Barker's Bite: Plenty of positives

ROUND one is out of the way and while we didn’t take the points there were plenty of positives to come out of our loss to Geelong.

It was my first stint in the coach’s box since I returned from St Kilda last year and it was great to be a part of the Hawthorn team once again.

We showed plenty of spirit and fight towards the end of the match and showed that when we do play well we can score often.

The night was particularly special for three young blokes. Matthew Suckling, Ryan Schoenmakers and Brendan Whitecross all made their Hawthorn debuts and all three showed plenty of promise. If they can keep working hard I believe they can be a big part of this season and beyond.

A lot was made in the lead-up about the premiership players missing through injury, but there’s a strong chance we could have a couple back this week. Robbie Campbell and Stephen Gilham are both on track to return and they will be in the mix for selection.

Robbie is the logical replacement for Simon Taylor, who is going to miss the next couple of weeks through suspension.

Simon has had a superb pre-season and it is disappointing to see him have to sit out the next couple of weeks.

It is going to be quite a task this week against the Swans at ANZ Stadium. It will be the first time we’ve played on the ground and the Swans have knocked us off in six of our last seven encounters, so we are facing a big challenge.

If we are to win the consistency over the four quarters has to improve. We have to play our roles right from the first bounce to the very end. We played good footy in patches on Friday night but we need to do that for the full 120 minutes.

The Hawks might be coming off a loss but back at the Barker household we are celebrating our own little win this week, with the arrival of my second daughter Brodie.

My wife Sarah and I haven’t exactly helped the Hawks out yet with any potential father-son picks but who knows what lies ahead?