Wingard hungry for Hawks to soar again

CHAD Wingard is already thinking about the first day back at Hawthorn, just three weeks into the unprecedented AFL blackout because of the coronavirus.

As much as Wingard wants to get back to life as we knew it, a major drawcard is finding out what Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has cooked up for a competitive edge on rivals.

“He’ll come out of the woodwork with something,” Wingard said. “I can’t wait to get back because he’ll be thinking that far out of the box about how we can win this year or get an edge over the oppositions.

“He’ll be thinking like crazy and as soon as we get back it could be an hour or two-hour meeting about what we’re going to do to approach this season.”

Wingard is desperate to atone for last season. He was his own worst enemy, too, as injuries ultimately led to self-doubt. Save for a three-goal debut for Hawthorn in Round 3 last year, following a calf setback, wildly inconsistent is the best way to describe Wingard’s first seven games across 14 weeks. He played five, missed two, played two, and then missed another four due to a hamstring injury.

“It was my every intention to come out of the blocks and dominate and try and show Hawthorn why they got me,” Wingard said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself, they [Hawthorn] didn’t put any pressure on, just internal pressure.

“It’s almost like getting drafted again, you come to a team and … the two AllAustralians all goes out the window, you got to earn respect and earn your place again. As soon as I had injuries and my form wasn’t great it was pretty deflating, you have a couple setbacks and you have a little bit of doubt in your mind.”

Wingard finally got his body right to play a big part in the Hawks winning six of their last eight games to only just miss out on the finals after blundering the start.