Hawthorn 12.8 (80) d Carlton 8.12 (60)
Carlton provided an answer to the questions that were asked of them all week. Or, rather, they replied, for the answer they gave remains slightly unresolved.
The Blues were everything they could be that was within their control. They pressured and fought, they were strong around the ball and defensively strong. They were diligent in their commitment from start to finish, which was a stark contrast to last week when they folded against Richmond.
Michael Voss’ men are yet to open their account in 2025, but they put in a much stronger showing against the Hawks.Credit: AFL Photos
So, the response was an affirmative shift in their intent. This was especially true, given the quality of opponent they confronted. Hawthorn, after three games in 13 days, is undefeated and looking every bit the balanced finals-bound team.
But how good are the Blues? Was the Richmond game really that rogue?
Michael Voss gathered his players as soon as they walked in the rooms after the game, too eager to talk to them to wait until they went into their meeting room.
Frustrated at losing when the scoreline read 12.8 to 8.12, and they had so many chances on goal and missed them, Voss realised he had to focus on their path to trying to score and win, not the result.
Big man Tom De Koning (right) impressed for the Blues.Credit: Getty Images
“It’s hard to say, ‘Value process over scoreboard’ and not look at the process and what we want to value,” Voss said.
“If you look at the way we defended, we defended hard. [The] tackle rate was up. We defended our 50 really well. Our forward of centres were really strong.
“But we also know we’ve got a little bit of growth to go. So, how do we become that just a little bit more efficient off those plays? We got plenty of looks. There’s no question on the looks. So, we’ve got some marginal growth in there to get after to be able to consistently apply it a bit more often.
“Sometimes just take your moments, don’t make it more complicated. Sometimes just take your moments – 8.12.
Undefeated: Sam Mitchell shares a laugh with Blake Hardwick after their win over the Blues at the MCG on Thursday night.Credit: AFL Photos
“They turned up their intensity a bit … geez, I’m still pretty happy with our fight. There was a fair bit of determination in the group throughout the night.
“Moments? Take a contested mark, maybe there’s the inside-50 they don’t quite hit, or there’s a goal that we don’t quite finish, but often those games come down to moments.”
It was a contest in which neither side could shrug off the other, a point Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell observed, likening the pressure to a final.
But the telling difference was in the quality of ball movement and ball use.
When Carlton won the ball in defence, they had more of a make-it-up-as-you-go method of moving the ball into attack. Hawthorn, in contrast, recovered possession and moved it in waves. They also had the kick of Massimo D’Ambrosio and others to find players, where Carlton sprayed their kicks.
Jack Gunston won three premierships alongside Mitchell as former teammates.Credit: AFL Photos
The difference was in what each team had forward of the ball. Carlton defended well, but Hawthorn had more threats.
Mabior Chol kicked three and Jack Gunston came on as the sub and kicked goals at critical moments, where Carlton had Jack Silvagni swung forward and, while he competed hard, he also missed his shots – one touched on the line, another shaving a post.
Hawthorn had Nick Watson, where Carlton had Jesse Motlop. The difference in class was clear.
Hawthorn had three goals from Blake Hardwick and James Sicily, both of whom spent more time behind the ball than in front of it.
In the end, Carlton kicked only two goals for the second half. The Blues’ strength was around the ball, with Tom De Koning in the ruck the dominant big man on the ground and Patrick Cripps and Sam Walsh diligent through the middle of the ground. But Hawthorn found balance to that in Jai Newcombe and Cam Mackenzie, who is improving by the week.
Oddly, De Koning was stuck on the bench for 10 minutes in that last quarter as any chance of a serious Carlton rally slipped away.
“Clearly you can’t ignore that they were able to execute for a little bit longer,” Voss said. “The focus has largely been on how we want to play and how consistently we want to be able to apply that. So, we found a better way forward, there’s no doubt after tonight.
“That’s a great oppo [opposition] to play against – very classy – and I felt like a lot of our, if you want to call it, system, was standing up, and maybe some moments we didn’t quite get right.”
Sam Mitchell praised Carlton, saying last week’s performance was not a reflection of their ability, and likened the heat of the contest to that of a final.
“We knew that the game was going to be a tough one, and we had to produce some pretty good footy to get over the line,” Mitchell said.
“I know we got the win, [but] there was probably a little bit of luck in it.
“They had a couple of score reviews that went against them, and it could have got a little bit out of hand before half-time, and it was a real arm wrestle.
“I’m pleased that we were able to come out of it, but it’s probably not our best performance, either.
“I’m rapt for the players, because it’s been a pretty solid start to the season for us – Friday, Friday, Thursday [three games in 13 days], all big games, a lot of eyes on us… The way we’ve handled the momentum in those games, because of the work we’ve done – I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to make progress, and we know, to get where we want to go, we have to beat the best sides and handle momentum swings.
“We haven’t got everything perfect, but we have made significant progress in that area.”
Mitchell also touched on the eyebrow-raising moment in the second quarter in which his side, briefly, had 19 men on the field.
“I just heard about it before I came in here [for the press conference], and the bench guys just said someone came off and then didn’t realise someone had come on, and then no one came on so he ran back on,” Mitchell explained.
“It was just a miscommunication, and it obviously cost us a 6-6-6 warning… we then got another one, so it was a free kick.
“So, we need to be better than that – we need to be more organised – and the ripple effect of things like second rucks… those things caused us a bit of trouble.
“We need to get better in that area, and we would hope that wouldn’t happen again.”
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