HAWTHORN will head into Friday night’s Preliminary Final full of confidence after its best defensive performance against Sydney in the Qualifying Final according to full back, Brian Lake.
The Hawks held last year’s premiers to just 51 points in week one of the finals, it’s second lowest points against for the season.
That record is beaten by just three points – when the Hawks conceded only 48 points to Melbourne in Round 10.
Ranked fifth in the competition for scores against with an average of 84.5 in the home and away season, it seems the Hawks could be saving their best defensive performances for when it matters most.
Lake, who is hoping to win his way through to a Grand Final for the first time in his career says the team can’t help but take confidence in its ability to defend a dynamic Sydney forward line in the Qualifying Final.
“Defensively, it was probably one of our best games as a back six or a back seven in the Qualifying Final given that we were able to hold the premiers to 50-odd points. It was fantastic,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
“They have a lot of talls, and with Tippett coming into their side which was different to the week before when we played them.
“They also have the ability to spread and get behind the defence and kick goals that way was well, we were pretty happy with our performance.
“They still had 50-odd inside 50s but to be able to nullify them - that was probably our best defensive game.
“In finals, you’ve got to take a lot of confidence out of that – that you’re stopping sides but also us scoring over 100 points.
“We know we have the ability to score, but in finals, it’s more about defence and stopping them from scoring.”
Assistant Coach and defensive line coach, Luke Beveridge agrees with Lake’s summation, declaring the performance against the Swans was the benchmark.
“Holistically, it was our best defensive game,” he told hawthornfc.com.au
“As a team, to keep them to 51 points was outstanding and if that’s the benchmark in such a big game, we know what we’re capable of.
“We’ll be looking for a similar effort against Geelong.”
Beveridge says the side’s defence has only improved as the year has progressed.
“They (Geelong) only kicked 11 goals against us last time, so we’ll be looking to keep them under that this time,” he said.
“Our current systems have held up really strong against everyone and have only got better as the year has gone on so we think that’ll hold us in good stead for Friday night.”
But Lake’s ability to fit in with his new teammates and the connection between the defenders hasn’t been without its hurdles.
Lake injured his calf in week one of the pre-season, which restricted his ability to familiarise himself with his new defence before the start of the home and away season.
He didn’t make his debut for the Club until Round 5 and admits it took a while for him to adjust to his new surroundings and his new teammates.
“It was probably a bit scratchy (the relationship) at the start and it was disappointing I missed some NAB Cup games with the calf injury because I wasn’t able to gel and get that synergy early,” he said.
“It has taken us a while but for me, it was about understanding how those guys play.
“Now, we’ve got that down pat and it’s working really well.”
Lake is preparing for his fourth Preliminary Final and has a big task ahead of him – shutting down either Tom Hawkins or James Podsiadly.
But while there is an injury cloud surrounding Hawkins, Lake remains focused on the task at hand, refusing to get caught up in any potential issues with the Geelong forward.
“It’s very rare to get guys coming into a Preliminary Final 100 per cent fit anyway, there are guys at all clubs who have some niggles,” he said of Hawkins.
“It doesn’t change the way you prepare at all, you can’t go into a game expecting they won’t play at their full capacity.
“We still need to nullify his strengths and they do go to him a fair bit so we’ll all need to be aware of that, we can’t take him lightly or any of their forwards lightly for that matter."