Hawthorn players leave the MCG after the loss to Gold Coast. Picture: Michael Klein
HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson will use the second half of the club’s worst season in more than a decade to foster its next generation of stars.
After Gold Coast all but shut the finals door for the Hawks, leaving them 4-8 leading into the bye week, Clarkson said he would use the example of the club’s quick rebounds over the past 50 years as inspiration for the task ahead.
Part of that rests with a number of his “no-name” players who he hopes will respond to the challenge, as the last wave of players did after the difficulties experienced in 2009 and 2010.
Without late withdrawals Luke Hodge and Luke Breust on Saturday, as well as a string of other key players, the young Hawks could not stop a masterclass performance from Gary Ablett (37 disposals) and some old-fashioned grit from Gold Coast, which kept their own season alive.
Hawthorn players leave the MCG after the loss to Gold Coast. Picture: Michael KleinSource:News Corp Australia
“They have a book called ‘The Hard Way’ about our footy club for a reason … I don’t know why but we find a way to do it pretty tough from time to time, which is what we are going through right at the minute,” Clarkson said.
“We have had ebbs and flows a lot over the last 50 years, (but) what this footy club has been great at, is once it has dropped away, it has managed to get back up there pretty quickly.
“We had a really, really young side … (it) is really starting to test our depth a bit, (but) the pleasing part is we are seeing the next generation of Hawthorn players coming through.”
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Clarkson was at a loss to explain a few umpiring decisions, including a costly 50m penalty against Kaiden Brand in the final term that resulted in a goal.
“I am not able to comment on disgraceful umpiring … so I am better off not saying anything,” he said. “I don’t know what it was for.”
“We didn’t lose the game because of the umps, but there were a few dubious decisions over the course of the game. You’ve just got to take the swings and roundabouts and unfortunately we hit a few road blocks in that regard.”
Jack Gunston played his best game for the year but it wasn’t enough to secure Hawthorn the win. Picture: Michael KleinSource:News Corp Australia
He said Hodge and Breust would likely return after the week’s break, when the Hawks will take on Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in Round 14.
Jack Gunston played his best match of the season, kicking five goals, with Clarkson saying much of it came from better use of the ball from his teammates going forward.
Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade was pleased with his team’s ability to close out the game when the Hawks came at them during the middle stages of the last term.
“I think we’re on the upward curve,” he said. “There might be some inconsistency going forward, as a young group. But we’re learning.”
A controversial 50m penalty against Kaiden Brand gifted Ben Ainsworth a crucial goal. Picture: GettySource:Getty Images
He was frustrated Ablett was forced to spend eight minutes on the bench midway through the last term as they searched for a break in play to be able to get him back on.
“There were a few things said in the (coaches’) box, we need to be better,” he said of the communication issue that saw Ablett stranded for too long.
Eade said a final punishment for Jarrod Harbrow, who was left out of Saturday’s game following a drink-driving charge, would be determined in the coming days. But he refused to guarantee the defender would return for Saturday night’s clash with Carlton.
“We’ve met as a group, the key stakeholders … and that’s with the CEO and other people up above,” he said. “I think it’s just about done but there’s just a few finer points.”
Originally published as Clarko: Can’t comment on ‘disgraceful umpiring’
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