Recycled stars lead Hawks to triumph
WHAT is it within the DNA of the Hawthorn Football Club that takes a player from a rival AFL club and transforms him into a far superior footballer?
Is it the coach Alastair Clarkson, or is it the Hawks’ system? Is it all of that, and something more?
Whatever the reason, no club this century has been so effective in targeting, trading for, and then taking the best of those recruits and turning them into match winners.
One of them (Brian Lake) won a Norm Smith; another (Josh Gibson) won best-andfairests in two premiership sides; and evergreen veteran (Shaun Burgoyne) is still producing the goods, even if a rare soft-tissue injury brought an early end to his day yesterday.
Sure, there have been a few misses in that time (sorry for the reminder, Ty Vickery).
But yesterday’s thrilling one-point victory against Geelong provided the perfect example of Hawthorn’s strategic list management.
No surprises for who was best afield yesterday – that was Tom Mitchell, who took on the “Dangerwoodlett” trio – or the “Holy Trinity”, as some called the midfield pairing of Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett.
Mitchell, a week after having 54 touches against Collingwood, he made the Sherrin his own again, helping himself to 40 touches and almost certainly taking him to six Brownlow Medal votes.
Mitchell was a very good player at Sydney, even if for a time early in his career at the club, he couldn’t always hold his spot in the team.
Now two weeks into his second season with the Hawks - and with a Peter Crimmins Medal already to his name – he is a bona fide superstar. It wasn’t just him, though. Ben McEvoy was a good ruckman who looked like a throwback from the past for the Saints until they opted to trade him to Hawthorn.
Two premierships later, he is one of the most effective big men in the competition, taking his game to another level last season.
Yesterday McEvoy had 15 disposals, five marks, 43 hitouts and importantly nailed a second-term goal that would ultimately prove its own weight in goal, given the final margin.
Another recruit Jaeger O’Meara combined well with Mitchell in the middle, racked up 21 touches, and seems to be getting better each week.
Another was Jarman Impey who kicked two first-half goals, and had the Cats’ defenders quivering when dealing with him, Cyril Rioli and Paul Puopolo at times.