Hawthorn’s best and fairest
October 30, 2009
By
Steve Healy
A season. A mistake...
WELL, well, well. What can I say about this mob?
Their season started with a shocking loss to Geelong, although only by eight points it was 23 to 34 scoring shots, and the Hawks trailed by 37 at three quarter time. The Hawks fell the height of Taipei 101 from there on, with embarrassing losses to Sydney and Port. They kept on keeping on with the odd win, but in the end it was all down to the round 22 match against Essendon to determine if they would play finals football or not. They lost by 17 points, but understandably since they were without Franklin and Roughead.
Hawthorn’s season in two words – a mistake. Not a spilt milk mistake, an Andrew Gigacz stats mistake, a false statement on global warming made by the Government, not even an oops-a-daisy mistake. A mistake in footy. A mistake that cannot be reversed...
1. Sam Mitchell
Never in doubt. Mitchell took out the Peter Crimmins medal 47 votes clear of the next man. Mitchell, the captain, was the only player in the Hawthorn line-up who didn’t get out of form at some stage during the season (rarely, anyway). Playing every game, Mitchell averaged a club-high 29.7 possessions, as well as five marks, three tackles, 7.9 contested possessions, 4.1 inside 50s, three rebound 50s, and his disposals hit the target an honest 76.2% of the time. He picked up 40 possessions on two occasions, both against West Coast. He showed that he can kick goals in the Hawks’ round 16 win against the Pies, where he kicked a career-high three. He does need to keep kicking goals, because too much of the scoring is dependent on Franklin and Roughead, 155 games and only 29 goals isn’t good enough for a midfielder.
2. Cyril Rioli
Second in the Peter Crimmins medal was a good result for this second-year-goal sneak. He did miss three matches with a hamstring injury in the middle stages of the season, but played every other game, averaging 15.6 possessions, 6.9 contested possessions, 3.9 marks, 4.7 tackles and 0.8 goal assists. Cyril’s best game was against Adelaide in round 10, where he picked up 22 possessions, took seven marks, laid a few tackles and kicked four goals. Cyril still has a few areas to improve in, especially his disposal. He only hit the target on 66.7% of occasions, and he converted at 50% in front of goal. He kicked a delicious goal that won goal of the year.
3. Lance Franklin
Well, Franklin would be surprised that he finished in the top three. Don’t get me wrong, 67 goals is a good result, but he was criticised throughout the season for being nothing like his 2008 self. He never kicked more than five goals in a game this year, compared to nine times last year. He never took 10 marks, after doing it four times last year. He was a bit more accurate in front of goal, and gave away way less free kicks than last year. Ok, Franklin still had his moments. He had five bags of five and six bags of four. He averaged 15 possessions, 5.2 marks, 2.3 tackles, 3.1 marks inside 50, 1.8 contested marks, two inside 50’s and 6.5 contested possessions. He finished the year quite well, averaging 20.3 possessions and kicking 25 goals in his last seven games. But he’ll be sitting on the sidelines in round one next year, watching the Dees thrash the Hawks (I hope).
4. Brad Sewell
Sewell had another good year, good enough to finish second or first in this count I think. He missed three games, but averaged 25.8 possessions, 4.4 marks, 6.5 tackles (almost two more than last year, club high), 9.4 contested possessions (club high), 4.9 inside 50s (club high) and he hit the target with 78.6% of possessions (best of any regular Hawthorn midfielder). Like Mitchell, just needs to kick more goals. He only kicked four for the year, and he has only put the ball through the sticks 16 times in 104 games. His best game was in round six against Carlton: 32 possessions, six marks, 10 tackles and nine clearances
5. Chance Bateman
When I first saw Bateman in 2009, I thought: Where have his dreadlocks gone? But we all know he only had that hair to make him look taller, since Bateman only stands at 174cms. For the season, Bateman averaged 22.7 possessions, 5.2 marks, 2.5 tackles, 4.1 inside 50s and led the club in goal assists with 23. He consistently got 20-something possessions, his best of 33 came in round four against Port.
6. Luke Hodge
What a reliable player this man is. Despite being under an injury cloud for most of the first half of the season, he only missed three games, and averaged 22.3 possessions, 3.7 marks, 3.6 tackles, 2.5 rebound 50s, 2.6 inside 50s and 3.2 one percenters. He only kicked 10 goals for the year, a bit of a letdown considering he kicked a combined total of 43 in the previous two seasons. His best game was clearly in round 16 against Collingwood, where he racked up 34 touches, five marks, six tackles, seven inside 50s, three goals and three Brownlow votes.
7. Jarryd Roughead
Roughead started the year superbly, in the first few rounds it looked like he was going to kick more goals than his Buddy in the forward line. Playing the first 19 games before breaking down with a leg injury, Roughead averaged 12.8 possessions, 4.6 marks, 2.1 tackles, 1.1 contested marks, 2.6 marks inside 50, and he kicked 51 goals and 27 behinds. Like Franklin, nowhere near as good as last year. His best game was in round six against Carlton, where he picked up 20 possessions, 11 marks and kicked a career high eight goals.
8. Campbell Brown
Brown’s toughness is the core of his game. He doesn’t win a lot of the ball, but he has a talent, he can play on almost everyone, despite only being 177cm tall. He averaged 13.4 possessions, 4.1 marks, 2.8 tackles and a bounce each game. He hit the target with 79.8 of possessions, and his best game came in round 18 against Port where picked up a career-high 25 possessions, seven marks and three tackles.
9. Grant Birchall
Birchall picked off from where he left last year, picking up 29 possessions in Round 1 against the Cats. He averaged 21.4 possessions for the year, as well as five marks, 3.4 rebound 50s (club high) and 1.2 running bounces (club high). His disposal efficiency of 83.5% was a huge factor. He’s only 21, but the way he plays looks like he’s been around for years. His best footy is still to come.
10. Jordan Lewis
Another one of the foundations in the Hawthorn midfield, Lewis put in an equally good season as his last. He was the fifth Hawk who missed three games in the top ten. He averaged 26.2 possessions (second best behind Mitchell), 7.7 contested possessions, 5.9 marks, 2.4 tackles and 3.6 inside 50’s. He picked up 34 possessions, eight marks and four tackles in Round 5 against the Eagles, and he also was Hawthorn’s best with 25 possessions and three goals in their 88-point humiliation against the Bulldogs in round 14.
Well, that’s the wrap of the top 10 in the Peter Crimmins medal. Hawthorn just needs to move on, and I’m sure than Shaun Burgoyne will be a substantial benefit.
• Sam Mitchell. Clearly the best Hawk. Photo by Slattery Medai Group.
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