The Hawthorn North game was really enjoyable.
The first half saw surprisingly good skills under pressure for teams that to many appear a little under qualified to execute them. Each team rose to the occasion. It was inspiring stuff.
At first, I was pleased with the way Clarkson had engineered a physical onslaught by his team, which I believe is an outside neat-skills team. (It's a great tactic, if you have a team full of receivers to distract the opposition by pretending to be tough. Sheedy's been doing it for years. Likewise Wallace, his disciple.)
But the Hawks got it horribly wrong. It happens so often when softies pretend to be tough. They think it's about what's seen rather than what is effected. Hawthorn sent all their blokes after one Brent "Boomer" Harvey. He was in a bunch of wrestles off the ball, none of which (well, not many) he initiated.
Rugged stuff and horribly misguided. The umpires noticed this, what with it happening right in front of them and all and took a set against Hawthorn. Whew. That came out of left field. Meanwhile Laidley's boys cleaned up Jordan Lewis twice in the first quarter and once early in the second totally illegally without even drawing a free. And then Lewis slapped somebody. Gawn.
Laidley a cool, aggressive defender coached his team to effective violence while Clarkson, a hot headed showy midget coached his team to the vices that hurt him on the park.
Umpires are part of the conditions. You play them. Will Clarkson learn? He hasn't so far. Laidley always knew.
But I don't reckon that's the interesting issue that was resolved tonight. Not for me anyway. When Schwab had the Hawks playing well way back they were an outside unit fed by a tough inside midfield and a fully structured goal to goal line. They could move the ball. Even when they finished second last.
I was thinking that Clarkson may have replaced the model. Gone with a genuine football model. I'm inclined to think he's missed the boat after this season.
But players like Birchall, Guerra (how bout that shirk?), Ladson, Young and Bateman (a leper who's the best of them) are still in abundance. Crawford couldn't get a touch against Sinclair (Sinclair!) and Hodge, who moved freely, was absolutely flogged by Rawlings. Mitchell, their main man was not up to the crushes North subjected him to and Lewis, largely un-manned was useful at best given his freedom.
Hawthorn might improve again next year, and I reckon they'll beat North next time they meet, but they're nothing to write home about.
North, unlike the soft outside unit they met, are hopeless. We'll flog em next year. They've redefined impostor.
