The injury room

Hawthorn’s realtively bare injury list took a hit over the weekend with a few players left battered and bruised following the Hawks’ loss to the Crows. Defender Grant Birchall played out the game despite suffering a fractured jaw midway through the opening term. The four-time premiership Hawk had surgery yesterday and can now expect to miss the next three to four weeks.

Read: Birchall set for stint on sidelines 

Co-vice-captains Liam Shiels and Isaac Smith were also left battered from the fierce encounter, with both receiving treatment to corkies. But Alastair Clarkson said in his post-match that both players remain optimistic that they will be ready to take on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

The shining lights


Despite a disappointing start to the season, the Hawks have not been without their positives. Off-season recruits Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara have been outstanding in the opening two games.

The two midfield guns lead the way for the Hawks against the Crows. Between them they gathered the most disposals for the Hawks (Mitchell 38, O’Meara 36), most contested possessions (O’Meara 19, Mitchell 18), most clearances (Mitchell 7, O’Meara 4) and Mitchell also lead the inside 50 count with six.

Mitchell put the cherry on top of his clinical performance, kicking his first goal in the brown and gold.


Read: Mitchell believes that cohesion between players is key 

The analysis


The Hawks were superb in the first quarter, dominating possession of the ball (recording 37 marks to Adelaide’s 16) and rewarding themselves on the scoreboard, with Luke Breust kicking three goals.

But the first break ultimately marked the beginning of a Hawthorn decline, as Adelaide kicked 14 goals to the Hawks’ seven for the remainder of the game.

Hawthorn’s ball movement, typically a strength, broke down and their ability to transfer the ball from their defensive end into scoring opportunities was hindered.

After quarter time, Hawthorn launched 29 possession chains from defensive 50, but were only able to enter their forward 50 on one occasion, where they did not score. Adelaide had 34 such possessions over the same period, recording nine inside 50s and kicking 3.2 (20).

In addition, the Crows made the most of Hawthorn’s turnovers in the final three quarters, outscoring the Hawks 12.9 (81) to 4.3 (27) off turnovers.


The next game


The upcoming round three clash against the Gold Coast Suns this weekend is set to be a big clash for the both sides. The Suns join the Hawks as two of the eight teams that are yet to register a win this season.

Gold Coast have endured a challenging start to their year, as they followed up their one-point loss to the Brisbane Lions, with a record 102-point defeat at the hands of the GWS Giants in Round 2.

An alarming issue for the Suns is their first quarter form, where they have conceded 14.7 while only scoring 3.4 in their first two games.

The twos


Coach Alastair Clarkson will be keeping a close eye on his reserves players, with injuyset to force the four-time premiership coach to make at least one change tot the line-up.

The Box Hill Hawks suffered an agonising three-point loss to the Casey Demons, but positevley last week’s senior omissions Billy Hartung and James Sicily were prominent.

Hartung finished as one of the best players on the ground, with 30 disposals, nine inside 50s and a goal. 
Sicily was also impressive, responding to his omission with a 28-possession display.