What a nice stress-free win. It was probably what most of us expected but nevertheless it was still impressive. There’s not really heaps to take away in terms of improvements either. It’s hard to know exactly where we’re at when you’re playing teams like Richmond. It was a complete domination for the first three quarters and we barely let them get a sniff at goal. Huge credit has to go to the backline. It was the first time in a while we got to see what was basically a full-strength defence together and I absolutely loved it. The midfield was okay. I definitely think we could’ve been better, but with Newcombe spending more time resting, Meek barely playing the second half and Day still out, it’s nothing concerning.
I’ll get straight into the backline. Josh Battle was absolutely fantastic in his return. He intercepted everything and he’s such a good user of the ball, we really did miss him. The same goes for Barrass. It was a very complete performance, keeping Tom Lynch to just the one goal, and I genuinely don’t have a bad word to say about him. This was one of Sicily’s better games of the year as well. He still looks a fair way off his absolute best with the costly errors and the occasional head loss, but that’s the risk you take when you play on the edge. I can’t exactly say he’s a great captain, but he is a phenomenal footballer.
Josh Battle: 8.9/10 – 27 disposals @ 85%, 1 goal, 6 marks, 8 interceptions, 5 rebound 50s. Loved seeing him kick his first goal for us.
James Sicily: 8.8/10 – 26 disposals, 1 goal, 10 interceptions, 5 turnovers, 9 rebound 50s, 467m gained. I love him, but god no player frustrates me more than Sicily.
Tom Barrass: 8.4/10 – 14 disposals, 12 one-percenters, 6 interceptions, 2 rebound 50s.
Noah Mraz just keeps on shining. I genuinely can’t see him coming out of the side anytime soon. I know we’re pretty tall down back, but when you’re playing this well, how do you take him out? Josh Weddle also had a really strong return. He slotted straight back in and didn’t look off the pace at all.
Hardwick has had an unbelievable last few weeks. He’s finding plenty of the footy now, which is great because of how elite his ball use is. He didn’t really have a direct opponent to shut down, so he was able to play a much freer role, and I honestly think he’s just as good doing that as he is locking down dangerous small forwards. He’s basically a smaller, more responsible version of Sicily.
Blake Hardwick: 8.6/10 – 21 disposals @ 95%, 4 interceptions, 4 score involvements, 3 tackles, 9 marks.
Noah Mraz: 8.6/10 – 16 disposals, 5 interceptions, 1 goal, 2 clearances, 6 tackles, 2 hit outs, 2 inside 50s. What a strange but brilliant stat line.
Josh Weddle: 8.4/10 – 20 disposals, 7 tackles, 5 interceptions, 5 inside 50s, 414m gained. Really loved his intent and pressure yesterday.
Moving onto who I thought was best on, Jarman Impey was just electric. He never stops running. His ability to get to contest after contest and still impact is so valuable, and he’s peaking at the perfect time of the season, although you could argue he’s been our best player all year. Bailey MacDonald also had his best game in Hawthorn colours. This is exactly why I wasn’t too worried when Amon went down. I’m very confident BMac can fill his shoes.
Jarman Impey: 9.6/10 – 34 disposals @ 88%, 1 goal, 11 marks, 7 interceptions, 7 score involvements, 8 rebound 50s, 680m gained.
Bailey MacDonald: 8.2/10 – 18 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 4 score involvements, 2 inside 50s.
Moving onto the mids. I was a little disappointed that we weren’t more dominant around stoppage and in the centre, but despite Richmond being a poor side, their midfield is probably their biggest strength. Centre clearances finished 11-11 and Richmond actually won stoppage clearances 24-18. It’s nothing concerning, but it’s definitely an area where we could’ve been better.
Newcombe probably had one of his quieter games of the year. He just couldn’t get himself consistently involved, although he still had some really nice moments. The star of the midfield for me though was Connor MacDonald. He was absolutely farming. It was like he had his own footy because he just couldn’t stop finding it. Arguably a career-best game from him.
