Hawthorn Senior Coach Sam Mitchell has spoken to the media ahead of the team’s clash with Adelaide on Saturday afternoon at the MCG.
Mitchell touched on the impact Jack Gunston has had on the club ahead of his 250th game, the excitement around new Hawk Jasper Scaife, Will Day’s stellar form and Mitch Lewis’ progress.
We’ve summarised the key points from Mitchell’s press conference below.
On Jack Gunston’s impact on the club ahead of his 250th game
“I think if you look at Jack Gunston over his career at Hawthorn, including the year away, you can see his growth as a person. He came to the club when we were on top of the ladder and he didn’t need to produce a lot of leadership because he was part of a successful team that was winning a lot. If you look at him in his last few years, he probably didn’t have the reputation as a great mind and a great helper of people but certainly, in my first year as a coach, he was a really great leader and person around the club and was really helpful. Going away and coming back, he’s been ever better, he’s doubled down on all of those things and I think if you look at the contribution of his whole career, you really break it into two. One is being part of premierships, kicking goals, being in key games, being a big game player and one of the hardest match-ups. I think every year there are three or four players who say Jack Gunston when asked what type of player they are (in draft interviews), so when you’re being aligned like that from the youth, you know you’ve had a significant impact on the game. Then the second part of his career, we look internally and see the impact he’s having on our group, on our forward line and on our leadership programs. I couldn’t be prouder of what he’s doing off the field. It’s a bonus when he comes out and kicks four over the weekend and has such a strong performance. think with some of our social media stuff, we’ve been able to show our fans why we brought Jack back despite not being part of our age profile that we might not necessarily be looking for. The impact that he's having on guys that we think can be future premiership players for the club has been massive.”
On new Hawk Jasper Scaife
“I’m excited. He’s a big lump of a lad and can kick it a long way. He hasn’t had AFL experience just yet, he’s still young. I’m looking forward to getting him in and seeing what he can do. His form’s really consistent and he looks physically ready to play AFL. We’re in a position where we may need that if we get another injury or two, we’re going to be struggling for tall depth, so that’s really important for us at this point.”
On impact of Will Day
“Sometimes you miss the player himself and sometimes you miss the peripheral stuff that he does. I think his vision, his understanding of where other players need to be and his communication on the field is first class and I think he’s a bit like a coach out there for us. He’s just one more player who helps us with being able to control the narrative of the game. It obviously took him a couple of weeks to get going but he's found his groove now and is an important player for us.”
On Mitch Lewis' progress
“He trains some days and then he pulls up the next day fantastically well and sometimes he doesn’t feel great the next day. I think the medical team are feeling like they’re going to have a more solid timeline in the next week, but he’s starting to move better. His last week has certainly been an improvement. The medical team are working very, very hard to get him back because we know how important he is for us.”
