Can the Hawks win 2 Flags by 2012?

December 26, 2007 | Filed Under AFL News

Well they have publicly stated that their premiership window is officially open and want to win 2 premierships by 2012 but can the Hawks achieve this goal?

First let’s take a look at the Additions and Deletions from the Hawks list:

ADDITIONS:

Rookie elevation: Luke McEntee
NAB AFL Draft: Stuart Dew (Port Adelaide), Cyril Rioli (St Marys), Brendan Whitecross (Zillmere)

DELETIONS:

Retired: Ben Dixon (veteran – outside list), Joel Smith, Richie Vandenberg
Delisted: Matt Little, Josh Thurgood, Brett Collins (rookie), Sam Gibson (rookie)

Going over these, the retirements of Dixon, Smith and Vandenberg will be quite easily covered in a laying sense. I don’t really think Vandenberg and Dixon gave the Hawks much in 2007, and Smith was a good player for them but I think will be easily covered.

The Extractors

The Hawks are a high possession team ranking 4th Highest in 2007 for disposals per game. The likes of Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis, Luke Hodge and old timer Shane Crawford get a ton of the football and unlike some other team’s midfielders who may also rack up these numbers, these 4 players hurt the opposition with their disposals and this is what sets them apart from the rest. These guys will again be the key to the Hawks 2008 premiership campaign. Luke Hodge must be one of the best competitive players I have seen! He is a GUN.

Ruckmen are the key

One of the main reasons the midfield are prolific at getting the pill is the work of their Ruckmen. Campbell and Taylor are fantastic competitors and what is a key to note here is that they played every game last year which meant they didn’t have to rely at all on 2nd and 3rd string ruckman. Even if they are not getting first hand on the ball they are nullifying their opponent’s ability to get a clear knock. This is a great stat to note, The Hawks were ranked 3rd in the least Opponent Hit outs per game, this is a big reason why the Mitchell’s and Lewis’s and Hodge’s get a lot of the ball. I will throw another stat in here because it is very impressive, both Ruckmen are in the top 10 in the tackle count.

Buddy Love

Well few would doubt the natural ability of Lance Franklin in the Hawks forward line and he proved during the finals last year that he is going to be a superstar of the competition. It is going to extremely tough in 2008 for “Buddy” he will be getting the treatment that Jonathan Brown from the Brisbane Lions gets, in terms of double and triple teaming him. This is where the other forwards need to be smart, the likes of Jarryd Roughhead (2nd in the goal kicking) and Tim Boyle (3rd in the goal kicking) can have a field day if defenders are going to apply this tactic to Franklin. The key is for the Hawks midfield not to be to “Buddy” conscious in the way they move the ball into the forward line. Don’t forget Mark Williams, who is expected to be back in full training by January, will come back in the line up as well. Quite a potent forward line don’t you think?

Competitive Backline

The Hawks backline probably sums up their style, Tough, Hard Competitive. With Campbell Brown, Trent Croad, Brad Sewell (maybe he is more midfield), Ben McGlynn and Brent Guerra what more can be said? These are the type of players you hate playing against, niggling you when the ball is down the other end of the ground etc, forwards hate that let me tell you. With the loss of Smith they may lose a bit of run but I think Clinton Young is a player that is quite capable of giving the Haws the run they need from defence to cover this sort of loss.
Another man I haven’t even touched on yet is Stuart Dew. Many believe that it was a huge gamble picking him up in the draft but the Hawks have got a very young list and the added experience he will give to this group will be invaluable. Provided he can get his body right he will give the Hawks a fantastic option either as a pinch hitter down forward or, where I reckon he will have a bigger impact will be coming out of defence and driving the ball long into the forward 50. It might be a big gamble but it is a good one to take.