Pre-season Rnd2 Post Match Press ConferenceHAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson praised what he labeled a second-string Hawks outfit for hanging tough against the Blues in their NAB Cup quarter-final loss on Sunday.
The Hawks might not have won the day but Clarkson saw enough from his young charges to leave him satisfied that, should he still be missing some of the keys from last year’s grand final triumph when the season proper rolls around, he has several ready-made players ready to call on.
Carlton beat Hawthorn by 24 points at Telstra Dome but not before Clarkson’s side had led by as much as five goals early in the second term.
However injuries early in the game to key duo Campbell Brown and Stephen Gilham threw a spanner in the Hawks’ works, with Clarkson not only having to re-think his structures but also carefully manage players’ game time.
“We ran out of soldiers, I nearly had to put the boots on myself late in the game,” Clarkson said after the match.
“We’re pretty pleased, particularly [with] the first half. When the whips were cracking and the game was on, our boys were terrific.
“Structurally we lost a couple of important guys early in the game. Gilham and Brown going down [and] both not being able to resume after they went off injured, that sort of affected out structure a fair bit.”
The Hawks’ loss means they now enter the NAB Challenge Series and next week travel to Berri in South Australia for a clash against Adelaide.
Clarkson was resigned to the loss late in the match, taking star forward Jarryd Roughead from the ground despite the goalkicker having been superb with six majors.
But the coach said he was aware of his mounting injury toll and, with the game gone, he didn’t want to risk losing any more cattle.
“We had so many guys down [with injury] … as it is we’ll be really hard pressed to put a side together for next week’s game up in Berri,” he said.
“So we need to make sure that our focus is clearly on round one and the best preparation for tackling the Cats in that particular game.
“We pretty much had our Box Hill side on the ground in the second half of the game.
“To the credit of the guys, they worked hard; they were just a bit overpowered in terms of structure and fluency of play there in the latter part of the game … I was really pleased with their commitment and their approach to the contest.”
Brown and Gilham’s injuries come on top of the likely early-season losses of key defender Trent Croad, while Xavier Ellis (hip) and Luke Hodge (shoulder) are also recovering from injury.
“There’s no doubt our defence is a bit decimated at the moment,” Clarkson said.
“We’ve played some guys down there over the last couple of games … it’s great for their exposure to play at this level.
“Some of these guys for Carlton … you know they’re seasoned footballers.”
