The Chad
The Hawthorn supporter base erupted with excitement upon the news that Chad Wingard would don the brown and gold jumper for the first time in Round 3, and the recruit did not let his new fans down. After a slow start, Wingard burst to life and proved crucial when the game was there to be won. The 25-year-old proved he will be the subject of many highlight reels over the years to come with some sheer brilliance in front of goals, while his defensive pressure was also a notable element of his game.
Jaeger the warrior
The hurt of an average opening term was compounded by vision of Jaeger O’Meara heading down to the rooms with a hip issue midway through the second quarter. A dark day seemed to be only getting worse. But O’Meara re-surfaced and emerged as a defining factor in the game. The midfielder finished with a team-high 31 disposals and a clear game-high of 12 tackles – the next most on the ground was six. It continues a rich vein of form for Jaeger, who has now averaged 28.3 disposals, 7.7 tackles, 6.3 clearances and a goal through the first three rounds.
The state of play
As they notched their second win of the season, the Hawks have now returned to the top eight. With upsets rife in the opening stages of the year, every win is significant with Hawthorn Coach Alastair Clarkson noting post game that, despite his side “not setting the world on fire with the way it’s playing at the moment”, two wins from three games was a strong position to be in.
Some fun facts
On a more light-hearted note, the Hawks were the subject of a bit of history-making on the weekend.
In coach Alastair Clarkson's 332nd game in charge of Hawthorn, it was his first without any of his stalwarts in Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Burgoyne or Jarryd Roughead, who was a late out after copping a corked thigh in a collision with Wingard at training on Saturday.
While the club’s final score of 87 against the Roos matched its tallies in Rounds 1 and 2, making Hawthorn the first team in VFL/AFL history to start the season with the same score in each of their first three games.
