Men’s Senior v Westbourne Grammarians
It was a massive week for the Hawthorn Amateur Football Club: Round 12 saw Hawthorn roll out their Wings program, a program which seeks to normalise discussions about mental health and encourage self-care practices. The Men’s Senior side were greeted with a ripping day at Rathmines Road Reserve, and a social room full of punters enjoying the Wings Luncheon.
Westbourne have had a very tough season on the field. They have been winless in both the Seniors and Reserves so far, and unfortunately were unable to field a Reserve’s team on Saturday. This made the pregame vibe somewhat different for the Seniors, but warming up on the ground was a nice treat.
The Hawks came out of the blocks firing with Big Bags Billy kicking the first goal in the opening seconds, the first of what would truly turn out to be a big bag. The Warriors kicked a few goals with the wind but at quarter time, the Hawks were up by 6-goals. Westbourne did well in the second quarter to create a number of stoppages and slowed the game down for the first ten minutes, but the shackles opened as the quarter went on and the Hawks went into halftime with an 85-point lead.
During the break, the coaches spoke about respect for ourselves, respect for our teammates, and particularly respect for the opposition. It was very important that we continue to build on the way we want to play and not let our foot off, despite a clear lead.
The Men’s side put together some really good footy in the third, implementing some key concepts they have been working on during the past few weeks at training and seeing some reward. They went into the last quarter with a 130-point lead and the sting was well-and-truly out of the contest. A 5-goal-to-1 final term saw the Hawks eclipse the 200-point mark for the first time since 2018. Big Bags ended up with 8-goal, and the Big Spud slotted 5. Juice Wain was outstanding off half-back and earned Best on Ground honours.
“It was good to see the Westbourne players get around each other despite what was a pretty tough day, and to see most of them in the rooms after for a drink was good,” said Assistant Coach Zac Jardine.
“Most importantly though is the message that if you are struggling, understand that you're not alone. Would encourage you to speak to anyone at the club, particularly one of a number of trained Wings Ambassadors. There is support available.
“Go Hawks!”
HAWTHORN
9.5 17.12 26.15 31.22(208)
WESTBOURNE
3.3 4.5 6.5 7.8(50)
GOALS
Hawthorn: W. Meehan 8, J. Raiti 5, J. Wilson 2, A. Downie 2, J. Kenny 2, C. Boots 2, L. Piccolo 2, J. Cowland, L. Hutchinson, W. Ryan, T. Matheson, J. Southby, J. Wain, R. Brennan, J. Smith
Westbourne Grammarians: J. Porter, J. Lishman, J. Doyle, M. Szulc, B. Donald, N. Dang, B. Hodge
BEST
Hawthorn: J. Wain, W. Meehan, A. Downie, J. Raiti, L. Piccolo, J. Wilson
Westbourne Grammarians: B. Stoios, B. Hodge, B. Donald, M. Szulc, J. Porter
Men’s Reserves v Westbourne Grammarians
Westbourne Grammar forfeited their match against the Reserves.
Women’s Seniors v Mazenod
With the continuation of Wings Week, the Women's Senior game was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, which discombobulated the coach and threw off his regular Sunday morning Avo on Toast.
Kicking against a 4-goal wind in the first quarter, the Hawks were able to hold Mazenod to 2-goals for the term.
Our second quarter saw Hawthorn jump out of the blocks at the first bounce, with a blistering centre clearance which resulted in their first goal in under a minute. Their link play continued throughout the quarter where they were able to kick a further 2-goals to pin Mazenod's lead back to 3-points at the halftime break.
The third quarter, despite kicking against the wind again, saw some fantastic defensive work by the Hawks backline and again holding the opposition to 2-goals kicking with the wind. Some great clearance work combined with run and link work through the midfield cleared the ball into the forward line on half a dozen occasions.
Coming into the last quarter, again Hawthorn dominated much of the play throughout the term but were unable to translate this great play on the scoreboard. The score did not reflect their effort throughout the day and as Head Coach Simon Brownhill had said, "if the footy god’s shone on us on a few occasions, then the outcome would have been a lot different".
Some great signs came out of the game, with Sarah moved up onto the wing and playing her best game of the season so far; Maya continues to shine in her role off the halfback flank, and Meg’s differing roles in the backline and on-ball showed her versatility. Another encouraging sign was Hawthorn's three goal kickers in Kayla, Char, and Sarah hitting the scoreboard and scoring 3-goals which Hawthorn has not done for a while.
Also encouraging was the Hawk's risk-taking and taking on the game, run and link through the midfield, and attempts to switch the ball and open up the play were exciting.
"We are starting to see the game plan beginning to unfold and, with continued practice, we will see those Gods begin to shine on us!" said Brownhill.
"This week’s game against St. Bede's / Mentone will be an exciting test and one in which we can take right up to them.
"Let's keep the momentum going—ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL!"
MAZENOD
2.2 3.4 5.4 7.5 (47)
HAWTHORN
0.0 3.1 3.1 3.1(19)
GOALS
Mazenod: A. Vaccarino 2, T. Redman, C. Skinner, A. Vine, C. Maguire, K. Salvini
Hawthorn: K. Smith, C. Kanini-Parsons, S. Morley
BEST
Mazenod: A. Walton , E. Bunter, B. Charman, E. Michael, T. Redman, C. Maguire
Hawthorn: M. Boyd, M. Troon, E. Matheson, S. Morley, S. Delbosc, N. Rappos
Women’s Reserves v Mazenod
It was a hard Sunday away from Home for the Women’s Reserves side last weekend. In what was the roughest match of the season, the Reserves, though determined, were unable to bring home a win to the Nest.
It was a must-win battle for the Reserves, as it would ensure a spot in the Finals. Despite the pressure surrounding the game, Reserves Coach Michael Clohesy urged the girls to play with whatever they had. It was all or nothing, he had said, there was nothing to lose. The Reserves featured new faces in Clare, her sister Meg, and Ari who were playing their first match with Hawthorn. Clare braved the forward line whilst Meg put up a solid effort in the back. Ari gave a brilliant display in the middle; she was an unstoppable force that drove the midfielders, deservedly earning her Best on Ground honours.
Though the Hawks did their best to contain Mazenod, the play remained mostly in Mazenod’s half. Hawthorn struggled to get the Sherrin in their forward line and in the times that they did, Hawthorn struggled to keep it and convert. Mazenod were simply the better team on Sunday.
However, it was the third term that showed the improving skill of the Hawks and their potential. It was a masterful coast-to-coast play: Ari had earnt the ball, kicking it to Jaimee who had a clear mark. Jaimee would go onto kick the ball past Safety (Meg Dossor, not to be confused with Clare’s sister) who would dribble the ball to the goals. It was just Safety’s luck, with the ball stopping just on the goal line. It was Mel who did the last kick to seal the goal. To say the Hawks side erupted would be an understatement. The play, to crudely put it, was insane.
Despite the loss, the girls walked off the oval all smiles and laughter–a testament to the friendships they've built this season.
MAZENOD
1.6 3.10 5.16 8.16(64)
HAWTHORN
0.0 0.0 1.1 1.1(7)
GOALS
Mazenod: P. Bassan 3, E. Stewart 2, A. Kaladis, N. Prioriello, A. Yiannios
Hawthorn: M. Dossor
BEST
Mazenod: P. Bassan, E. Stewart, A. Yiannios, K. Newman, A. Kaladis, M. McKenzie
Hawthorn: A. Cathcart, K. Spurrier, A. Dunn, K. Anderson, J. Britton, Y. Xu
