Summary
IT WAS a dominant season for Hawthorn, capped off with an 11th premiership. Favourites from the outset, the Hawks set all sorts of club records, including a 12-game winning streak from rounds two to 14 (level with the 1961 team), and a 19-3 home and away season win-loss tally (level with the 1971, 1988 and 1989 teams). Coach Alastair Clarkson learned lessons from last year's disappointment, managing his players' bodies to perfection, and working particularly hard on goalkicking and handling tight situations towards the end of games. It all went to plan perfectly, and the 15-point Grand Final defeat of Fremantle was just reward for an entire season of high-level performance.
What worked
Almost everything. But, to name a few: the recruitment of Brian Lake; the inclusion of ruckman Max Bailey in the team structure, freeing Jarryd Roughead to spend more time forward; the constant rotation of players through different positions, making the team less predictable; the reduced reliance on Lance Franklin as a focal point; and the ultra-conservative approach to injury management.
What failed
Not much. The biggest hiccup was off the field, where the club's desire to have Franklin re-signed before Christmas didn't pan out, with the four-time All Australian putting off talks until season's end. Although an official call is yet to be made, all indications are that he is headed elsewhere.
Surprise packet
David Hale drifted almost unnoticed through the home and away season, doing a solid job as a back-up ruckman and third marking option. But the former Kangaroo was immense in the finals, playing two of the better games of his career against the Sydney Swans and Geelong.
Disappointment
There are hard luck stories in every premiership team, and this time they came in the form of Matt Suckling, Ryan Schoenmakers and Brendan Whitecross. All crucial members of the Hawks' team in 2012, they each suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries in 2013. Suckling went down in the pre-season, Schoenmakers in round four, and Whitecross in the first final, having fallen to the same fate last year.
MVP: Incredibly hard to split Roughead, Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell. Let's go with Hodge.
Best rookie/first year player: Jed Anderson
Best win versus: Geelong, preliminary final
Low point The two losses to Geelong can be forgotten, given the Hawks won the one that mattered most. That leaves the round 19 loss to Richmond where, despite the match being Brent Guerra's 250th, Clarkson's men came out flat and were comprehensively out-hunted. It was the second year in a row Hawthorn has lost to Richmond. As it now stands, the Tigers are the only team the Hawks have not won their most recent game against.
What needs to improve
This is nit-picking, but if there's one area, it's still set shot accuracy. The Hawks were vastly improved on 2012, having worked particularly hard over the summer, but they almost blew their season with some woeful efforts against Geelong in the preliminary final. In particular, Luke Breust will be having another big off-season in front of the sticks.
Who's done
No retirements or delistings yet.
What they need
The Hawks have been linked to several ruckmen, and it would make sense that they would chase someone whose week-to-week fitness is more stable than Bailey's. If Franklin departs, there will be large salary cap room, and it wouldn't surprise to see it used on a young-ish midfielder or two who can win the ball and burst clear of a stoppage.
Darcy says
"Brian Lake, he is my season highlight for the Hawks. Great recruiting, they got him right, he dropped all the weight [and] to go on and win the Norm Smith Medal, it was exactly what they needed. They weren't getting caught out with big forwards cleaning up some of their inexperienced defenders."
