The Hawks have started the season in the worst possible fashion, 0-3, with the Gold Coast Suns belting them from pillar to post on the weekend.
Discussion surrounding the club has got substantially louder, and various theories have been suggested for the possible causes.
One that keeps popping up is the loss of Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis, which may have upset the senior players and they are now no longer motivated; Alastair Clarkson has lost them.
As bad as those three losses to start the season may have been, this theory is nothing more than people jumping to conclusions.
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All last week there was speculation that the Collingwood players weren’t playing for Nathan Buckley, then the Pies win on Friday night and suddenly the dialogue changes: the group played for Buckley, they have spoken out for him, they are loyal to him.
Where did the questions go that existed a day or two earlier?
Naturally, Hawthorn’s loss of Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis hurts, they were two greats of the club and the game. But to suggest Clarkson lost the senior players as a result is both unfair and extremely unlikely.
The Hawthorn players have always had great admiration and respect for Clarkson, not just because of his clear coaching ability, but also because there are never any false pretenses. They know where they stand, and they know when there is a conversation to be had Clarkson will be the one to have it.
A recent example is Luke Breust. Hearing of trade rumours, he contacted Clarkson, knowing he would be told exactly what the situation was. Clarkson told him exactly where he stood, assuring Breust that his name had not once entered any discussions for trades. Breust went on to say that is the great thing about the club and Clarko: there was no doubting his word.
The unfortunate reality for the Hawks is having such a bad start to the season coupled with the fact Lewis and Mitchell are no longer at the club seems to suggest a massive psychological effect.
But teams can perform poorly for any number of reasons, it is not always because players are upset and angry. Players leave clubs all the time, and more will continue to leave. If players leaving, no matter how good they were, caused a coach to lose their playing group, then clubs would struggle to get anywhere.
We have seen three rounds, let’s not make conclusions that can take a season to learn.
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