Hawthorn Senior Coach Sam Mitchell has fronted the media ahead of the Hawks going head-to-head with GWS on Sunday afternoon at Manuka Oval.
Mitchell spoke about the Giants, a couple of contract extensions within the club and an in-form forward at Friday’s press conference.
We summarised the key points below.
On the Giants
“They’re in great form. They’ve won their last four and they were all wins in all different ways as well so they’re a challenging team to scout because they’ve obviously got some fantastic individual talent but they play a really clear system and are a really well-organised team so we’re going to have our work cut out.”
On how important the match-up is
"We've been in a block where every game is so important. When you've got a young side, you try to get different experiences into them and you try to learn as much as you can as quickly as you can. Games that really matter are hugely valuable for our group and because every game is keeping our season alive. Some of the other games have or haven't gone our way so we're still sitting outside the eight. We know we're going to have to keep winning against a team who's in front of us on the ladder which obviously gives us a bit of a chance to make more ground."
On Conor Nash’s contract extension
“For those who saw the social stuff that they put up this week about how far he’s come - 10 years ago, he’d never kicked a footy before and to come as far as he has in the time that he has just shows the work ethic that you need at this level. To change codes and to be able to do it the way he has is great leadership for all the rest of our guys, knowing that most of us grow up with a footy in hand before we can run too far. He’s a great leader for our group and I’m enormously pleased that he’s believing in our path and our direction and he’s a big part of it. I’m really rapt that he’ll be with us for the next five (years).”
On Sam Frost’s contract extension
“I think the thing with Frosty is that as he’s matured, he’s come to realise what’s important and him playing his role, getting his job done, he’s just a great person to be around. He holds everyone else to a really high standard. You might not see him in every celebration and all these things but he’s really embraced the young, energetic group but at the same time, he’s able to drive the standard of what we do behind the scenes. I’m really glad that he’ll be with us for at least next year because he’s probably putting together his most consistent season of his whole career and at his age, that’s a credit to the work that he’s done and trying to continue to improve no matter what age you are and I think when we see Scott Pendlebury playing his 400th at the age he is, there’s some great leaders in the whole competition who can be learnt from and I think Frosty’s our version of that who’s continuing to play at a really high standard once he gets what’s meant to be later in his career.”
On Connor Macdonald’s recent form
“I think when Connor got drafted, he was more of a midfielder and we looked at his running profile and we moved him to half-forward late in his first pre-season. It took him a little bit of time to really embrace the role but since he’s done it, I think he’s just getting better and better. I think his level of consistency is what’s the most pleasing. He’s played over 50 games now so he’s seen most things. He’s seen rain, he’s seen dry, he’s seen a tight match-up, he’s seen a bit of a looser match-up, he’s played against one-on-one versus zones. I think the thing with Connor is even his worst games now, he’s still a valuable part of the team and I think that’s what we want with our whole group, as we grow together, that our bad games are still pretty good and when we get that, we’re going to be able to compete with the better sides more consistently than we have in the past.”
Watch Mitchell’s full press conference below.
