IT’S funny how much can change in a week of football.

Guess that’s why footballers and coaches are always saying they're taking things ‘one week at a time’.

Last week the Hawks were supposedly too old, too slow and just not good enough… and this week they’re back on track to create history. 

Anyway. 

What a change it was from Round 1 against the Cats to Round 2’s grand final rematch against the Eagles.

Even if the change from last year’s grand final to last week’s win – both of which were 46-point wins in our favour – was hard to pick. 

The key this time around was a strategic decision to rest Luke Hodge to allow some other Hawks the chance to shine. 

It was a tough decision from the coaches to let Hodgey and his broken arm have a week off – especially with Roughead, Hill and Shiels already out.

But it paid dividends. With ‘The General’ out of the side, it was a golden opportunity for some of his less experienced teammates to step up.

And didn’t Josh Gibson rise to the occasion?

He might have played 80 less games than Hodgey, but Gibbo stepped up to the plate brilliantly.

His 44-disposal, one-goal game will probably have Clarko weighing up whether to throw him into the midfield this week… Or even up forward?

Another young bloke in Sam Mitchell went alright, as did James Sicily in just his fifth game.

There were a couple of question marks over Sicily during the week.

Will he improve on Round 1? Where does he fit in the Hawks’ forward set-up? Is he a redhead or a blonde? 

He’s answered a few of them, but the hair question might be an on-going one.

It’s probably not the key talking point ahead of a big match against the Western Bulldogs though. 

Pup could return against the Dogs (see what happened there?), who have a real Hawthorn flavour about them. 

Their coach – Luke Beveridge – was a member of Clarko’s coaching group for a couple of years, and then there’s two-time premiership Hawk Matthew Suckling running around on a wing.

The Bulldogs are 2-0, on top of the ladder and making waves in the competition.

But we’re all moving in One Direction at Hawthorn and looking forward to the challenge, right?

The Glenferrie Ghost - a passionate Hawks follower - will pen a weekly column for hawthornfc.com.au in 2016.

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