After Hawthorn’s 14-point loss to Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, hawthornfc.com.au takes a look at the five main points to take out of the game.
1. Lewis leads the way
Lewis might just be in some of the best form of his career and it comes at a timely time for the Hawks too, given its mounting injury list. Hawthorn’s vice-captain, Lewis, showed his young teammates how to go about their footy and personified the never say die attitude Hawthorn took into Saturday night’s loss. He was exceptional and by far Hawthorn’s best player.
The quintessential tough nut, Lewis not only won his own ball on Saturday night (he had 14 contested possessions) but he also hurt the Power on the outside by working into space and using his skills to find teammates (24 uncontested possessions). He also kicked two crucial goals in the third quarter to spark a comeback that saw his team get back into the game.
Lewis finished with a season-high 38 disposals, nine clearances, six inside 50s and two goals.
With Sam Mitchell still a long way off returning from a hamstring injury, Lewis leads the midfield and is his side’s best and most damaging clearance player, ranked number one at the club.
He performs well under pressure and has shown he can lift his team both by his words and his actions. Along with fellow club leaders Captain Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead, Lewis is one of Hawthorn’s most important players but not just for his on-field leadership.
2. Langford takes two more scalps
He’s doing his job for the Hawks with little fanfare at present but Will Langford is becoming an important cog in Hawthorn’s midfield. Sent to gun Power midfielder Hamish Hartlett in the first half, Langford restricted the onballer to just eight disposals in the first two quarters, rendering him ineffective on the contest.
After a great first half from Matt White though, who was providing great run and carry through the midfield for the Power in the first half and despite having just 10 touches to half time, and one of the best players on the ground, Langford was thrown another task.
When moved onto White, Langford allowed him just two second half disposals - one in each quarter –completely nullifying his impact on the game.
The flow on effect from that was that the Hawks could better shut down Port Adelaide’s run and force turnovers in their forward half, where they were particularly successful in the second half of the third term.
3. The run that sparked the comeback
The most impressive part of Saturday night’s gallant defeat was the 13-minute run in the third quarter that saw the Hawks reduce a 30-point deficit to eight points.
The game was clearly getting away from the Hawks and it looked like the Power might storm to a thumping victory over an injury-hit Hawthorn but what they didn’t bank on was the inability or more the determination of the Hawks to not accept defeat.
In that time, the Hawks had seven of the last 10 clearances and kicked four unanswered goals to set up a thrilling final quarter. But what was impressive was that it was a mix between Hawthorn’s experienced and younger players who stepped up.
Lewis kicked two goals in two minutes, then Billy Hartung ran hard forward to get on the end of one, followed by Luke Breust who kicked the other. Other players to stand up were Mitch Hallahan who kicked a crucial goal in the final term to reduce the margin to 13 points in the last quarter, Shaun Burgoyne who tried hard all game and of course Langford who was outstanding in his midfield role over the four quarters.
4. Lacking polish
While youngsters like Langford, Hartung and Hallahan were impressive, the Hawks lacked polish when it counted, particularly coming out of defence in the opening half.
Port Adelaide’s pressure was immense in the first half, which allowed them to set up a 23-point half time lead on the back of some uncharacteristic turnovers and skill errors from the Hawks.
In the first quarter, the Power were able to set up two of their first four goals from their pressure combined with Hawthorn’s inability to handle the ball cleanly. They also scored two of their four goals in the second term from uncharacteristic skill and decision-making errors from the Hawks.
The Power also kicked two of their three third quarter goals as a direct result of their pressure, which forced a Hawthorn skill error in defence and Power goal, then a turnover in the midfield for another directly after.
It was the same story in the last quarter too, as the Power kicked another two goals from skill errors as a result of their pressure.
Coach Alastair Clarkson admitted after the game that his side, possibly because of its inexperience on all lines, lacked poise with ball in hand.
"We just lacked a little bit of polish, we were pleased with our endeavour, we hung in there when the game looked like it could have slipped away from us early on," he said.
"We just didn't have enough polish with the footy, our effort was pretty good and our spirit and the roles that each of our boys were playing.
"But some of the good pressure by the Port Adelaide side and just some of our mistakes perhaps just because of our inexperience didn't get us there in the end."
5. Liam Shiels a welcome addition
In his first game back from a shoulder injury sustained in Round 4, Shiels was a welcome addition to the side. He was brought straight back into the Hawthorn team without a comeback game in the VFL, which is testament to his importance to the Hawks but also given they were in need of more experienced players for the blockbuster clash.
Shiels was outstanding though, picking up 23 disposals, nine tackles, four clearances and three inside 50s.
Before his injury, Shiels was an important player for the Hawks playing more as a free-wheeling midfielder rather than a defensive one with roles on some of the game’s best midfielders.
Shiels averaged 22.2 disposals in the opening four rounds and kicked four goals – he was becoming one of the Hawks’ most damaging midfielders.
He was a handy addition on Saturday night and will be much better for the already impressive run.
