HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson has dismissed claims that Buddy Franklin is a “predictable” forward after the Herald Sun revealed Champion Data statistics that showed the Hawks’ star led almost exclusively to the right hand pocket.
“All I can say is, he’s been a pretty good performer for us over the duration and wherever he is leading and wherever he is getting his kicks, he’s doing it all right for us, so we’re pretty happy where ever he gets his touches and I don’t care if that’s on one particular spot on the ground or not,” Clarkson said.
“The bottom line is, he’s made an enormous contribution for us over the course of the last couple of seasons.
“We just worry about 22 blokes preparing to play well and we’ve got enormous faith in his ability as a player and the role that he plays in our side and if he plays his role particularly well it gives us a good chance of winning the game.”
Clarkson also refused to be drawn on comments from North Melbourne officials that “heat maps” of
“Let’s move on to the next question mate, move on to the next issue,” he said.
Clarkson didn’t want to talk about his impending negotiations with the club either. His contract is due to expire at the end of the year.
“I’ve got a really good understanding with Jason Dunstall about all our contract negotiations and that will look after itself,” he said.
The Hawks trained at
Clarkson revealed that Dew could be back in action in as few as two weeks as he recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained in the club’s round two victory over Fremantle.
Mark Williams, who is named as an emergency for the clash with the Kangaroos, will almost certainly play with the Box Hill Hawks in his bid to gain match fitness and get back into contention for the senior side.
“He’ll most likely play with Box Hill Hawks to get some match fitness and should come into contention for the senior side over the next few weeks,” Clarkson said.
As for the clash with the
“I think that’s long gone. We played pretty poorly in the final last year. We’re certainly keen to play better footy but if you call it revenge, I don’t know. It’s another game of footy and another step in a long journey this season. We know it’s going to be a really tough contest.”
Clarkson says
“He’s (Jones) a good footballer and he’s in really good form at the moment. He had a big influence on the result last week so he’s a guy we need to keep an eye on. But so is Thompson (Nathan). He’s kicked six goals in two games. Shannon Grant’s a proven goal kicker for them.
“Edwards (Aaron) performed well against us in the past too so they’ve got a very good forward line. That’s the success of the Kangaroos at the present time is that they have goal kicking talent over a number of players rather than just having one key focus and that’s what we’re trying to do in our forward line as well.”