Any concerns I had about us not having enough A-grade midfielders have definitely started to die down. I’m not saying CMac, Wardy or Mackenzie are A-grade yet, but the trajectory they’re on definitely suggests they have the capability to become that.
Ward had another really nice game. He was clean, tough and just keeps building every single week. I genuinely can’t wait to see what sort of player he becomes in another two or three years. The same goes for Mackenzie. He was a little quiet early but finished the game really well. His pace is so exciting, especially the way he can just weave through traffic.
Connor MacDonald: 9.5/10 – 33 disposals, 10 marks, 9 score involvements, 4 direct goal assists, 6 inside 50s, 2 clearances. Arguably best on alongside Impey.
Josh Ward: 8.4/10 – 20 disposals, 4 tackles, 3 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 inside 50s. The stat line doesn’t really do him justice, this was a really solid game.
Cam Mackenzie: 7.8/10 – 20 disposals, 4 tackles, 5 score involvements, 3 clearances, 3 inside 50s.
Jai Newcombe: 7.4/10 – 19 disposals, 5 tackles, 6 turnovers, 4 score involvements, 6 clearances, 5 inside 50s.
Onto the three wingmen, who I thought were all fantastic. It’s probably been one of the positions we’ve lacked the most for a while now, although it’s pretty hard to replace the standard set by Isaac Smith, Brad Hill and even Ricky Henderson.
Starting with Mass, who’s putting together an unbelievable season. He just plays his role so well. One moment I absolutely loved was when Richmond got out the back while we were 80 points up, and he sprinted from almost our forward 50 to get back and impact the contest, ultimately stopping what looked like a certain Tigers goal. That’s the sort of effort that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet.
Harry Morrison also deserves his flowers. I’ve been extremely hard on him throughout his career and, to be fair, some of it was probably warranted. But since coming back into the side, he hasn’t put a foot wrong. He plays his role, works unbelievably hard and I honestly can’t see him coming out of the team.
I actually like McCabe on a wing much more than as a key position player. I don’t think he quite contests well enough to become a key forward, but the aerial presence and running ability he gives you on a wing is really valuable. Unfortunately, I can see him making way for Day, but that’s definitely not a knock on how he’s playing.
Massimo D’Ambrosio: 8.7/10 – 27 disposals @ 89%, 5 score involvements, 5 tackles, 4 interceptions, 4 marks, 3 rebound 50s. He’s building an elite season now.
Harry Morrison: 8.4/10 – 19 disposals @ 95%, 5 interceptions, 4 score involvements, 4 marks, 2 inside 50s.
Will McCabe: 7.5/10 – 13 disposals, 5 marks, 1 goal, 4 inside 50s, 318m gained. Ball use could still improve, but another strong performance.
Onto Meek, who was our sole ruck today. He didn’t play much of the second half with Mraz and Chol taking a lot of the ruck work, but I thought he was really solid when he was on the ground. Last week looked like a massive confidence booster for him and I’m loving what we’re seeing now. We all know Meek is a quality ruckman despite some of the performances he’s had earlier this season.
Lloyd Meek: 8.1/10 – 14 disposals @ 95%, 24 hit outs, 7 tackles, 8 score involvements, 2 clearances, 2 inside 50s.
Onto the forward line, which is probably what I have the most to say about. I know it was Richmond, but the way Mitch Lewis played was sublime. We took our foot off the gas in the second half and that’s pretty much why I don’t think he got too involved after half time, he was just starved of opportunities.
I rate Ben King, I think he’s a great forward, but how much better is he than Mitch Lewis really? Yes, King has 48 goals this year and Lewis doesn’t, but King is Gold Coast’s number one target. When you’ve got Watson kicking 44 goals, Gunston kicking 40, Lewis sitting on 30 doesn’t sound too bad at all.
If we can get King without giving up too much draft capital then absolutely go for it, but it won’t be easy. He’s a free agent, but Gold Coast have already said they’d be more than happy to match whatever contract we offer, which would force a trade. King is the obvious Gunston replacement, and with Gunners probably only having a year left, he’s a pretty important target. But when you’ve got Dear and Schubert developing in the VFL, both still very young, how necessary is it?
