SCG, giving the Swans minimal alternatives to mark and even deliver the ball to floor in assault.
Naturally, the arrival of Tom Barrass and Josh Battle was mainly accountable, although Barrass was examined by a top quality opponent in Joel Amartey who made essentially the most of his possibilities to fit three targets.
However Jack Scrimshaw was sensible as nicely; his refined transition down again from operating hyperlink participant to an actual backline lynchpin, utilizing his top in defence to his benefit regardless of a lighter body, has been a core ingredient to Hawthorn’s success within the final 12 months.
A decisive, symbolic second within the last quarter was a powerful Scrimshaw mark within the moist at half-forward, surrounded by a sea of Swans; if that ball involves floor, Sydney are ideally positioned to assault and try to catch the Hawks on the counter. As an alternative, they wanted to as soon as once more batten down the hatches to forestall the Hawks from scoring.
It means Sicily can now be footy’s first true swingman for the reason that late Adam Hunter performed X-factor for West Coast of their 2006 premiership run.
Marshalling the defence as at all times within the first three quarters – this time as a 3rd tall moderately than needing to take one of many monsters – Sam Frost’s substitution at half time was at all times going to ultimately see the captain go ahead.
Harmful within the air, he took a powerful seize at half-forward solely to fail to make the gap, whereas his purpose from a final-quarter free kick was a traditional case of a defender panicking towards a top quality opponent and making a mistake.
However the true measure of the Hawks’ Friday evening triumph got here on the coalface, a long-time Swans weak point; they smashed the clearances 47-33, had 12 further contested possessions, and even with out Worpel after half time made the Bloods bleed out of the centre.
Will Day celebrates a purpose. (Picture by Dylan Burns/AFL Pictures through Getty Photographs)
Day was the centrepiece to the whole lot, particularly as much as half time, and is one other instance of a floor judgement not doing the Hawks justice.
Day is supposed to be the silky-smooth counterpoint to the bullish balls of muscle round stoppages which are Newcombe and Worpel; him lacking the finals by way of harm final yr was a blow, however one the Hawks had been capable of cowl, I believed.
Now, I’m considering if that they had him for September they could have gained the flag. That is an enormously well-balanced on-baller who, like his crew, is way more than simply razzle-dazzle.
Day wins his personal ball, does the powerful stuff, after which jogs my memory a variety of Scott Pendlebury in the way in which he creates area with out being overly speedy or eye-catching. He’s a correct dying by a thousand cuts man… offered he doesn’t, as he did in a single half towards Sydney, dominate to the extent that he had three targets to his identify.
Such was his affect that James Jordon, Sydney’s go-to tagger, needed to run with him after half time, slowing Day’s dominance however altering the midfield dynamic, and offering a psychological victory. John Longmire’s Swans resisted Jordon tagging on-ballers wherever potential, preferring as a substitute to make use of him on the opposition’s greatest operating defender and let Heeney, Warner and the remaining function on their very own phrases in midfield.
If it was the purpose of the train, each Hawk would advantage reward for his or her position within the system.
Lloyd Meek is fantastically suited to trendy ruckwork, as a strong-bodied massive man who matched Brodie Grundy within the affect of his faucets, whereas operating rings round him elsewhere along with his massive contested marking, aerial presence, ground-level follow-up and pair of targets; Harry Morrison bobbed up at key moments and used the ball immaculately forr somebody whose greatest question was as soon as his disposal; Karl Amon was once more ultra-important offering run and drive from defence and produced the clearr Hokball spotlight of the night.
However the reality of the matter is that it will be not possible to call the whole lot the Hawks do nicely, and everybody that influences that system.
That is an excellent crew with an excellent coach on the helm, and groups are going to must work out cease them – as a result of as Sydney realized on Friday, beating them at their very own recreation is bloody powerful.
I had the Hawks stagnating this yr in my pre-season prediction. I might need to rethink that.
