Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell was full of pride following his side’s momentous 25-point victory over Brisbane on Saturday afternoon at the MCG. 

The Hawks competed valiantly with the fourth-placed Lions throughout the entire game, setting the tone early by going goal-for-goal with the away side. 

Unfortunately, the second quarter didn’t go Hawthorn’s way as Brisbane rallied with three quick, late goals to open up a 17-point margin at half-time.

From there, it was all the Hawks, as they kicked 10 majors to the Lions’ three in the second half to seal the victory. 

Mitchell said the response from his playing group was pleasing. 

“I’m really proud of the players and what they were able to produce,” he said.

“Brisbane are a fantastic side and have got a really clear system.

“I thought we controlled a lot of the game, other than those three goals in three minutes just before half-time.

“I thought the players did a great job with momentum.

“They weren’t able to score even when they owned momentum and then fortunately, we were able to take some opportunities and kick straight early, so when they got some momentum, we weren’t too far away from them.

“We had that belief that if we could stay with them long enough that the longer the game went, the more it would play into our hands.

“I thought the performance of our collective playing group and their understanding of what they were trying to do and how we wanted to beat Brisbane was excellent.”

In the lead-up to Hawthorn’s clash with Brisbane, Mitchell urged his players to improve their handling of momentum swings, following his team’s 55-point loss against Port Adelaide.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon at the MCG and the players had delivered on Mitchell’s instruction, which he was incredibly impressed with.

“I think one of the things that our players have been fantastic at is (realising that) you don’t have to have a good four quarters,” the Hawks coach said.

“If you have a bad quarter, that doesn’t mean the next quarter has to be the same way.

“So if I looked at James Sicily, Jai Newcombe, Lloyd Meek and Jacob Koschitzke, they didn’t play particularly well in the first half but then were able to make changes to their game.

“They had the mental resilience to think through what they needed to do at half-time.

“I thought they were fantastic in the third quarter.

“Having players that can turn their own game around is what turns games around.”

Hear more from Sam Mitchell in his press conference below.