It’s the end of an era at the Hawthorn Hawks as Alastair Clarkson coaches his final game against reigning premiers the Richmond Tigers. Follow along with live scores on The Roar from 1:35pm (AEST).
After 17 years, 389 games and four premierships in charge at the Hawks, Clarkson’s time at the helm of one of the AFL’s greatest eras is over. It has been a turbulent season at the club, who have been widely criticised for their handling of the coaching succession plan that will see Sam Mitchell take the reins in 2022.
Clarkson is hardly going quietly into the night, however; the Hawks’ remarkable improvement in recent weeks, with wins over Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs and a draw with ladder-leaders Melbourne, will make him hot property for any clubs with a coaching vacancy for the next few years. It also means the Hawks, despite sitting 14th on the ladder, are favourites against a Tigers outfit that needs to win to keep their finals hopes alive.
As extra incentive for the Hawks, 400-game legend Shaun Burgoyne will also be wrapping up after this match, in a double send-off for two legends of the club.
While the Tigers are still mathematically in the finals hunt, last week’s humbling loss to GWS has all but confirmed they will miss out on September action. To make the eight, the Tigers would need one Essendon, Fremantle and West Coast to all lose, as well as making up a 10 per cent percentage gap to the Bombers. Not even they could pull that off.
They have farewells of their own, with triple-premiership defenders David Astbury and Bachar Houli announcing their retirements mid-week, though only Astbury is right to play.
Damien Hardwick has been forced to make a whopping nine changes for this match, including ruckman Toby Nankervis, captain Trent Cotchin and stars Kane Lambert, Dion Prestia and Shane Edwards. For the Hawks, Luke Breust, James Worpel and Jaeger O’Meara are all back.
Opening bounce: 1:35pm (AEST)
Venue: MCG
TV: Fox Footy
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go
Betting: Tigers $2.46, Hawks $1.54 (odds via PlayUp)
Richmond Tigers
B: 2 Dylan Grimes, 46 Ben Miller, 12 David Astbury
HB: 15 Jayden Short, 1 Nick Vlastuin, 17 Daniel Rioli
C: 34 Jack Graham, 27 Thomson Dow, 33 Kamdyn McIntosh
HF: 37 Matthew Parker, 7 Liam Baker, 50 Marlion Pickett
F: 19 Tom Lynch, 29 Shai Bolton, 8 Jack Riewoldt
FOL: 40 Callum Coleman-Jones, 26 Riley Collier-Dawkins, 36 Will Martyn
I/C: 5 Jack Ross, 11 Jason Castagna, 41 Mabior Chol, 44 Sydney Stack
EMG: 6 Patrick Naish, 16 Jake Aarts, 42 Ryan Garthwaite, 45 Hugo Ralphsmith
IN: David Astbury, Jack Ross, Jason Castagna, Kamdyn McIntosh, Mabior Chol, Marlion Pickett, Riley Collier-Dawkins, Will Martyn, Ben Miller (debut)
OUT: Dion Prestia, Hugo Ralphsmith, Kane Lambert, Shane Edwards, Trent Cotchin, Toby Nankervis, Ryan Garthwaite, Maurice Rioli, Rhyan Mansell
Hawthorn Hawks
B: 23 Tim O’Brien, 28 Kyle Hartigan, 8 Sam Frost
HB: 9 Shaun Burgoyne, 14 Jack Scrimshaw, 15 Blake Hardwick
C: 17 Daniel Howe, 10 Jaeger O’Meara, 21 Tom Phillips
HF: 22 Luke Breust, 2 Mitch Lewis, 11 Conor Nash
F: 20 Chad Wingard, 7 Ben McEvoy (c), 34 Jacob Koschitzke
FOLL: 18 Jonathon Ceglar, 3 Tom Mitchell, 5 James Worpel
INT: 1 Harry Morrison, 13 Oliver Hanrahan, 16 Lachlan Bramble, 26 Liam Shiels
EMG: 35 Josh Morris, 41 Connor Downie, 42 Tyler Brockman, 44 Jai Newcombe
IN: James Worpel, Luke Breust, Jaeger O’Meara
OUT: Jai Newcombe, Connor Downie, Tyler Brockman
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
Good finish from the Tigs, blooded 7 players this year. Midfield held their own and was full of youngsters. Good rest, full preseason and we’re back in the 8 in 22.
Eddie from Elwood
Roar Rookie
Jungle drums sound the same this time too.........guess we have to wait and see.
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Cold comfort but yeah...
Dean
Roar Rookie
Maybe but you put CJ on the wing and takes away his intercept marking and run off half back.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
And what "tripe" would that be? Caught out doing...what? A really strange response, Sven.
Hawks12
Guest
Terrible way to send clarko off. But one spot worse on draft order avoided
sven
Roar Rookie
true to form don, ignore the fact youve been called out for speaking tripe yet again & just keep piling it on ....
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
A draw!? A loss by any other name
Charlie Keegan
Roar Guru
Yeah and jiath is better than phillips
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Yep. The Suns are your new measuring stick. Oh dear!.
sven
Roar Rookie
dusty’s always on your mind boys
sven
Roar Rookie
ah well don, u did also predict suns would finish above us, freo makes the top 4 & play off in the granny, never mind all the other times u got it wrong .... enjoy the fact that u made one right call, but your strike rate aint that hot when it comes to accurate predictions
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
No feeling at all. Just a reminder. Good to see one of you acknowledge it.
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
No 12th unfortunately, 13 th would have been better. Just like 2016 when we needed another coach and we had a team of B graders and facing long term in the abyss.
Dean
Roar Rookie
Very disappointed in that last part of the quarter Don. That was a kick in the guts. Clarko and Burgoyne deserved a better send off than that.
Puntroad
Roar Rookie
you told us so Donny! That give u a lift mate? I hope you fully enjoy the high ground with a warming sense of self satisfaction. Best wishes to you.
dab
Roar Rookie
Does this mean Richmond have missed out on 9th?
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Time to change your coach.
Dusty does Danger
Roar Rookie
Unbelievable finish and best outcome for Silk, Astbury and probably for both coaches. One of the few draws that there is a win!
Alchemist
Roar Rookie
To be fair it did.