BATTERED HAWKS TRY TO REBUILD

HAWTHORN’S playing group understands where it sits in the AFL pecking order but midfield maestro Tom Mitchell admits there is still “frustration” with the past fortnight’s output.

The Hawks, second last on the ladder ahead of Saturday’s clash with winless North Melbourne in Launceston, have won just four of their past 21 matches since round five last year.

It has put the club in the spotlight and led to chief executive Justin Reeves and president Jeff Kennett both publicly telling fans to buckle up for the rebuild.

Since surviving a 10-goal second quarter onslaught from Adelaide in round six at UTAS Stadium to sneak a three point victory, the Hawks have been smacked by St Kilda by 69 points and downed by West Coast by 38.

Mitchell, who gathered 41 possessions in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, said the players were blocking out the external noise but know there is plenty more to give despite the list demographic.

“Part of it is natural. I think if you look at the injury list

guys like [James] Sicily, [Jack] Gunston, Jaeger [O’Meara] has been out the last couple of weeks, Shaun Burgoyne has been out,” Mitchell said.

“So naturally, a few of our more experienced guys have been out and generally when that happens it does make it more difficult to win games.

“But having said that we’re not making any excuses.

“We try and stick to the process and we do try and block out the external noise. Obviously you can’t control that.

“There is no point worrying about things you can’t control but there is a little bit of frustration within the group. We feel as though we can perform better than we have been.

“We’re looking forward to redeeming ourselves in the next couple of weeks before the bye and then resetting.”

Mitchell says consistency within games is the biggest issue as coach Alastair Clarkson looks to fast-track the development of younger players.

The 2018 Brownlow Medallist knows the Hawks can ill afford to be complacent against a desperate Roos outfit still searching for a breakthrough victory.

“We want to go out every week and compete hard and perform well and at times we’ve done that really well this year. Other times we haven’t.

“It’s just about trying to get some consistency in the way we play every week.

“We don’t shy away from the fact that they obviously really want to get a win.”