HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson admits his team needs to lick their wounds following a comprehensive loss to GWS Giants on Saturday night.
The statistics sheet makes difficult reading for the Hawks, who lost the contested possession count 153-114, trailed in clearances 47-29 and had just six contested marks to their opponents' 20. Giants big man Rory Lobb had eight contested marks on his own, and kicked four goals.
That dominance on Saturday translated into a 75-point defeat, with the Giants' full-time total of 24.14 (158) representing the biggest score the Hawks have conceded since Round 13 2005, when Port Adelaide booted 29.15 (158) against them.
"It is a territory game nowadays in AFL footy and if you can't win that battle in the middle of the ground you are going to find yourself in real trouble." Clarkson said after the match.
"Their prediction that they were going to stretch us in the air came true for them tonight.
"One bloke in particular in Lobb takes eight contested marks for the game as a key forward, you know you are going to be in a lot of trouble, particularly when some of those are deep inside 50 and they are converted into goals."
The Hawks had won their past three matches by three points, often with some last-minute heroics or gutsy turnaround from a difficult position. They threatened to do the same here, with three consecutive goals during the second term, and two in a row at the start of the third stanza.
However, the Giants had all the answers.
Clarkson said the club was "comprehensively beaten in nearly every facet of the game".
"Just when we needed a key moment or just a bit of luck or something to go our way, the GWS response was such an easy goal," Clarkson said.
"That's a sign of a good side on their behalf. Full credit to GWS, they played a very, very good brand of footy tonight.
"We've just got to look at some of the things in terms of the structure of our side and some of our players and get ourselves ready for a torrid contest next week against Richmond.
"You make your own luck in footy and we didn't make any of it tonight unfortunately."
Asked about some of the uncharacteristic mistakes, such as missing targets by hand or foot when under little pressure or turning the footy over from the kickout, Clarkson said: "Nothing seemed to go to well for us tonight."
"You get down on yourself, you become a little bit hesitant. All sides it happens to at different stages, it happened to us tonight. We are not proud of it.
"We are working really hard but it is just not gelling for us at the present time."
While the result snaps a four-game winning run, Clarkson remained upbeat about the club's prospects for 2016 with a 4-2 win-loss record heading into next week.
"The season is still well and truly alive for us," Clarkson said.
