2019 Team Preview – Hawthorn

Written by Thommo on January 18 2019

It pains me to admit this, but the Hawks over-performed last season and are very likely to drop down the ladder in 2019. The Hawks’ midfield relied very heavily on Tom Mitchell last season and must now learn to play without him. The Hawks look undersized in both the forward line and backline and need to find a gorilla or three. Only the rucks look good with McEvoy in career best form and well backed-up by Ceglar and Pittonet when necessary.

If Clarko can lead this list to the top 8 he deserves a medal. If he makes the top 4 again, can someone please give him coach of the year?

Get well soon Tommy! *sniff*

Bye Round: 12

Defenders

Lock and Load: I can’t promise anything, but I reckon James Sicily ($570,400) has turned over a new leaf and is seeking to put the d*ckhead tag behind him. He has gone on record as saying how Clarko gave him a clip after each suspension in 2018 and that he was trying to avoid further meetings with the coach. At Hawthorn, only Clarko is allowed to hit people! So, if he’s fit and avoiding suspension, you need to consider Sicily for your defensive line.

In 16 matches (including 2 finals) in 2018, he only dropped below 90 points on 3 occasions (61, 77, 85) and had a high score of 145 points for a season average of 105ppg. This places him as the third highest averaging defender to start 2019 so he’s likely to remain a top 6 defender for the season.

Feeling LuckyThe day I covered Grant Birchall ($205,200) in the 12 Days of Christmas articles he was diagnosed with loose cartilage in his knee, so it is probably no secret that he is a huge risk. But he is cheap and will make you money if he plays. IF he plays! It is a big risk given he’s spent almost 2 years off the ground but he’ll score 80ppg most weeks at rookie price. Preseason watch!

Money Maker: We’ll need to see how he fits into Hawthorn’s structure, but Jack Scrimshaw ($149,800) could suit up for the Hawks in 2019. Selected at Pick 7 in the 2016 National Draft, the 20-year old rebounding defender has been likened to Grant Birchall and could replace Ryan Burton in defence, especially if Birchall struggles for fitness again. It is difficult to get too excited about Scrimshaw’s recent history given he struggled with injury and form at the Gold Coast and couldn’t even break into their best 22 but he did rack up 31 disposals in the final NEAFL match of 2018. If 31 disposals in the NEAFL means anything?

Midfielders

Lock and Load: This was where I planned to tell you how you should lock in Tom Mitchell and then I planned to tease Swans’ fans about how we stole one of their best players for a change.

That was when the Karma bus backed over Tom Mitchell’s leg!

 Feeling Lucky: It has taken him five years, but Jaegar O’Meara ($503,200) has finally returned to the highs of his debut season (2013) when he averaged 90ppg from 22 matches (93ppg this season). Having finally found some fitness after playing 21 matches in 2018, Jaegar could finally be ready for a break-out season. After an inconsistent start to the 2018 season when he mixed 4 tonnes with 4 scores under 70 points, O’Meara seemed to iron out a few kinks, posting an average of 100ppg from the Round 12 bye onwards. In that time he recorded a low of 84 points and a high of 124 points.

For all that JOM promotion, I still worry that O’Meara may turn out to be just a good player and not a true gun. Even without Titchell, I believe there are far safer value midfield options around this season.

 Money MakerBefore Mitchell broke his leg, there was not much to see here. Priced at 68ppg, Tom Scully ($334,900) was the only noteworthy player if he managed to return to full fitness by the start of the 2019 season, but otherwise no Hawks’ midfield rookies would have featured in the best 22. Now however, we might see James Worpel ($395,700) or James Cousins ($219,900) feature.

Worpel started his career slowly, debuting in Round 6 and only averaging 43 points in his first 3 matches. We didn’t see him again until Round 18 but his time in the VFL had done the trick. He started with 110 points against Carlton and from there he held his position in the best 22 and averaged 87.8 ppg from the final 6 rounds of 2018. His form dropped off in the finals somewhat but that was no great surprise for a first year player. In Supercoach he is probably too awkwardly priced but he has the added benefit of being available as a mid-forward dpp.

Cousins has never scored over 70 points in his 6 career games but he has never really had the chance. In the VFL he is an absolute ball magnet and at rookie price, he could be an option. Unfortunately he is a handy tagger so don’t be surprised if he returns to that role, freeing Daniel Howe ($410,000) up to play a more ball winning role in Mitchell’s absence.

 Rucks

Lock and Load: There is little value to be found in the ruck department this year, so Ben McEvoy ($553,100) may interest some coaches. Just don’t expect much improvement given McEvoy is coming off his best season since 2013 with an average of 102ppg. Unlike Grundy and Kreuzer, Big Boy has never won much of the ball, recording 12 possessions or less for most of this career so his Supercoach scores fluctuate based on his hit-outs to advantage, contested marks and tackling. He can record the odd shocker with a low of 49 points in 2018 but his best attribute is that he’s relatively reliable. Just don’t expect to be excited most weeks!

 Forwards

Thommo’s new least favourite Hawk…

Feeling Lucky: This will all come down to role! If  Chad Wingard ($481,100) plays as a forward, you can’t touch him, but if he plays through the midfield he should average 100+ppg comfortably. My gut tells me that the Hawks wouldn’t give 2 first round and 1 second round pick for a small forward, so the Chad was destined for a midfield role even before Tom Mitchell suffered his injury. For all the criticism he cops, Wingard scored well from Round 12 when he was moved into the midfield for Port, averaging 102.75ppg over the final 12 weeks of the season. Oddly he kicked as many goals as a midfielder resting forward as he did as a deep forward, recording 11 goals in each role. Considering the Hawks are probably a bit more of a fantasy friendly team, Wingard could be a steal for your forward line in 2019.

