HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson admitted his side wasn’t at its best on Sunday, but praised its ability to still win the four premiership points in a hard-fought clash with Melbourne.
By beating the Demons by 19 points at the MCG, the Hawks improved their 2008 record to 9-0 – the best-ever start to a season in the club’s history.
But Clarkson says his side has plenty to work on, and says it might not be atop the AFL ladder if it weren’t for a few individual efforts in the 14.13 (97) to 12.6 (78) win.
Melbourne had led by 14 points in the third term before they were eventually overrun, the Hawks having too much talent despite missing several big names.
“We couldn’t have done it without [Chance] Bateman. I thought he was just outstanding,” Clarkson said after the match.
“He, and a couple of cameos from 'Junior' Rioli.
“That terrific tackle and goal in the third quarter [by Rioli] … seemed to just ignite our boys a little bit.
“(Brad) Sewell and (Sam) Mitchell in the second half started to get on top of their opponents, but it was a real grind.”
Mark Williams, like the previous week against Port Adelaide, also stood up when it counted.
He booted three important goals, including two late ones to seal the match. Clarkson was pleased for his forward after a controversial week in which he made headlines.
“He knows the behaviour that’s required at our footy club … I think we’ve gone over that quite clearly over the last seven days,” Clarkson said.
At times on Sunday it looked like it might not be the Hawks’ day, especially after round nine had seen Geelong and Adelaide suffer surprise losses. But Clarkson’s troops rallied, something he says is tough in such a difficult competition such as the AFL.
“We know we’ve got to play a lot, lot better than what we did today … but we’ve been on a high for a long period of time,” he said.
“It’s hard to win back-to-back games, and we had a bit of a lull today.
“Full credit to Melbourne, I might add. The lull wasn’t necessarily just because we weren’t on top of our game. We were forced to not be on top of our game by the good play of the Melbourne footy club.
“For us to finally get over the line was a credit to the hard work of our boys."
Clarkson said he had “no idea” what impact comments made by his president Jeff Kennett – suggesting Melbourne should re-locate to the Gold Coast – had had on the Demons’ opening and their aggressive mindset.
However, he did believe former skipper David Neitz, who enjoyed a lap of honour pre-match before addressing his one-time teammates, had lifted spirits in the Melbourne camp.
“His address before the banner at the start of the game, I could only imagine it would have been a pretty stirring speech. They came out and acquitted themselves really well in the first half,” Clarkson said.
“He leaves a pretty strong legacy, 'Neita'.
“There’s fantastic spirit in that footy club for a long period of time, and they’ll be hard-pressed to replace a bloke like that in a hurry.”
One sour note to come from the match for the Hawks was a hamstring strain to defender Stuart Dew. Clarkson said Dew had become “tight” in the left hamstring – the same leg in which he tore the muscle earlier this season – and it would not keep him out for a lengthy period.
“We’re hopeful it’s just a pretty slight injury," he said.
