Hawks to minimise Max
Though loss of star hurts Gawn plan
HAWTHORN’S plan to nullify All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn by causing chaos at the contest has suffered a blow with star midfielder Jaeger O’Meara out of tonight’s cutthroat semi-final.
O’Meara suffered a knock to his knee in the Hawk’s qualifying final loss to Richmond and failed to recover in time to take on the Demons.
Ryan Schoenmakers, Taylor Duryea and David Mirra have come into the side to replace O’Meara and Ben Stratton (hamstring) while ruck Jonathon Ceglar is omitted.
Coach Alastair Clarkson said yesterday his onball brigade was crucial to beating the rampaging Demons.
The loss of O’Meara hurts their trademark of pressure and forward-half turnovers.
“The percentage of balls that get hit to advantage and directly to a teammate is very, very low really, it’s just chaotic in there,” Clarkson said.
“We spoke about chaos before, in terms of the Melbourne side, that’s where they’re particularly strong and some of that’s got to do with Gawn giving them first use of the ball, but some of it’s got to do with just the fact they’ve got some really good hunters in there that want to win the footy and we need to match it in that part of the ground.
“It’s not so much the hitouts and the ruck as it is the guys underneath and the manner in which they go about it.”
Gawn won the hitouts in Round 4 but the Hawks won the clearances and the game and Clarkson said the key was for his players to win the ball first.
“He’s obviously been a pivotal player for them over the course of the year,” Clarkson said.
“But just because he plays particularly well or wins the hitouts, doesn’t necessarily mean they win the game.
“We need to do our best to compete as hard as we can in that part of the ground and if we do so, we give ourselves a chance.
“It’s not a direct correlation between him winning the hitouts and they winning games but obviously if he’s giving first supply and they’re winning a lot of clearances then it’s something of concern for us.”
Asked how the Hawks could combat the Demons’ “chaos” game style, Clarkson said it was simple: “Just getting your hands on the ball.”