The form – Hawthorn

The rusty form shown by the Hawks in Round 1 was a distant memory in the opening half against the Bombers, opening up a 32-point lead at half time and playing the football we’ve come to expect.

The ball use, the run through the midfield, the ability to score and the defence were all good, even without key players Sam Mitchell, Brian Lake, Brad Sewell and Ben Stratton.

But the second half was disappointing. With the Bombers pressing, the Hawks couldn’t stem the flow as Essendon kicked six unanswered goals to eventually take the lead.

While the Hawks managed to pull off a gutsy win, Alastair Clarkson and his coaches along with the players would see a great deal of improvement required heading into Friday night’s clash with Fremantle.
 

The form – Fremantle

There is little wonder why Fremantle are considered the in-form team of the competition at the moment, given their exceptional start to the season, particularly in Round 1.

Fremantle’s midfield, defence and forward line dominated Collingwood on their way to a70-point win in a performance so clean and tough that many installed the Dockers as the favourites for the premiership.

Their pressure is at a level expected of a side coached by Ross Lyon and their ability to stick to their game plan and structure is working well for the early part of the season.
 

Recent history

The Hawks have won eight of the last 10 matches against Fremantle, including the last five in a row by an average of 37 points.

The Dockers haven’t beaten the Hawks since 2010 Elimination Final.

The curse of injury and suspension

Both teams have been hit by injury and suspension, with not a day going by this week that either club wasn’t dealt a blow before the game.

First, Fremantle’s Nathan Fyfe and Zac Dawson were hit with bans from the Match Review Panel, then gun midfielder Michael Barlow was struck down with a knee injury. Following that, rumours circled that defender Michael Johnson could miss after failing to travel with the team.

At Hawthorn, Alastair Clarkson confirmed skipper Luke Hodge won’t play because of a groin complaint and Sam Mitchell needed to get through the final training session.

Hodge’s absence adds to premiership players Brian Lake, Ben Stratton and Brad Sewell who won’t play through suspension and injury.

Changes since the Grand Final

Friday night’s clash will take place 189 days since the Grand Final but in football terms, the Hawks and Dockers met just four games ago.

In that time, there have been a number of changes to both teams.

Hawthorn will have seven changes from their Grand Final team - Hodge, Lake, Stratton, Sewell, Max Bailey, Brent Guerra and Lance Franklin are either injured, suspended or no longer with the Club.

Fremantle will definitely be missing three Grand Final players – Barlow, Fyfe and Dawson but could be missing up to five players with Zac Clarke and Lachie Neale not playing in last week’s win over Gold Coast.

Fremantle’s defence

Ross Lyon has been a pioneer for developing sides into brilliant defensive teams and so far in 2014, it appears the Dockers will be just as hard to score against as they were last year.

Fremantle have conceded just 10 goals in their opening two games – five to Collingwood and five to Gold Coast.

Their defence works well together but more importantly they are also more than capable of holding their own in one-on-one contests. But to make matters worse for their opposition, they were well together to provide support in third-man up situations or creating pack situations to spoil out of bounds or for a behind.

They are also well assisted by their midfield, who run back into defence just as enthusiastically as they push forward to be dangerous around goals.

Luke McPharlin will take Jarryd Roughead on Friday night but the loss of Zac Dawson will make Johnson’s role interesting.

Johnson likes to roam freely in defence and help McPharlin and Dawson, then provide run from the backline to set up attacks forward. But with Dawson missing, and Hawthorn possessing a number of tall forwards, he might not be able to play that role.

Alastair Clarkson will certainly be aware how well he performs that role, particularly given he was All Australian last year and will have a plan in place to get around their structure.

In the midfield

Sam Mitchell will be a welcome addition to Hawthorn’s midfield, which has taken on a new look in the opening two rounds.

His inclusion will be important for the Hawks, particularly going up against a Fremantle unit that is hardened and will be keen to start their season with three victories.

With both teams’ pressure and defence as good as the other, the players who can break the lines and split the game open will be critical to the result.

For Hawthorn, Isaac Smith and Bradley Hill, both of whom were important in the Grand Final win loom as match-winners, while Stephen Hill and Tendai Mzungu loom as the danger men for the Dockers.

Most importantly though, Hawthorn’s ability to nullify the influence of Aaron Sandlilands by sharking his hit outs will be significant. If Hawthorn can get the ball forward quickly to Roughead, Jack Gunston and Luke Breust, then they’ll be hard to stop without the extra option of Dawson in defence at Fremantle.

But a dominant performance from both Sandilands and the Docker midfield including the likes of David Mundy will put immense pressure on the undermanned Hawthorn defence.