Ben Stratton v Michael Walters
Michael Walters has discovered the form of his career in 2019, averaging 21 disposals and a tad over two goals per game. There is no other player in the league close to matching these numbers. The shut down role on the crafty midfielder-forward looks likely to be handy to Hawks Captain Ben Stratton. If Stratton can nullify Walters' impact on Saturday's game, it will go a long way to delivering his side's first consecutive wins of the season.
Nat Fyfe v Jaeger O'Meara... or Daniel Howe
Dockers Captain Nat Fyfe is the number one contested ball winner in the game. Standing at 192cm and 96kg, Fyfe is almost impossible to stop when he is up and going and, with career-high disposal numbers in 2019, he is certainly playing at a high level at the moment. Jaeger O'Meara figures as the Hawks' best bet if they choose to go toe-to-toe with the 2015 Brownlow Medallist. O'Meara has been the Hawks' best contested possession player this season in what has also been a career-best year for him. If Alastair Clarkson alternatively opts for a negating role, Daniel Howe has been an effective option in the past fortnight.
Jack Gunston v Joel Hamling
Despite still finding ways to impact the game, it has been since his six-goal haul in Round 10 that Jack Gunston has booted multiple goals in a game. With a similiar height and weight to the Hawks sharpshooter, Joel Hamling seems Ross Lyon's obvious match-up, with the former Bulldog proving an effective stopper throughout periods of the season. If Gunston can hit the scoreboard in anything like a similar fashion to his last trip to Tasmania, it's difficult to imagine Hawks losing.
