ASSISTANT Coach Brendon Bolton says Hawthorn will need to use the ball well to limit the influence of Essendon’s defence on Saturday afternoon.
The Hawks have won their past three matches, but will be out to make amends for a loss to the Bombers in Round 2 this year.
A combined six points has separated the clubs in their past two meetings, and Bolton knows the Bombers defence, led by the likes of Michael Hurley and Cale Hooker, can be extremely dangerous.
“They’ve got a really, really strong defence, so it’s important that we move the ball well this week,” he said.
“We know Hurley and Hooker are really good defenders, so our ball use going forward is something that we really need to focus on.
“Just as important is their transition out of defence, which is really positive, so what that means is we’ve got to defend hard when they’ve got it and we’ve got to use the ball smartly - the combination of those things is important.”
The rebound of Michael Hibberd and Mark Baguley has also been important for the Bombers this year, and Bolton acknowledged the Bombers had talent across the field.
“It would be unfair of me probably just to single out their defence,” he said.
“They’ve got Brendon Goddard, Watson and Stanton through the midfield who are high accumulators of the ball, and up forward Joe Daniher is a young forward who is really progressing well for them.
The Hawks have improved their consistency in games over the past month, and Bolton believes the club’s near full-strength list will push players to challenge each other for spots.
“It helps that we’ve got a healthy list at the moment,” he said.
“Box Hill is going well and people like Ben McEvoy, Will Langford, Alex Woodward, Jonathan Simpkin, James Sicily and Matt Spangher are all in senior contention and that’s only healthy.
“There’s definitely some pressure for some spots.”
The Hawks have a win-loss record of 7-4 going into the match, as opposed to the Bombers 4-7.
But Bolton said there was no chance of the Hawks taking their fierce rivals lightly.
“They’ve definitely troubled us in the last few games, so we really need to be on,” he said.
