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It’s been this way for some time now. Not overbearing but a constant presence. It is the Hawthorn identity.
The Hawthorn identity became prominent in 2015 during the Round 5 match with the Kangaroos at Etihad. A Jon Jones-esque forearm to the upper-chest (possibly chin) area of Andrew Swallow by Hawks champion Luke Hodge followed by a flying lariat to the temple of Todd Goldstein by Jordan Lewis.
Spot fires occurred throughout the game with jumper punches aplenty and intent to hurt with seemingly every tackle laid by a brown and gold jumper.
Round 12’s Thursday night football in Adelaide delivered a national spotlight to the ‘unsociable’ Hawks as jabs – both verbal and physical – were delivered to standing and downed opponents alike.
This past week Sam Mitchell gave the media and fans fodder for the continuation of the unsociable label as he alluded to the Bombers needing ‘the jab’ in an outstanding display of sledging. As it pertains to sledging, on a personal level I think if it doesn’t include race, religion or family it’s fair game. This is just a personal opinion and one I think isn’t too uncommon.
The three names mentioned so far? Hodge, Lewis and Mitchell. Arguably the three core leaders in the Hawthorn team. Having these three act in such a way on the field speaks to a system that Hawthorn present and obviously value, at the very least for 120 minutes on game day.
A football team should try to find what they do better than any other team. Hawthorn are fortunate in that they are arguably the best ball using side in the competition but are adding another string to their bow by saying ‘we are going to beat you up, while we win the footy, and will let you know about it’.
A similar team who played in this manner was the triple premiership winning Brisbane Lions. They had enough class with Simon Black, Luke Power, Nigel Lappin and Jason Akermanis but bolstered their finesse with the strength and aggression of Michael Voss, Martin Pike and the Scott brothers, Brad and Chris.
Conversely, the toughness and confidence of Hodge, Mitchell, Lewis and Brian Lake compliment the classy of Cyril Rioli, Grant Birchall, Shaun Burgoyne and Bradley Hill.
Label it what you like, unsociable, tough, old-school, cheap. This is the current Hawthorn identity and judging by their leaders both on the field and in the box, they seem rather comfortable with it.
Buddy Franklin’s identity crisis
On the other end of the spectrum lies Buddy Franklin, a superstar in a fully-fledged identity crisis. After yet another reportable transgression, this time for rough conduct on Shane Edwards, Franklin is likely wearing a suit on game day for the next few weeks.
This common occurrence poses the question of whether Buddy knows what type of player he is. Is Buddy strength or finesse? Does he play the ball or enforce? Can he do both, or should he stick to one? Let’s focus on it.
I’ll say it now. Buddy Franklin is not a power forward. Often players over 195 centimetres whom play inside 50 are labeled as such but nothing about the way Franklin plays the game would indicate this.
Many of Buddy’s marks are on the lead, using his explosion off the mark to create space between him and his defender. This is a credit to him as he is often able to take chest marks, which speaks to his ability to lose his man and time his leads to perfection.
Buddy also has the ability to lead back into the open space and beat his man on the run; we all remember his goal of the year against Essendon. While these are excellent traits to have as a forward they aren’t tantamount to being labeled a ‘power forward’.
Buddy Franklin is a finesse player and while this may seem an insult, when you are a perennial All-Australian, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Franklin’s issues lie with his incessant need to be seen as a tough guy or enforcer, and these actions only seem to ever result in suspension.
Following his report on Friday night against Richmond, the broadcast displayed his previous offences dating back to 2009 and there was a common trend.
These were often late hits to the head area of midfielders after they had disposed of the ball and therefore defenceless. Nothing about these acts were tough and all they enforced was the opinion that Buddy doesn’t like to throw his weight around unless he’s sure he’ll win.
This couldn’t have been any clearer than when he instigated physicality with Alex Rance only to fall to the ground in an attempt to win a free kick.
I’m not saying Buddy should go picking fights with guys his own size in attempt to prove anyone wrong. I’m suggesting the opposite.
Lance Franklin needs to be true to the kind of player he is and accept that it doesn’t include enforcing. He isn’t good at it, and when he attempts to do so he often gives the selection committee one more headache.
There are plenty of other players capable of enforcing at a higher level than you Buddy, and purely as a fan, it’s not fair that we go weeks without seeing a talent such as yourself because you feel a need to play the tough guy.
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