Hawthorn legend Luke Hodge is a fan of the approach coach Sam Mitchell is taking with the rebuild of his former club.
In the midst of a long-term reset, Hawthorn have been absent from finals footy since 2018.
Fresh off a loss to the Bulldogs the Hawks are currently sitting 14th on the ladder. However, Hodge is supportive of how the team are playing under his premiership teammate.
“You can see what they want to try and do, they play like (Mitchell) did when he was a player. (They) want to take the game on, want to be aggressive, if you make a mistake, he’s okay with that,” Hodge said on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“I’m liking what I’m seeing, and as you expect from all young teams, there’s going to be a few little tweaks that they need to improve and that’s about development.”
The young Hawks started out the season hot, winning three of their first five games before falling down the ladder, something which concerned Hodge at the time.
“When they won a few games early, they beat Port Adelaide over (in Adelaide), I’m sitting back going ‘don’t win too many games’, because you can’t get a rebuild off one draft or make the top eight,” he said.
“You want to see them compete; you want to see them engage in the game style that they’re playing but you also want them to get a few draft picks so there’s longevity of staying up the top.”
In his first season as head coach of the Hawks, Mitchell has held firm in his playing structure despite plenty of growing pains, something which Hodge voiced approval for.
“When Hawthorn lost to Essendon… he didn’t throw Tom Mitchell and Jaeger (O’Meara) in the middle, he left it to (Jai) Newcombe and the likes to try and get them to understand how to change the tide themselves,” he said.
“He wasn’t happy after the game but you could sort of see he was getting the players to a stage that he wants them to, about learning the game and understanding how he wants them to play.
“As a player, Sam Mitchell used to crack it if the coaches would change structurally before the player could figure it out himself and you can see that’s what he’s trying to do as a coach, he wants his players to develop.
“The area that they need to improve on is when to go and when not to go.”
The Hawks will travel to Sydney to take on the Giants in Round 16.