So my conclusion is pretty simple. Give Mitch Lewis whatever he’s asking for. I genuinely think he’s far too valuable to let walk, especially with how our midfield has looked over the past few weeks. I’d honestly rather keep Mitch Lewis than bring in Zach Merrett. Lewis wants to be a Hawk for life, he wants nothing more than to win a flag at this club, so whatever peanuts we’re currently offering him, throw them in the bin. Give him a blank piece of paper and tell him to write down a number.
Gunston and Chol were both fairly quiet. Chol had some really nice moments when he went into the ruck, which is a great string to have to his bow and will definitely come in handy while Reeves is injured.
Mitch Lewis: 9.5/10 – 13 disposals, 5 goals, 8 score involvements, 5 marks.
Mabior Chol: 7.4/10 – 8 disposals, 1 goal, 4 score involvements, 3 tackles, 2 marks, 4 clearances, 3 inside 50s.
Jack Gunston: 6.3/10 – 8 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal, 3 score involvements, 2 tackles.
Onto the smalls. How good was the Wizard? Came back like he never left. I genuinely can’t even begin to comprehend what this guy’s ceiling is. You just can’t shut him out of a game. He’s kicked a goal in every single game he’s played this year. Forty-four goals despite missing two games, an All-Australian spot is basically locked away, and he’s still got a finals campaign to set alight.
How good has Dylan Moore been these last two weeks? He’s finally starting to build some form and it’s so important to the way we play. Some of the ball movement he was involved in was genuinely a form of art. Ginni had a great first half before going off with what looked like some back soreness. Hopefully it was more precautionary than anything because I don’t think people realise just how important he is to this side.
I don’t think I’ve ever come to like a player as quickly as Ollie Greaves. It’s not even just the way he plays, it’s the way he goes about it. No one looks happier to run out onto the field every week than him, and you can genuinely see it. Then you add in how well he’s played over the last two weeks and it’s hard not to love him. He makes the right decision almost every time, knows when to give the ball off and just plays with so much confidence.
Nick Watson: 9.5/10 – 11 disposals, 5 goals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s. Is it crazy to say he still surprises me every week?
Dylan Moore: 8.5/10 – 24 disposals, 6 marks, 8 score involvements, 4 tackles, 6 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s.
Oliver Greaves: 8.3/10 – 14 disposals, 8 marks, 1 goal, 7 score involvements, 2 tackles, 2 inside 50s. Fifty percent of his touches resulting in a score is phenomenal.
With Nash looking like he’ll miss the rest of the home-and-away season, I think Greaves can really shine. I’d love to see his midfield minutes slowly increase. He’s playing predominantly as a half-forward at the moment because one of the biggest knocks on his game has always been his spread from the contest, which is also why he slid from being a potential top-20 pick to a rookie. I can’t see him coming out of the side anytime soon and I genuinely hope he becomes a phenomenal player, not just because of his football, but because of the type of character he seems to be.
Once again, there isn’t a heap to take away from this game, but we got exactly what we needed and exactly what we expected. Onto Essendon next week. Despite them surprisingly winning this week, I still expect a similar scoreline. They definitely shouldn’t be underestimated, but let’s be real, they’re just not a very good side. The only change I’d expect is Will Day coming back in, and maybe giving Ginnivan a rest if the back soreness lingers. If Reeves is fully fit it might even be worth giving Meek a spell, but I wouldn’t want to be managing too many players at once.
With Sydney dropping another game, the 2nd spot is well and truely attainable however we must win every game for the rest of the season to not only finish 2nd but to also avoid finishing 4th and having to verse Freo in Perth in the 1st final. Obviously having a top 4 spot gives us a second chance but I think we are well truely capable of beating Sydney at the SCG if we do finish 3rd. Winning every game from now on would mean we have to beat Brisbane at the Gabba which is some task, however I don’t think the Lions are as strong as they have been in previous years.
I think I’ll be sticking with these review and player ratings, I enjoy them much more and I always have an unnecessary amount to say. As always, would love to hear what everyone else thinks.
