Despite going in as firm underdogs, the Hawthorn outfit that took to Adelaide Oval on Thursday night were confident they had the recipe for success, according to emerging defender Blake Hardwick.
“We were confident that if we did what we planned, we could come away with the win,” Hardwick said after the nail-biting 14-point win over the ladder-leader Crows.
“It was just about sticking to the task and knowing what we had to do.
“I knew we were in the game the whole time, and thankfully we were able to keep our cool and get the job done.”
A sea of 45,000+ Crows supporters flocked to Adelaide Oval in hope of seeing a result similar to the Hawks’ last South Australian visit (a 51-point defeat at the hands of Port Adelaide), however their roar subsided as the Hawks kicked five goals to two in the final term.
Although the noise of the home crowd was deafening, Hardwick didn’t let it shake him.
“You hear it, but you’ve just got to try not to think about it too much.
“I didn’t let it get in my head.”
Indeed, the 20-year-old showed a cool head under pressure collecting 19 disposals at 90 per cent disposal efficiency, cementing his status as the most efficient Hawk so far in 2017.
Individual plaudits aside, Hardwick was happy to achieve some team success after a tough couple of weeks on the field.
“We were much more switched on in our defence tonight.
“We held them to a really low score for what they are averaging this season, and that’s because all the boys fought hard to keep exerting the pressure throughout the game.”
