The formline – Hawthorn

The Hawks are sitting pretty atop the AFL ladder, but that doesn’t make them exempt from concentration lapses despite their undeniable reputation as one of the league’s best sides.

Many expected Hawthorn to easily account for Gold Coast last weekend, after all, it was a side who played off in last year’s Grand Final versus a side in just their third year in the AFL.

But the game was not what everyone expected, as the Hawks were sluggish and Alastair Clarkson was rightly frustrated with his side’s lack of intensity and endeavour in the first half.

The stars aligned in the second half, however, as Hawthorn flexed its muscles and booted 11 second half goals to five to run out 26 point winners.

It was an “out of the blue” performance, given the Hawks have had an outstanding start to the 2013 season and are now in a great position as it begins preparations for the second half of the season.

Of its nine matches to date, the Hawks have played five of the teams currently sitting inside the top eight, and have won four of those five games (losing only to Geelong in Round 1).

It has also played each of last year’s top eight sides, and its return from that draw – six wins from seven games.

Hawthorn is in a favourable position and are a formidable opponent for any side, let alone one struggling for form and under pressure to perform from both a coaching and playing perspective.

The Demons have their work cut out for them on Sunday, almost facing mission impossible based on their form.

The formline – Melbourne

As you cast you eye over the AFL ladder and see the Hawks sitting in first position, lower your eyes to the bottom of the table and you’ll find a struggling Melbourne sitting in 17^th position.

The season began with so much promise for the Demons, who, on paper have the makings of a side that could challenge for the finals.

But, a string of poor performances mixed with injuries and off field issues, the form of Melbourne has been far from good.

The Demons coaching staff, players, board and fans are searching for signs of improvement from week to week and little wins in games is what they’re looking for.

After a poor start against Fremantle last week, in which it was blown out of the water thanks to a 13 goal to two first half from the Dockers the Demons were able to crawl out from under an insurmountable rock to win the third term.

It was a marked improvement on its first half effort as Melbourne restricted Fremantle to just two goals for the quarter and kicked three themselves before being beaten by 90 points in Perth.

The week before was a much better performance from Mark Neeld’s side across four quarters as it challenged Richmond and even looked as though it could pull off an upset and defeat a side challenging for a finals spot.

The Demons trailed by just five points at half time and were well and truly in the game at the final break before the Tigers kicked away in the final term to win by 34 points.

Melbourne brought the intensity and endeavour required at AFL for four quarters and their ball use was much better as it spotted up targets inside 50 and moved the ball well in transition.

Neeld will be looking for a similar display of intent from his side when it takes on Hawks on Sunday in front of its home crowd at the ‘G.

The challenge for Hawthorn

The Hawks were disappointed with their effort against the Suns last Sunday and rightly so.

It was not a performance conducive with what is expected from a side likely to feature deep into September, and the players know it.

Midfielder and Vice-Captain Jordan Lewis said the Hawks had drifted away from what had made it an imposing side in the week’s previous and the performance wasn’t up to the standard expected.

“We probably went away from a few of the things we've prided ourselves on this year, especially in that first half," he said on Monday.

"It felt like all their goals were quite easy; there was no pressure.

"We came in at half-time and Clarko went off, quite rightly.

"He was pretty disappointed about the way we'd played, as the players were, so it was right for him to be pretty fired up.”

The leaders at Hawthorn, led by Captain Luke Hodge will come out firing and look to snuff out any hope of an upset in the opening quarter on Sunday. At least, that’s what Coach Alastair Clarkson will be looking for from his side.

As many players and coaches across all clubs have said in the past two or three seasons, if you’re 5-10 per cent off your game you’ll get beaten, and that almost rang true for the Hawks last weekend.

Expect the Hawks to tackle ferociously, to win the contested ball, to run and spread for each other and work as hard defensively as it does offensively from the first bounce on Sunday.

Melbourne’s shining light

Amidst the doom and gloom of Melbourne’s season to date, the form of midfielder Nathan Jones has been the shining light.

