When Hawthorn annihilated Geelong at the MCG on Easter Monday, a plethora of football experts and analysts predicted that the Hawks could go through the entire season undefeated. Who was going to top this mighty football colossus? Fast-forward two months and the back-to-back premiers are 4-4 and things haven’t quite gone to plan since that convincing round one victory over the Cats. Not that it is anywhere near panic stations just yet.
Losses to Greater Western Sydney and Sydney in the last three weeks by under two goals have been uncharacteristic. Typically it is the Hawks who win hard-fought encounters. If you were mounting a case for the most important player at Waverley Park, the last three weeks speak for itself. The absence of Luke Hodge was profound. The triple-premiership star has now served his three-game suspension for his hit on North Melbourne captain Andrew Swallow and will have a point to prove in Launceston on Saturday afternoon. As some of media personalities have already said this week, Hodge owes them a vintage performance.
After serving his two-match ban for striking Todd Goldstein, Jordan Lewis picked up where he left off against the Swans on Saturday night. The 2014 Peter Crimmins medallist has been sublime so far this season, averaging more disposals than any other player in the competition with 34.3 from six appearances. Five of his six games have yielded 30-plus performances. Since entering the competition’s elite echelon of on-ballers in the last couple of seasons, Lewis has continued to climb up the ladder. And after earning his first All Australian guernsey last year, he is already on the right path to making that two from two.
Billy Hartung played just the seven games in his debut season, battling to break into the all-conquering brown and gold outfit that was on its merry way to a third premiership in the Alastair Clarkson era. He has already played six thus far in 2015 - the last six games. Hartung started as the substitute against the Swans, playing the final quarter and gathering an impressive nine disposals and three clearances. The week earlier against Melbourne he accumulated a career-high 26 possessions at an incredible 100 per cent efficiency to be rewarded with the round seven Rising Star nomination. Cut from the same cloth as Isaac Smith and Bradley Hill, Hartung is another gut runner who is already producing eye-catching efforts from aerobic perspective.
Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium is one of the more difficult tasks in football. The Hawks home away from home has become a fortress, almost impenetrable since the turn of the decade. They have not lost in Launceston since round five, 2012, and that was against the Swans in their premiership season. Since that loss, the Hawks have won their last 12 matches in the Apple Isle and 19 of their last 20 matches down there. An imposing record.
Key Players
Arguably the most improved player in the Hawks nest this season is wingman Isaac Smith. The endurance animal has cut opposition sides apart in the last few seasons with his work in transition particularly destructive. But in 2015, the former mature-aged recruit has taken his game to the next level. Smith is averaging 27.1 possessions per outing this season – up from his career-best last year of 22.5. A substantial climb in anyone’s language. The two-time premiership midfielder is also the third ranked player in the entire competition for metres gained with an average of 526.1m, only behind Fremantle’s Danyle Pearce (566.4m) and St Kilda’s Leigh Montagna (535.2m). But it is also the manner in which Smith is using the ball this season that has shone brightly. Something that is identified best by his inside 50 reader that is up almost two per game with an average of 5.6.
Jarryd Roughead’s 2015 campaign has resembled his side’s seesawing start to the year. The dual All Australian has produced brilliant performances against the Western Bulldogs in round three (28 disposals and 7.3) and Melbourne in round seven (30 disposals and 4.1). Roughead is arguably the most versatile player in the competition and he has showcased his ability to play all over the ground during the opening two months of the season. With 20.12 from eight games, he hasn’t quite been at his game-breaking best on a consistent basis just yet. But given his class he is capable of turning a game on its head in the space of a quarter. The returning Steven May will be handed the difficult task of stopping the triple-premiership star.
The rise of Jordan Lewis has continued this season with the former pick No. 7 acquiring astronomical numbers in the opening third of 2015. Last season, Lewis went from a back room operator in a Hawthorn midfield comprised of Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell and Shaun Burgoyne, to the main man. His numbers leapt off the page. But consider this. In 2014, his best and fairest winning season, he averaged 27.8 possessions, 3.7 inside 50s and 5.7 clearances. This year, his numbers have risen to 34.3 possessions, 6.2 inside 50s and 6.0 clearances per outing. His undisciplined suspension was reminiscent of Lewis of years gone by, but he responded emphatically against the Swans with 31 disposals. Look for Lewis to come third man up at stoppages as well – he collected seven hitouts against Sydney and has 17 for the season. Of the top twenty ball winners in the competition, Lewis and Fremantle’s Nat Fyfe (13), along with Hodge (10) are the only players to have more than six hitouts. A ploy the Hawks have used with distinction at times this season.
