From losing their first five games of the season to winning six of their last eight, it’s been a thrilling ride for Hawthorn fans in 2024.
Among the key players in the Hawks recent run of strong form has been defender Jack Scrimshaw.
The 25-year-old is putting together one of his most consistent seasons to date, with averages of 17.3 disposals, 8.3 intercept possessions and 5.4 marks from his 12 games.
Speaking to RSN Breakfast on Wednesday morning, Scrimshaw said an element of the team’s resurgence could be put down to hard conversations had following Hawthorn’s 53-point loss against the Gold Coast Suns in Round 5.
“It was a good chance for us to have a good look at ourselves and work on a few things and since then, I feel like our response has been good,” Scrimshaw said.
“We had to take a bit of ownership as players to continue to drive standards around the club.
“We weren’t happy with where we were at and we wanted to change.
“We’re fortunate that it’s changed this quickly but we’ve still got a fair way to go and a lot of development left.”
Another factor in Hawthorn’s recent results has included the simple act of playing more football together as a team, according to Scrimshaw.
Despite remaining one of the youngest teams in the league, the Hawks are seeing greater continuity of their younger brigade being on the same field at the same time, which is leading to faster improvement as a collective.
“We’ve been able to tweak a few things as we’ve gone on,” Scrimshaw said.
“We’ve had a few close games throughout the early part of the year, which included a loss to Collingwood by under a kick.
“We felt like things weren’t really going our way, but we’ve been lucky in being able to fix a few things.”
Hawthorn’s next challenge comes against Richmond this Saturday afternoon at the MCG, with the team aiming for four straight wins.
“It’ll be a good challenge, I’m really excited,” Scrimshaw said when talking about the contest.
“Hopefully it’s a good turnout, it’s a big game for us as a club.
“We need to continue to build. We’re not going to put a ceiling on where we can get to this year and we just want to keep getting better.”
