HAWTHORN forward Jarryd Roughead could spend more time in the midfield as Coach Alastair Clarkson continues to tinker with the flexibility of his side.
Roughead spent time in the centre square last Saturday night against the Swans, but not as a ruckman.
The Hawthorn forward was cast in the role of a rover by his coach.
The move proved a masterstroke as Roughead was one of Hawthorn’s best, gathering 27 disposals and four clearances for the game along with the four goals he kicked while playing in his more familiar role as a key forward.
Clarkson revealed the theory behind the move was an attempt not to be undersized in the middle of the ground by the big-bodied Sydney midfield.
The Swans are well known for their hardened bodies in the middle of the ground, with their engine room featuring hard nuts Adam Goodes, Josh Kennedy and Ryan O’Keefe.
The Hawks coach said he didn’t want his midfielders to be outsized and outmuscled at the centre bounce.
“Sydney in particular have some really big bodies – Goodes goes in there and Kennedy and O’Keefe. We just didn’t want to be too small in the middle of the ground last week,” Clarkson said at Melbourne Airport on Friday.
“It was a little bit to do with the opponent last week.”
He didn’t rule out throwing Roughead into the centre square again on Saturday, however, when the Hawks take on Greater Western Sydney at Aurora Stadium in Tasmania.
He says it’s a move the Club has tried on a number of occasions in the last 18 months and will continue to explore in the near future.
“We’ve been doing that a fair bit over the last 18 months, whether it’s been in the ruck or going in the centre square from time to time and we’ll continue to do that a little bit,” he said.
“It will all depend on what match-ups GWS put in there.
“Whether we do it on a consistent basis we’ll just have to wait and see.
“It worked ok for us last week so we’ll continue to explore it.”
Clarkson enjoys testing his side’s versatility, with a number of players at his disposal cast in a variety of different roles week in, week out.
But, it is usually his forwards who are given the opportunity to move further up the ground.
Jack Gunston spent time on the wing against the Swans while David Hale spends time both in the ruck and up forward.
Lance Franklin too can be used on the wing or in the middle.
Clarkson knows his forwards relish the opportunity to play in a variety of positions to further entrench themselves in the game.
“All players enjoy the flexibility of being able to rotate through a variety of positions, particularly forwards,” he said.
“It’s very hard to be a consistent forward – your number one goal is to hit the score board and it’s very hard to do that consistently as we saw with Buddy who couldn’t get on the score board a couple of games in a row in terms of goals.
“It’s good that they’ve got another position they can go to.”
Gunston echoed Clarkson’s sentiments after last week’s win over the Swans.
The Hawks forward became a wingman for portions of last weekend’s game and said he enjoyed the challenge.
“It’s always good to play in a variety of roles, and the wing position gets you up into the game where you can get some early touches and feel a bit more involved,” he said in the rooms after last week’s game.
“Sometimes in the forward line you can get a bit starved so it’s good to push a bit.
“We’ve got a number of guys that role through half forward and wing so it’s a good mix for our club.”
