With three wins and six losses to start the season, Jarryd Roughead concedes that 2017 has been a “challenging year”.

However, the skipper ensures not all hope is lost, with the playing group buoyed by the emergence of several young prospects that are still learning their craft. 

“You could compare us to four or five years ago, but need to understand that we are not the same side,” Roughead said while speaking to 3AW on Sunday. 

“We’ve got guys that have only played four or five games together, like [Ryan] Burton and [Blake] Hardwick, and throw [Kurt] Heatherley in there who has only played his second game, and you can see that it is a very young defence. 

“These guys are learning how to win the Hawthorn way, and their getting the chance to build their own careers.

“As a forward and someone they kick too, I look at it with excitement because these guys are going to be the future of Hawthorn, and hopefully they can fast track [their development] by playing in the ones sooner than they would in the VFL.”

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On the other end of the scale, veteran defender Josh Gibson has been the focus of much media scrutiny this year, but Roughead ensures the scrutiny is entirely external.

“GIbbo is one that has been copping a fair bit from the outside, but he’s not one that we’ve been getting frustrated with or having doubts over,” says the skipper.

“In his own words, he has been a bit scratchy in the early part of the season, but he’s showed signs in the last couple of games that he is getting back to where he has been in the past.

“It’s only Round 9, so if we’re writing blokes off now, then we can write off nearly half the competition with how everyone’s playing at the moment.”

The Hawks now look to Friday night, when they will take on Sydney at the SCG.

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