20 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Hawks have beaten 2 top 4 teams from last year and lost to Carlton by a point. 

Clearly they can bring a challenge to us. To me, they are a bigger challenge than the teams that park the bus and don't attack. They may unlock a weakness by actually trying to win the game

The manic attack style leads to a lot of turnovers that we can rebound from.  We have more than one gear and set up behind the ball well.  If we are on, they may get a few sneaky Joe the Goose’s, but their manic style has to be precise or we will smash them in the loose ground ball and intercept.  They may challenge, but Sydney showed that you can knock the confidence out of them pretty quick.  Win Q1 and Q3 as usual and it is done.

14 minutes ago, DubDee said:

Hawks have beaten 2 top 4 teams from last year and lost to Carlton by a point. 

Clearly they can bring a challenge to us. To me, they are a bigger challenge than the teams that park the bus and don't attack. They may unlock a weakness by actually trying to win the game

But our game plan is designed to burn these types of strategies by turn over. For the Hawks and any team for that matter that has an attacking style gamble plan needs an extremely high level of effective disposal for it  to penetrate our defensive system. 
 

It forces the other team to take a high risk high reward approach in order to beat us. It is usually not sustainable for long periods -think Adelaide last year and their aggressive positioning and break neck speed ball movement. Doggies 2Q in the GF etc. 

My opinion is that we want teams to play like this knowing that we can sustain the pressure when it comes and prey on their mistakes as they will most definitely make them.

Thought I would check in now that the covid affected players are known.  Still no optimism but some refreshing humour:

• If there is a fast spreading variation we should also be worried hugging them in tackles. Our laughter could turn really sour by next weeks when our team drops one by one next week.
• We should try and exploit Joel Smith he was slow when I last saw him play for Balwyn 7 or 8 years ago and must be 45 by now.
• ’m sorry but one tall backman (Frosty) v Brown, Weidemann and Tom McD?  3 average players but Hawks have a tendency to make players like these look like superstars. Never mind Gawn rushing fwd at every opportunity.  Lost me with this one, Sammy.
• Think Fritsch is the big threat on the lead once we cover the taller forwards .
• With a short backline, we would want to be playing a full field press
• Sicily and Frost played deep on Hawkins & Cameron. 
• This will likely be the most royal shellacking of all time but I’m keen to see Bramble back and the super good hands of Callow.
• Hopefully Impey moves to where the ball is, not where it isn't.

My favourite: Dees such a strong outfit, 5 premiership players missing and the side just oozes quality.

Edited April 28, 20223 yr by Lucifers Hero

I've got to say that from attending the game in M10 on Saturday night, everything in this thread is true ...and then some:

*   Plenty of their supporters were reduced to the near fact that they were an ordinary side and were going to loose the game convincingly;

*  "Oh, what are you doing kicking it to him?" - was a cry heard often as Steve May and Max Gawn picked off intercept marks at will;

*  I was imeediately surrounded by a number of Hawthorn supporters that were actually decient human beings.  I didn't think it was possible, but there you go;

*  Right at the back (closest the bar), the loudest of the real Hawthorn supporters revealed their true colours.  What an obnoxious bunch of Fl#$gs.  Forget how many times I heard how they'd never seen so many Melbourne supporters, or how crap Melbourne were, bla, bla, bla.

 

A common thread with all of them though was how scorned they were by the umpires decisions.  Never heard a bigger bunch of sooky la la's in my life.  You'd think when old mate Hawks defender had a fist full of BBBs jumper, you'd just sush up and resist telling your own defender what a useless player they were for gifting the most obvious fee kick in front of goal possible wouldn't you?  But apparently, this was an absolute travesty of justice.

Quite happy where we sit with respects to them right now.  Us cruising with a quality footy side that should make finals and compete well, with the Hawks a middle of of the road also ran that may push for finals, but probably won't be any kind of threat for a number of years, hopefully decades.

On 4/26/2022 at 10:56 PM, rpfc said:

The oval shaped ball means the spin drags the ball down quicker which means you have to flush the ball in the ‘belly’ for shots past 30m out and that makes the ‘around the corner’ kick just as hard to master as the drop punt. 

Kids should definitely do more check sides and bananas and barrels though- they all have their place in the game.

What's the difference between a checkside and a banana? I thought they were the same kick (checkside being the SA name for it)?

You know, it's interesting that when a side is decient, as an opposition supporter, you generally know or make a point of knowing the paying numbers of their best players or can otherwise generally identify them from the outer.

I had almost completely no idea who a single Hawthorn player was on Saturday night, except for their veteran Brooooost who the Hawthorn supporters kept telling me who he was whenever he got the ball.

29 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

You know, it's interesting that when a side is decient, as an opposition supporter, you generally know or make a point of knowing the paying numbers of their best players or can otherwise generally identify them from the outer.

I had almost completely no idea who a single Hawthorn player was on Saturday night, except for their veteran Brooooost who the Hawthorn supporters kept telling me who he was whenever he got the ball.

I spent the first half exactly where I didn’t wanna be: way up on the top level surrounded by the most obnoxious Hawthorn supporters. The worst of them was this one woman who would bag our players, loudly and frequently, but by their number only. For example, “ya too bloody slow, number 13!” I mean, if you’re gonna throw insults at our players at least have the decency to address them by name. 🙃

edit: she did know one player’s name, that being Max. But she was calling him Maxy which is hilarious when it’s tacked onto an insult. 

Edited May 1, 20223 yr by WalkingCivilWar

13 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

I spent the first half exactly where I didn’t wanna be: way up on the top level surrounded by the most obnoxious Hawthorn supporters. The worst of them was this one woman who would bag our players, loudly and frequently, but by their number only. For example, “ya too bloody slow, number 13!” I mean, if you’re gonna throw insults at our players at least have the decency to address them by name. 🙃

edit: she did know one player’s name, that being Max. But she was calling him Maxy which is hilarious when it’s tacked onto an insult. 

I can't believe any self respecting footy supporter doesn't know MFC's number 13. Top 5 player of the competition.

41 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

I can't believe any self respecting footy supporter doesn't know MFC's number 13. Top 5 player of the competition.

These are Hawthorn supporters we're talking about here you know.

There's a subtle, but important difference between self respecting and making love to yourself.

Edited May 1, 20223 yr by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

On 4/26/2022 at 11:42 AM, one_demon said:

Other supporters often think we're going to thrash them, but we rarely thrash anyone 

Only in Prelims and GF's when it counts.