“Bring your mouthguard”: Hawthorn planning tough week on the track after worst start in 54 years
“Bring your mouthguard” because it will be a testing week on the training track for Hawthorn after their disastrous 53-point loss to Gold Coast on Saturday night.
The Hawks’ 0-5 record and percentage of 64.8 is their worst start to a season in 54 years and has them searching for answers.
Having been beaten in all aspects of the game by the Suns, co-vice captain Dylan Moore says the time has come for he and his teammates to really “get to work”.
Moore is expecting a tough week on the track as they prepare for their clash with the similarly winless North Melbourne in Round 6.
“There’s no more tiptoeing around at training or ‘oh yeah, I’ll sit out of this drill’, it’s bring your mouthguard and let’s get to work,” he told Channel 7 news.
“I put my hand up and say I’m not living to the standards required and that’s what we spoke about as a playing group.
“We can’t just stick to a footy schedule like every other club and expect that we’re going to be as good as Collingwood.
“We need to do extras and we’ve made commitments to each other to do that.”
It's set to be a brutal week at Hawthorn as Sam Mitchell puts the blow torch on his players.
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) April 14, 2024
The coach lamenting their loss to the suns as completely unacceptable. https://t.co/5zYfOfGqUb @cleary_mitch #7AFL #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/i05hO8BFlW
Coach Sam Mitchell alluded to some increased physicality at training during his post-match press conference following the comprehensive defeat.
“I think we’re probably going too have to ramp a few things up during the week,” he told reporters.
“If we lose one to a corky or something like that then we probably have to accept that.”
While the Hawks have been competitive at times this season, they have lost four of their five games by 24 points or more.
They lost every almost every stats category against the Suns in what was their worst performance to date in 2024.
Mitchell’s side will need to improve swiftly if they are to capture their first victory of the campaign against the Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium this Sunday.