AFL greats Kane Cornes and Matthew Lloyd believe Hawthorn’s midfield mix is holding them back in 2022.
The Hawks burst out of the blocks this campaign under new coach Sam Mitchell, but they’ve recently struggled to lose five of their last six games including on Saturday night to a disappointing Essendon side.
Although Hawthorn has a quality midfield unit on paper, Cornes and Lloyd believe they don’t have enough of a dynamic mix as the likes of Tom Mitchell, James Worpel, Jai Newcombe and Jaeger O’Meara all offer similar attributes.
With games against Richmond and Brisbane set for Round 9 and 10 respectively, the pair told Nine’s Sunday Footy Show that they expect things to get worse for the Hawks if they can’t find some firepower from their on-ball brigade.
Cornes: “They’ve got Brisbane and Richmond to come in the next two weeks so it doesn’t get any easier for Sam Mitchell.
“It’s been a discussion that we’ve had multiple times … (Hawthorn are) one-paced and there’s a lot of sameness out of their midfield.”
Lloyd: “It stood out big time, they looked the better side for most of the night (against Essendon).
“Newcombe’s a star, he’s gone past Tom Mitchell in my opinion, Tom Mitchell looked lost last night, he hardly touched the footy.”
Cornes: “14 (disposals) he had.”
Lloyd: “14 touches, I just wonder whether he stands in their formation right now.
“(James) Worpel has gone backwards.”
Cornes: (Josh) Ward’s a young player, but he’s the same type.”
Hawthorn's midfield will face a big test as they look to snap a three-game losing streak against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
"Tom Mitchell looked lost last night. He hardly touched the footy."
— Footy on Nine (@FootyonNine) May 8, 2022
The panel discusses what went wrong for the Hawks, and whether their midfield is too one-paced. #9AFLSFS | @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/XWHyiezcyt