Hawthorn Senior Coach Sam Mitchell has praised his team’s ability to work hard and handle momentum swings following the Hawks’ 12-point win over GWS at UTAS Stadium on Saturday night.

Mitchell also touched on Nick Watson’s breakout performance as well as the club’s future in the Apple Isle. 

We summarised the key points from his post-game press conference below. 

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On the win 

“I think it was a game that showed us exactly where we're at in the early phase. We consider ourselves a team that knows if we work hard, we improve and we saw that if we don't and if we don't bring our pressure and intensity around the ball, then we can't compete against the best. The Giants are certainly in that group. They obviously jumped us and their pressure and intensity in the early part of the game was just a bit much for us, to be honest, but the response after quarter-time to obviously, the breeze helped in the second quarter, but then to maintain that through the third and, you know, pressure factor was up over 1.9 in that period of the game against a team that's quite hard to put pressure on. I think the way they play is pretty tough to play against. I was really pleased the boys were able to respond and maintain the rage for the rest of the game.”

On Nick Watson’s performance

“I chatted to him before and I think it's probably his best game for the club. I know he didn't maybe hit the scoreboard as much as he has in some others, but his importance to us, there was a play in the first quarter, where everything was pretty much going against us, and he had no one to kick to. We'd lost all sort of structure of the game, and the game was a mess for us, to be honest, and he just found a way to make something good happen. I think when you have players who are young like him, giving them the confidence and letting them show their flair and do their things is an important thing. Fortunately, with Nick, he's someone who’s just so tough and attacks the ball so hard. I was really pleased that he got a bit of reward for his efforts today, even though he didn't get it on the scoreboard. Probably at the other end of the spectrum was Jack Gunston. I thought he played a really important role for us. He probably could have kicked a few more. It's unusual for him to be not as straight with his goal-kicking. (Sam) Taylor's a phenomenal defender, so the fact that Gunners was able to at least half quell his influence at different stages, I thought was important.”

On the club’s winning start to the season

“Last year, we wanted to be a club that could be more competitive more often and be in winning positions much more often than we had been before that. This year, we've been able to handle momentum. I think we've conceded three goals in a row more times than you would like. Obviously, you would never like to, but we've been able to not concede too many in a row, and then today, obviously they kick the first five and trying to get that momentum back was quite difficult. But the players handed it well and I think, as you play together for a long time and they've got this belief that we work hard on something and then we see improvement in it and one of the areas of that is managing momentum. So that's part of the work that we've put in and they're seeing some rewards now.”

On playing in Tasmania

“I think the club and Ash (Klein) are working pretty hard with the Launceston Government to try to make sure that there's still a place for us. I've been personally coming here since 2002 and I would not like to stop doing that. I would love to keep coming here if you'll have us. So I hope that they can work something out. I think we add value to the Tassie people, and you certainly add value to us. I think it's great for our players to be able to come down here and enjoy it. I saw them all up at The Gorge this morning having a swim and all those sorts of things. We love coming down here and hopefully,y they can work something out to make it a long-term plan and play for us.”

Watch Sam Mitchell’s full press conference below.