HAWTHORN midfielder Liam Shiels says the Hawks will learn from their loss to Richmond, but won’t dwell on the result as they prepare for another massive clash, against West Coast Eagles.
The Hawks’ eight-game winning streak was ended by Richmond on Friday night at the MCG, with the Tigers recording an 18-point win.
Shiels said the Hawks would be out to recapture their winning form as quickly as possible.
“It’s important to look at where we can improve on tonight’s performance,” he said.
“(But) you can’t dwell on it for too long.
“We’ll have a good session on Tuesday and start looking at West Coast – it’s another massive game for us, in terms of finishing top four and things like that.”
Shiels was among the Hawks’ stronger performers after missing a week with a corked quad, collecting 19 disposals and laying a game-high eight tackles.
He said collectively the Hawks had plenty of room to improve on Friday night’s performance.
The Hawks were narrowly beaten in the clearances by the Tigers, 40-38, but beaten by 21 in the contested possession count, 146-125.
“There were a number of things that let us down, but the contested footy was probably the major one,” Shiels said.
“We got jumped a little bit at the start and they were pretty much on top of us in the contest for the whole night.”
The Hawks currently sit six points behind the Eagles, who drew with Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night, in third spot on the ladder, making Saturday night’s clash at Domain Stadium a must-win for the Hawks’ top-two aspirations.
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