“We’re a happy team at Hawthorn” is the first line of Hawthorn’s team song, and it’s been sung many a time through the club’s illustrious history.
But at the moment nothing could be further from the truth. Right now they’d be miserable, angry and searching for answers due to their horrendous form.
It’s almost hard to believe the team song rang out through the change rooms after they won the flag as recently as September 2008. They say a lot can happen in a week in football, let alone 18 months.
Two wins from eight games in 2010 was not the start they, or anyone, had expected. In fact, many believed that they were a top four certainty after suffering from a premiership hangover in 2009.
Were it not for a captain-like, game-saving tackle by Sam Mitchell on Shane Tuck late in the game against Richmond last weekend, they quite possibly could have lost to a Tigers side that is, to be blunt, one of the worse outfits to ever play in the AFL competition.
Your coach Alastair Clarkson owes you a beer, Mr. Mitchell. You might’ve saved his job.
The Hawks’ substandard 2009 and woeful 2010 has led some people to suggest that their 2008 premiership triumph was somewhat of a fluke.
These comments are completely and utterly unfair.
Hawthorn did deserve their flag 2008. They had a fantastic year where they came second on the ladder, dominated most teams, and had a great finals campaign.
Their defence lead by Trent Croad was solid, and their leaders Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge had outstanding seasons.
They also had the best forward pairing going around in Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin and Jarryd Roughhead, with Franklin in particular emerging as a genuine superstar kicking 100 plus goals for the season.
And their coach Alastair Clarkson invented a revolutionary and innovative ‘rolling zone’ game plan which at the time had opposition coaches scratching their heads, with some even adopting the rolling zone brand of football.
Hawthorn’s 2008 team was excellent, but it’s safe to say the Geelong Cats were definitely the best team of the season. Prior to the grand final, they lost only one game during their 2008 campaign.
It’s been mentioned on many occasions that Geelong were the team who really deserved the 2008 flag on account of their almost flawless season. Many also feel that the Cats threw the grand final away with their inaccurate goal-kicking.
As Hawthorn continue to flounder, these sentiments continue to grow.
However with this way of thinking, why do we bother playing finals football at all?
Why don’t we have a premier league type competition where the ladder leader is the winner?
Finals football is one of the many, many reasons why we love AFL footy. The romance of the grand final is something many other sports fail to emulate.
Everything comes down to the final game, everything is on the line. The whole season is forgotten about, and if you can’t do the business in four quarters of football, then you don’t deserve the crown.
Hawthorn did do the business that day and they enjoyed their moment in the sun.
Wind the clock forward 18 months and the formerly happy team at Hawthorn need a miracle to save their 2010 season from becoming a disaster.
The win against Richmond would have provided a little bit of relief, though little comfort. However, the desperate win over the Tigers might just be the spark to kick-start their season.
A win against the red-hot Blues this week could see them bounce back. To be brutally honest I can’t see it happening.
They have the cattle to turn their season around, but their heads just aren’t right at Hawthorn.
If it’s purely psychological, then changing their fortunes may be easier said than done.
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