Hawks hope for home boost
THE comfort of the UTas Stadium surroundings will give Hawthorn a huge boost as it strives to snap a three-game losing skid, but it won’t guarantee a victory, despite the club’s fine record at the venue.
The Hawks host Port Adelaide on Saturday, desperate to return to the winners’ list after a pair of tight losses to Sydney and competition pacesetter West Coast and the blowout defeat to Brisbane a fortnight ago.
Having lost just once — as well as the draw against GWS last year — in their past 24 matches in Launceston, the Hawks have made the ground a fortress away from Melbourne, but defender Taylor Duryea knows it will count for little if the side is not ready for a Power outfit fresh from a bye.
“For us, we love going down to Tassie and it’s proven to be a pretty good home-ground advantage for us,” Duryea said.
“But that doesn’t guarantee us any result. It is important for us to start well against Port, knowing they will have some fresh legs coming off the bye.
“It is hard to know how a team will respond after a bye. I think every team is different but traditionally they are a good first-quarter side. They always come out of the blocks pretty hard and we know that.
“Although we do travel to play in Tassie, there is a level of comfort and familiarity. We have a set routine with how we travel down there and the way we train and the set-up of the day leading in.”
A lack of polish going forward proved the difference against the Eagles last weekend, with the Hawks edging the visitors 48-46 for inside 50s but having five fewer scoring shots.
However despite slipping from fourth to 10th in the past three weeks, Duryea said there was no need to panic.
“We are optimistic about where we can go this year, but three losses in a row doesn’t help the cause. It is not panic stations, but any time you have three losses in a row it is not ideal, especially with the evenness of the competition.
“This time in many seasons gone you have already got a top eight defined, but this year it probably runs as deep as 12 or 13 with teams that believe they are in with a [finals] shot.”