Richmond assistant coach Andrew McQualter provides ‘Roar Vision’ with a snapshot of Hawthorn’s main on-field attributes ahead of this Sunday afternoon’s big clash at the MCG.
Key match-up: Martin v Howe
“He (Howe) actually trained with us in the VFL program a couple of years ago . . . He’s doing really well for himself. In the last month, he’s looked after some pretty dangerous opponents. Physically, he’s capable of doing that, so Dustin might have some work on his hands this week.”
Excellent recent form
“They’ve got their Hawthorn way back, is probably the best way to put it. At the start of the year – I think they’ve said this – they just weren’t playing their way, but they’re certainly back to their best form.”
Controlling the ball by foot
“They’re a real kicking side. Over their years of success they have been a high kick-and-mark side, and they’ve certainly got that back into their game in the last six to eight weeks.”
Curbing their uncontested marks
“I think that’s the challenge. They’ve got so many guys that are good users by their feet and they can just really slice you up if you don’t defend that well.”
Dustin Martin and Luke Breust clash in our last meeting against Hawthorn
Gunston’s successful move back
“It seems to have invigorated his career a little bit . . . He was starved of opportunity, at times, up forward, but he’s in great form now.”
First-rate flexibility
“I was looking at some stats the other day and they had 18 guys go through their midfield last week. It’s been one of the trademarks of Hawthorn over the years, to flip players around. And it makes it really hard at times to figure out who you’re playing on and where the match-ups are.”
Roughead’s influence
“Big ‘Roughy’, is a really versatile player . . . He does go through centre-square bounce quite a lot. Wherever the team needs him at the moment, he just goes and plays in different positions.”
Mitchell’s mighty impact
“This guy is in incredible form. He’s just a ball-magnet . . . he’s always had the knack of being able to find the footy. We’re going to have to put some work into him, for sure. The way we’d probably look at it is he’s clearly a ball-magnet and he’ll always be able to find the ball. It’s just about trying to limit his effectiveness as much as possible.”
