Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell says there aren’t any excuses for his younger aspect’s dismal begin to the season however thinks there’s a frequent denominator in each heavy losses.
The Hawks will journey to Tasmania to face North Melbourne reeling after two blowouts to open the season, succumbing to Essendon by 59 factors in spherical 1 earlier than the Swans hammered them by 81 to go away them moored on the foot of the AFL ladder.
Mitchell stated missed probabilities to get forward early in each video games may need sapped the morale of his younger prices, with their resilience throughout video games one thing he wished to repair.
“I think part of it is the expectation, early parts of the game against Sydney we had our chances, we could have been three goals each,” Mitchell stated.
“It’s much easier to run on top of the ground and feel good when we’re getting reward for effort … a lot of the effort down the drain by shooting ourselves in the foot with ball use and shots on goal.
“It’s not an excuse, we absolutely should play the same way and the same spirit regardless of the scoreboard. We’re going to need to play with spirit all the time.”
Hawthorn shall be bolstered by the return of Chad Wingard from a calf harm, whereas 2022 standouts Jack Scrimshaw and Harry Morrison would play their first video games for the season in Launceston on Saturday, Mitchell stated.
“Jack Scrimshaw’s been dealing with a couple of things, so he’ll be coming into the side, and Harry Morrison had some limited minutes in the VFL last week,” he stated.
“There’s three guys coming back in, I don’t think we have anyone injured, and we need to make changes with the way we’ve played the first two games.”
Mitchell stated Scrimshaw’s shock absence in spherical 1 was as a result of a “limited preparation” reasonably than a tactical choice after the stylish left-footer once more completed within the high 10 of the Hawks’ greatest and fairest in 2022.
“He had a bit of a sore quad and a lot of other guys had performed really well in the pre-season and been a bit more consistent than him in his training,” Mitchell stated.
“He spent a night in hospital last week, so he was only on limited minutes again on the weekend.
“He’s in our best side and he’s a fantastic player for us … we’re going to get him back in now that he has a little bit more footy under his belt.”
Mitchell additionally flagged a potential change to Hawthorn’s tall construction, with Ned Reeves beneath strain after struggling to have an effect within the two losses.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
