Hawthorn Captain Ben Stratton has asserted that it’s not panic stations at the Ricoh Centre just yet.
Following his side’s fourth loss of the season to Melbourne on the weekend, Hawks Coach Alastair Clarkson described the team as a “middle of the road side”.
But Stratton said post-match reviews have since somewhat buoyed the mood around the club.
“I suppose Clarko was just as frustrated as the players were after the game,” Stratton said.
“But we’ve had our debrief since then and realised we’re actually not too far off it.
“It’s a complex game, sometimes you’re going to go up and down like we are at the moment, but we’ve just got to be prepared to grind.”
Stratton was also keen to point out that a passionate mid-game conversation between Jarryd Roughead and Chad Wingard was seen as a positive thing within the club.
“I love that, it just means they’ve got passion and they want their teammate to get better.
“With Chad, there’s a new guy coming in and they want him to improve and embrace the way we go about it.
“Those sorts of conversation happen 50 times in a game but it just so happens that the camera was on this one.”