Jones, a leader at Melbourne and one of the few experienced players on the list has led from the front this season and will no doubt be leading his team’s best and fairest after nine rounds.

The midfielder is as hard at the footy as they come and has improved his skills on the outside.

He is averaging 22 disposals and three tackles per game. He is also ranked number one at the Demons for contested possessions, clearances and centre clearances (also ranked seventh in the competition in this area).

James Magner is back in the side to provide some assistance in the clinches, but the pair need a bigger contribution from the likes of Jack Trengove and David Rodan if he earns a recall against the Hawks on Sunday.

Forward Jeremy Howe has also provided Melbourne fans with something to smile about, now combining the ability to win lots of the ball and kick goals joining his freakish aerial talents.

He had his best game for the club last weekend against Fremantle, gathering 27 disposals, taking 11 marks and kicking two goals.

He is a unique player and it will be difficult for Alastair Clarkson to find a match-up for him, but expect to see Josh Gibson shadowing Howe for most of the game.

By the numbers

The stats sheet isn’t pretty for Melbourne, ranked 18^th in the competition in most of the key areas coaches examine to measure the endeavour of their side.

The Demons are ranked 18^th for disposals, contested possessions, uncontested possessions and inside 50s.

They are also ranked 16^th for clearances and centre clearances and 12^th for tackles.

Melbourne average only 300 disposals per game – 32 disposals less than 17^th ranked GWS and when they do get the ball, they generally turn it over because of the pressure opposition sides subject them to. They are ranked 16^th in the league for disposal efficiency.

Hawthorn on the other hand average 387 disposals per game to be ranked number one in the league. The Hawks are also the league benchmark for uncontested possessions and centre clearances.

They are also ranked second for marks inside 50, equal second for inside 50s and fourth for contested possessions and clearances.

If both sides play to their season averages, then the Demons are in for a long afternoon at the MCG on Sunday.

Key players

Hawthorn –
Jonathan Simpkin: Simpkin will be enjoying playing against struggling sides as he continues to gel with his new teammates. He was given the chance to play four quarters against GWS and Gold Coast and has responded with 23 and 33 possessions in those games. Another strong performance on Sunday will make him, hard to overlook against Carlton in Round 13 where he will have the opportunity to show he can have an impact against sides challenging for the eight.

Lance Franklin: His first half last week was something not many have seen from Lance Franklin since he became one of the competition’s best forwards all those years ago. Dropped marks, fumbles and poor skills were part of his game last week and continued in the second half despite a marked improvement in his ability to handle the footy. He finished with five goals and proved the match-winner, but will be looking for a much better outing against Melbourne.

Isaac Smith: He is one of the players at Clarkson’s fingertips with genuine leg speed, but Gold Coast were able to force the speedster into kicking errors by forcing him onto his wrong side. A talented left footer, Smith struggles with his right and the challenge for him is to find ways to catch out opponents and not allow them to dictate his play. If he can establish successful ways against lower ranked sides, then he can take that confidence into the second half of the season as he heads towards finals. A key player for the Hawks.

Melbourne -

Mark Jamar: An All Australian ruckman, Jamar looks far from the form that won him the honours in 2010. In that year, he combined impressive ruck work with the ability to play as an extra midfielder and push forward and kick goals for his side. This year, he is struggling both in the ruck and around the ground. He had just one possession against Fremantle last week and needs to bounce back against Max Bailey this week, though it’s not an easy task as Bailey had one of his best game for the Hawks last Sunday.

Jack Watts: A much maligned player, Watts hasn’t fulfilled the potential all Melbourne supports and football supporters in general know he has. He will most likely play across half back again on Sunday and be a key player to get his side out of trouble. Hawthorn are one of the bets at locking the footy inside their forward half, so the pressure will again be on the number one draft pick.

Jeremy Howe: He is an excitement machine, but now the Melbourne forward has combined the ability to win the footy and take spectacular marks. He is now a threat in every aspect, given he kicks goals and can gather 20 plus disposals. He has pace and provides opposition's with a match-up headache because of his versatility.