See also James Worpel ($395,700), who is reviewed above, with his midfield-forward dpp…

Money Maker: Despite spending two seasons in the magoos without a debut, Oliver Hanrahan ($123,900) was re-signed by the Hawks in 2018 and appears to be part of their long term plans. A handy small forward at VFL level, he is now mature enough that he should be able to make a comfortable transition to VFL level. Watch out for a debut in 2019.

13
1


Leave a comment / Scroll to bottom

23 thoughts on “2019 Team Preview – Hawthorn”

  1. Thanks Thommo. I know Titch is a huge loss for the Hawks and footy more generally. But keep your pecker up. It means invaluable AFL experience and responsibility for some of the kids.

    And let’s face it, it could be worse. You could barrack for the Saints 😉

    4

    0
  2. Good work Thommo.
    I’ll definitely have Sicily at some point, he doesn’t suit my bye strategy to start him … but that could change.

    Do you have a view on rookie Mathew Walker? Ex GWS Next Gen Academy snared by the Hawks at pick 63. Albury lad, 188 cm / 82kg . He is described as a ready made forward with a body that would have no trouble matching it with senior players. He is a very strong mark, clean in the air or at ground level and has good smarts inside 50.
    A fair bit of chat going on that he is impressing the coaches.

    3

    0
    1. I’m considering Sicily over Blakely now. Can only have one due to the byes, so feel I might as well get the one who will be locked for the year, despite his lofty price. Blakely definitely a money-maker but is he Top6?! New kick-in rules will suit Sicily to a t (especially with Burton gone to PTA, #2 for HAW kick-ins in 2018).

      Have an eye on Walker but don’t know enough about him. Some further light shed on him would be great.

      6

      0
      1. Not sure how much you want to trust a bloke in the internet but I’m hearing Matt’s teammate J.Koschitzke may be getting an early game as long as hips are alright. $123k and DEF/FWD eligible

        6

        0
      2. I’m still tossing up on Sicily…..if only I knew how many games he will miss this year…..once a brain fader, always a brain fader. Another Toby Greene for mine.

        3

        0
    2. Sorry Lazza. I know no more than you do at the moment. That said, speaking from past experience, the Hawks don’t debut talls early. We do need a tall badly so Walker may be an exception.

      1

      0
  3. Currently have Wingard at F4. If he plays midfield (and you think he would as mentioned) 481k seems to be a steal. Worpel also interesting however is a little bit risky at his price so will more than likely avoid.

    Sicily too heavily on the watchlist

    4

    0
  4. Can someone explain to be the new kick in rule in terms of SC?

    My understanding is before a kick in was only counted is player played on, right? But now, as players can play on without touching their foot, it means more players will do it now, right?

    So for a guy like Sicily should get more points because he will play on more….is this right?

    3

    0
    1. The new rules make it easier for players to play on and get an additional disposal yes.

      I know people are getting getting super excited about players that do it a lot (i.e Lloyd), but because they use to do it so often, is is likely to be of less benefit as they were already getting a lot of disposals this way anyway. I’m not saying someone like Lloyd isn’t a bad pick, and he’s in my current team anyway.

      But on the otherhand, Luke Ryan (Frem) played on 4 out of 107 times in 2018. With the new rules, someone like him is likely to benefit more in terms of increased disposal count.

      We won’t really know much until the JLT series and if all of a sudden the defenders are scoring a lot of points, I wouldn’t be surprised if SC tweaked the value of those kicks.

      11

      0
      1. Jake Lloyd only played on 28% of the time last season. If that average goes up to 50% that could result in a pretty handy point increase

        2

        0
    2. All kicker-inners 🙂 will be able to take one step, or just a boot, over the line and it will count. So Huttabito’s example could be significant … . Those who kick out the most this season will naturally score more than normal… I too think the SC Gods will reduce the value of those kicks.

      It will be interesting to see what impact this new rule will have on the game plan with respect to shooting for goal. Kicking points could be highly damaging and worse than giving away an OOBOTF free in the fwd pocket… especially with blokes like Hurn booting the ball back in to the C-CHF area. We may see less bombs and 50 mtr shots with game plans structured around goal attempts from no more than 40 metres out.

      5

      0
  5. Thanks Thommo.

    Great Review. Its been a good year for them so far.

    I think the Hawks will remain a very solid side, even with Mitchell going down.
    If theres a coach alive that can wring the advantage out of all these new rules it has to be Clarko.
    I will be watching the JLT ( like a Hawk 😉 ) to see what he pulls out of his kit bag.

    Thanks again for a great read.

    6

    1
    1. The new kick in rules, Gawn, 6-6-6, setup value in def and not much fwd, heaps of fallen premiums, legitimate breakouts. Going to be a fun, heart breaking, frustrating season. Can’t wait, to crash and burn with injury carnage making it all mute anyway lol.

      4

      0
  6. Nicely done Thommo. But couldn’t you have written a bit more about Titch? 😉

    Wingard is in my team right now. I like Sicily, but that’s a lot to pay for a bloke who won’t manage more than 20 games for the season. Scrimshaw is on the watchlist also; I think when he was drafted he was a bit underdeveloped physically, but it’s only a matter of time before his talent comes through.

    2

    0
    1. You should have seen the review before Titch got injured!

      I agree on Wingard, should go well. Sicily will play enough poor games that his price will drop at some stage so I probably will bring him in late.

      4

      0
  7. News out of the Hawks match simulation yesterday:
    Wingard – Sat out from the simulation, struggling with a tight calf although still expected to play in JLT
    Scrimshaw- Didn’t partake in match sim either. Not sure what injury he has.
    Worpel – Apparent standout playing in the guts

    2

    0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *