The formline – Hawthorn

Hawthorn are coming off an easy 83 point win over the Giants and are looking to further gather momentum as it heads into its scheduled bye in Round 11.

Having already played most of the competition’s best sides, the draw for the Hawks looks more manageable in the next two weeks, with the Suns and the Demons its next two opponents.

It was a draw described as a “horror” one when handed down at the end of the last year and not many would have predicted the Hawks to emerge from its opening seven rounds with six wins and one loss.

But now, the Hawks sit pretty atop the AFL ladder and are looking for an eighth straight win when it heads to the MCG on Sunday.

It seems Alastair Clarkson and his coaching staff have well managed the Hawthorn playing group with their performances in the opening eight rounds.

The Hawks played well below their best against the Kangaroos and Crows in Rounds 5 and 6, two teams struggling for form at the time.

Those two performances were somewhat out of the blue for the boys in the brown and gold having played impressive four quarters of footy against West Coast, Collingwood and Fremantle in the weeks previous.

After Round 6 too, the Hawks were impressive against the Swans in Round 7.

Whatever Clarkson and his brains trust are doing, it seems to be working for the Hawks as they head into Round 9 brimming with confidence and a relatively healthy list to choose from.

The formline – Gold Coast

Now in their third season in the AFL, Gold Coast are showing considerable improvement and signs that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the coming seasons.

The Suns have won four of their first eight games and five of their last 10. They are no longer the competition’s easy beats.

They notched their first win at the home of football, the MCG in Round 7 against the Demons and defeated the Western Bulldogs last Sunday. They also defeated St Kilda in Round 1 and were competitive against the reigning premiers, Sydney in Round 2.

They also beat Carlton in Round 22 last season.

Coach Guy McKenna has nurtured his young talent and now he’s seeing the benefits as his young players begin to forge names for themselves on the AFL landscape.

They move the ball with confidence, are confident in their ability and believe in the processes McKenna has in place.

The Suns have won two games in a row and will be heading to the MCG full of confidence and with nothing to lose, relishing in the opportunity to play against one of the best sides in the competition who are primed for the challenge.

Gary Ablett

He’s a superstar of the competition, everyone knew that before Ablett joined the Suns, but since his first game in 2011, the superstar has only enhanced his reputation as the competition’s best player.

Ablett provides great leadership with his words, but it is what he does on field that best inspires his teammates to push themselves to the limit, to do everything they can for the team and to get the best out of themselves.

He is their number one midfielder, ranked number one at the club for disposals, contested possessions and clearances. He’s ranked second at his club for uncontested possessions, centre clearances and tackles.

He has also kicked the third most goals for the Suns this season.

He’s so good Fox Footy dedicated a channel just to watching him play during his team’s Round 7 clash against the Demons.

Do the Hawks tag him?

That will be one of the points of interest ahead of the opening bounce, does Alastair Clarkson send one of his players to sit on Ablett.

Or is he untagable?

If someone does get the job on the little master, it is likely to be Liam Shiels who has become a reliable defensive midfielder when called upon by his coach.

In Round 7, Shiels was given the tagging job on Swan Daniel Hannebery who had 13 disposals to half time in the Grand Final re-match.

When the move was made, Shiels kept Hannebery to just six touches in the second half.

One of the Swans’ best players this season, Hannebery was ineffectual on Saturday night and the role Sheils played was crucial to his team’s win.

He will most likely get the job on Ablett if Clarkson decides to send a player to mind him.

On the stats sheet

Interestingly, Gold Coast is ranked higher than Hawthorn for contested possessions so far this season.

Across eight games, the Suns have averaged 149.5 contested possessions per game to be ranked fourth in the competition overall.

The Hawks sit under them in fifth place, averaging 148.1 contested possessions.

The inexperienced and youthful Suns, however, aren’t as good on the spread.

The Hawks are the best in the competition at finding space through their willingness to work hard into space and push forward when they get the ball.

Hawthorn averages 232 uncontested possessions this year to be ranked number one, while the Suns are ranked twelfth with 199.5.

The Hawks also have the edge in the clearances, but not by the margin many would expect.

With a number of big bodies in the Hawthorn midfield, Clarkson’s team is ranked equal fourth in the league and the Suns come in next, at six.

They are separated by 0.2 clearances per game.

The Hawks though, are ranked number one for centre clearances and the Suns are ranked sixteenth – with a differential of five per game.

Talent in the midfield

We’ve already spoken about how good Ablett is, but the Hawks have a stair of their own that will need to be contained by the Suns.

Sam Mitchell is in excellent form, and he built on his impressive start to the season with another 35 disposal effort against the Giants last Saturday.

Clearly a class above the rest, Mitchell moved through congestion with ease and his foot skills were at their best, hitting teammates with pin point passes only some could dream to executing.

He has added to his resume by spending time across half back this season. McKenna would be well served to send a defensive player to Mitchell to curb his influence.

Luke Hodge is also having an impressive season, while Jarryd Roughead has shown he can be just as damaging in the midfield as he is up forward.

For the Suns, Jared Brennan has found the form that made him one of the AFL’s most exciting prospects with his pace and silky skills.

So far this year, Brennan has been a key reason for the Suns’ improvement and is becoming Ablett’s right hand man.

He is averaging 17.6 disposals so far this year and is ranked number two at the club for clearances and number one for centre clearances.

Harley Bennell’s improvement too is gaining more fanfare as he continues to develop into one of the competition’s most exciting youngsters.

Ablett, Brennan and Bennell are a formidable trio.

Key players

Hawthorn –

Jack Gunston: Gunston has spent more time playing on a wing this year and is now settling into his new role well. In the past three weeks he has kicked three goals in each game and had no issue in finding the footy. As long as he continues to fire, the pressure and attention is taken off Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead given opposition defenders will need to pay closer attention to Gunston.

Grant Birchall: Since Leigh Adams tagged Birchall in Round 5 with great success; Birchall has found himself with a minder in each week since then. Rhys Palmer got under his skin last week, with Birchall growing increasingly frustrated by the attention as the game went on. Clarkson will be hoping he and his team can find a way to break the tag.

Max Bailey: With Suns ruckman Zac Smith out for the rest of the season, Bailey will be looking to take a stranglehold on the ruck battle on Sunday to give the Hawks first use. Both Hawthorn and Gold Coast possess midfield weapons capable of dominating the clearances, so first use from the ruck will be pivotal.

Gold Coast –

Jared Brennan: Brennan is re-capturing the form that made him an excellent player and the reason why the Suns targeted him as an uncontracted player. If he fires, he adds to the depth and arsenal at his coach’s disposal.

Campbell Brown: With Charlie Dixon, the Suns number one goal kicker this season out of the side, the Suns will be looking to their experienced players to have a greater impact on the scoreboard. Brown has now played two matches this season after sitting out the first six through suspension. In both games he has kicked three goals. He’ll need to do that again this weekend.

Sam Day: The talented key position prospect could be headed for a match up on gun Hawthorn forward Lance Franklin. What a battle that would be to watch. He could be used on a number of different players, however, given the versatility of Hawthorn’s forward line.