Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell has conceded that his side is still a “work in progress” following the Hawks’ 50-point win over West Coast at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking to the media after the match, Mitchell discussed how the game went and looked ahead to the club’s centenary match on Sunday against Richmond.
We summarised the key points from his press conference below.
On the result
“There were some good parts of the game and some not-so-good parts. I mean, we were able to keep the pressure nice and high. We got the ball back a lot and got a lot of opportunities, but wasted far too many of them. I thought our cleanliness and ball handling, and efficiency in front of goal was the obvious one. So there were lots of scores left out there, but also we probably gave up too many inside 50s and gave up a bigger score than we would like to, so we’re still a work in progress.”
On looking ahead
“I mean, our scoreboard kept ticking along, but so did theirs. I was a little disappointed that they were able to get some goals late. I think they had 50 inside 50s, and we've been quite good at keeping that score low. The fizz went out of the game at different stages. It was one of those games that we did we had to do. But I don’t think too many people are going to be turning on the replay for that one and re-watching it. Although the coaches will certainly do some learning, and the players will. But from a fan's point of view, we'd like to have played better for everyone else. So next week, we have our 100-year celebration against the Tigers, and we will be very, very focused on putting together a four-quarter performance. You know, we won, that was a good game, but we've got bigger things in front of us, we hope, as far as the way we perform.”
On Jack Scrimshaw and Karl Amon’s concussions
“We've got two of our defenders who have concussions, and they'll obviously be out for next week. From a selection point of view, that creates opportunity. We had a really good win at Box Hill today, which is fantastic. Zane Littlejohn’s done a really good job with those guys. I feel like we've got some players who are ready, and our injury list has been quite strong, but our depth is going to start to get challenged now. Henry Hustwaite came in today and did a really good job. I was really rapt for him to be honest, because he really deserved his opportunity. He got it and he took it. So that's a win, and it gives confidence to the other guys that are going to come in for next week. But as far as those two guys with concussion, you let them go through the medical process, and you make sure that they've got all the support around them to make sure they can recover.”
On Jack Ginnivan and Bailey Macdonald’s inclusions
“I thought Ginni looked back to his sort of vibrant best. I saw him do a goal celebration and I haven't probably seen that for a little while. So those little things, you know, I think there was a bit of energy around him and Bailey, everyone loves playing footy with him. There was nothing surer than him getting a chance to have a running bounce, because he's sort of got that leg speed and that style of play. So soon as I saw that, I started to think, okay, he’s starting to look comfortable at the level. He’s in his third game, so getting exposure for young guys like him is exciting for us.”
Watch Mitchell’s post-match press conference below.
