After Hawthorn’s 19-point loss to Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Friday night, hawthornfc.com.au takes a look at the five main points to take out of the game.

1. Getting close without stars
Hawthorn might have eventually succumbed to Sydney on Friday night but there was nothing to be ashamed of by the performance. After losing Brian Lake and Sam Mitchell to injury, then losing Luke Hodge before the game and Cyril Rioli in the third quarter, the Hawks were up against it.

Before the game, the Hawks lost 705 games of experience and replaced it with 109 games – Stratton made up the most of those, having played 79 before Friday night.

But the Hawks were gallant in defeat and even showed the maturity and hunger to come back from a four-goal deficit in the first half. There were good signs from the younger brigade and the leaders outside of Hodge and Mitchell, like Shaun Burgoyne, Jordan Lewis and Jarryd Roughead were effective in their words and actions.
 

2. Langford is best 22
It would have been a timely confidence boost for Will Langford in that he was recalled to the senior team immediately after overcoming the back issue that sidelined him against the Saints.

His seventh game of AFL footy was arguably his best, winning 23 disposals – 11 contested and 12 uncontested – three clearances, five tackles and four inside 50s.

He was named in the best and was a fine sidekick to Lewis and Burgoyne in the midfield, with his work around the ball, particularly at the stoppages and when pressuring the opposition showed that he can perform well against the best midfielders in the competition.
 

3. The wait for Hallahan was worth it
With Mitchell out for up to two months, the spotlight was on Langford and Hallahan and how they would respond to being thrown the challenge of performing without the midfield star. It was the challenge they’d been waiting for, for over 12 months and they answered the question with an exclamation mark.

Hallahan was playing just his third full game at AFL level against premiership stats like Josh Kennedy, Kieren Jack and Dan Hannebery but he was outstanding for the Hawks and showed he has been worth the four-year wait.

He has the build, his body is strong enough to withstand the rigors of senior footy and he is a contested ball winner (he had 14 for contested possessions). But the beauty of Hallahan is that he can also get the ball on the outside and hurt the opposition with his vision and skill execution – he ran at 76 per cent efficiency for the night. 

Against Sydney’s gun midfield, Hallahan was Hawthorn’s third-best possession getter with 25, along wit six clearances, five tackles, three inside 50s and two goal assists.

This could be the game we look back on and say that’s where we first got a glimpse of what this guy can do.
 

4. Taylor Duryea is a good replacement for Brent Guerra
The young Hawk is built in a similar mold to the retired dual Hawthorn premiership player and he plays like him too – he’s tough, courageous, a good kick and backs his own ability.

On Friday night, when Hawthorn was boxed in in defence by Sydney’s manic pressure, Duryea wasn’t afraid to take the game on in the hope of breaking the Sydney shackles. 

He gets himself in dangerous positions to launch Hawthorn forward, particularly through the corridor and despite having just two rebound 50s and two inside50s on Friday night, his impact on the contest was much more profound than the stats suggested.

Duryea gathered 20 disposals and used the ball with procision, his disposal efficiency was 95 per cent – the highest of any Hawthorn player and the second-best on the ground (Swans ruckman Tom Derickx number one with 10 per cent but had just four touches).

He also kicked a long-range goal, the second of his career. If he can add that aspect to his game, like fellow defender Grant Birchall and Matt Suckling have done and as Guerra did in his career, Duryea could be Hawthorn’s next gun back pocket with a lethal boot for the next 10 years.
 

5. Burgoyne must play midfield
When Hawthorn was making their move in the third quarter on Friday night, it was on the back of Burgoyne’s domination in the midfield.

The veteran had 12 disposals for the quarter with seven minutes remaining and it seemed that every time the ball was bounced in the middle, it was Burgoyne getting his hands on it to launch Hawthorn forward.

With Mitchell expected to miss two months, Burgoyne must play predominantly in the midfield with Lewis to give that clearance-winning expertise, particularly given difficult games against Port Adelaide, West Coast and Collingwood coming up in the next five weeks.

Burgoyne finished with a team-high 28 disposals, six clearances and five inside 50s on Friday night.

He is now ranked second at the club for total disposals, second for clearances, second for tackles and third for inside 50s. He is a gun.