HAWTHORN’S Jordan Lewis says his performances so far this season have not been good enough from one of the side’s senior players.
The Hawks vice-captain says both he and the side have acknowledged they have plenty of room to improve, despite a 4-2 start to the season.
“I could probably put my hand up for one good game this year out of six,” Lewis told Fox Footy’s AFL360 on Tuesday night.
“That’s not good enough from probably any player, let alone a leader of the club.”
Lewis is averaging just over 23 disposals per game this year, down on his average of just under 29 disposals per game in 2015.
He says it’s got nothing to do with effort.
“You try everything – you do train a little bit harder, you train a little bit longer and you try and work on your deficiencies,” Lewis said.
“Everyone in this day and age is impatient, we’re impatient, and if you don’t see the results straight away it gets harder and harder. I think the biggest quality of AFL players is resilience, and you’ve just got to stick at it and hope that something turns your way.
“By all means I need to play a lot better than I have at the start of the season.”
While contested football hasn’t been the be-all and end-all for the Hawks over the past three seasons, Lewis said the stats this year were “pretty damning” over the first six rounds.
“There’s a certain side of our game that needs to get a little bit harder,” he said.
“Our contested ball is down – which we probably haven’t been great at over the past three years, but it’s held us in good stead.
“What we’re seeing now is we’re probably getting smashed in quarters, going down 30 contested possessions in a quarter is unlike us.”