Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell is looking forward to the challenge of facing the reigning premiers, Brisbane, at the Gabba on Sunday night.
The Hawks haven’t played at the Gabba since 2019 but are keen to put in a solid four-quarter performance in yet another big test leading into finals.
Speaking to the media on Friday morning, Mitchell spoke about Brisbane’s form, Jack Gunston’s year so far and how Josh Weddle is tracking in his recovery from a back injury.
We summarised the key points from his press conference below.
On Brisbane
“I think their best is still very, very good. They’re really clean around the middle of the ground, their stoppage work, they gave us a bit of a touch-up earlier in the year, so we’ve had a bit of a look at that. They control the ball, a lot’s been made of their uncontested marks and controlling the ball in the back half, but really, it’s their front half game. They’re the best team at turning it over in their front half, so getting it out of defence is really difficult against a side as well-drilled as Brisbane. They’ve been playing a very similar style of footy for a long time, so we’re looking forward to playing against them. We know what they’re going to do, they know what we’re going to do, that’s what happens when you get to this time of year.”
On Jack Gunston’s form
“With the leadership, there wasn’t any question about that. I think that’s the part that he brings, and he does it in a different way. He’s not overt, he’s not taking big meetings with the whole team, he’s not answering questions that the coaches ask but we’ll say to him, you know, can you have a look at some of our front-half ball movement or something and he’ll have a look at that and help the coaches with finding the best ways to score for us and help coach the players on it. There was no doubt about that part (leadership). The on-field, am I surprised at that? Of course. I think everyone is, including him, probably. We’ll make the most of that while he’s playing such great footy. It was his turn to hold inside 50 and get a bit of isolation last week, but that doesn’t mean it will always be him. We’re pretty potent in front of the ball. We feel like the system we’re running is working pretty well, and the players individually are in good form, and he’s obviously a big part of that. But he’s also coached all those other guys on helping Adrian Hickmott to get the best out of that forward group. I’m rapt for him that he’s going to be an All Australian again.”
On Josh Weddle's recovery
“He’s excited and optimistic. The medical guys have got a really clear plan. They’ve trained him to a point where if his back holds up to it, he’ll potentially be available going forward. We were a chance to take him to Brisbane just to be around the lads and spend a couple of days with us but he said, ‘I’ve got my scan on Monday and I want to have it first-thing on Monday and I want to make sure I’m here and I’m ready because if the scan’s good, I’m good to go.’ Out of that scan on Monday will come one of two things, one is his back hasn’t quite handled the loads we’ve put in front of him, in which case, he’ll be ruled out for the season, but more optimistically, if he has handled it, he’ll be a chance to play some footy in a week or two after that.”
Watch Sam Mitchell’s full press conference below
