Swans clash a finals rehearsal: Clarkson

Updated August 24, 2012 17:52:37

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson predicts Saturday's battle with Sydney for AFL top spot will be a precursor of a more important fight to come.

With stars Lance Franklin, Josh Gibson and Sam Mitchell back from injury the Hawks are at almost full strength and won't be holding anything back for the SCG clash.

Hawthorn, already clear premiership favourites, will replace the Swans on top if they win.

A Sydney victory will all but guarantee the Swans the minor premiership and potentially cause Hawthorn to drop to fourth, paving the way for a rematch in Sydney on the opening weekend of the finals.

But Clarkson said either way, the two sides would be blocking each other's path to a premiership come finals time.

"There's probably more to draw out of this game in terms of seeing where we're at, because we're up against a formidable opponent that we know we're probably going to have to face again if we want to salute at the end of the year," Clarkson said on Friday.

"Sydney are looking at it exactly the same way.

"They're playing against us knowing full well that anything they do tomorrow they're probably going to have to repeat at some stage in the finals to be able to get the job done and win the flag.

"That's what makes it an intriguing contest."

Clarkson said the Swans were still not getting the plaudits they deserved despite sitting a game clear on top of the ladder.

"They continue to slip under the radar, even to the point where we're still favourites, which is intriguing really when they've been on top of the ladder for the last eight to 10 rounds and they're one game clear and they're playing on their home patch," he said.

He noted the Hawks were also favourites ahead of the sides' round five meeting in Launceston, when the Swans notched a runaway win.

Clarkson said the Hawks had not been particularly happy with their recent form, despite comfortable wins over Port Adelaide and Gold Coast following their round 19 loss to Geelong.

But he said the return of Franklin, Gibson and Mitchell should lift them.

"They're three really influential players for us," he said.

"We know we're a better side when those guys are playing for us, they've shown that over the course of time for our footy club.

"If they just all come in and play their roles for us then we're pleased.

"I know there's a lot of hype about Lance in particular but it's all about guys just coming in and playing their role and getting the job done for the side."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, melbourne-3000, vic, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted August 24, 2012 17:52:37

View the original article here

Clarkson to face junior tribunal

Updated July 24, 2012 16:05:05

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has been charged with "unacceptable behaviour" by a junior football league.

Clarkson was acting as a runner in his son's under-9s football match at Ormond last weekend.

He admitted to swearing at a 19-year-old official from the South Metro Junior Football League.

"During the conversation with the league official, I used a couple of expletives and I apologise to the official for the language used," Clarkson said in a Hawks statement on Monday.

"I was only trying to reorganise the players into their correct positions and certainly didn't intend for this to become an issue for the official, the league, or the two teams."

Clarkson has now been asked to face the junior league's tribunal at a date to be confirmed.

The incident came just one day after he damaged a wall of the coaches' box at the MCG during Hawthorn's 47-point victory over Collingwood.

The Hawks said Clarkson will pay for the damages out of his own pocket after his offer to repair the wall himself was declined.

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, hawthorn-3122, vic, australia

First posted July 24, 2012 16:05:05

View the original article here

'We've closed gap': Clarkson

Updated April 01, 2012 13:55:18

Hawthorn's impressive start to the season shows it has closed the gap a little to grand finalists Geelong and Collingwood, Alastair Clarkson reckons.

The Hawks coach Clarkson was at pains post-match to note that the job is far from complete though.

The Hawks kicked clear in the final term of Friday night's MCG blockbuster to beat the Magpies by 22 points.

It was the first time they had beaten Collingwood since round 22, 2010.

Their next opponents on Easter Monday are the Cats, who they have not beaten since their upset 2008 grand final triumph.

Collingwood broke the Hawks' hearts when they beat them by three points in last year's preliminary final, ending their season.

"We've made up some daylight, I reckon," Clarkson said.

"There was daylight between Geelong and Collingwood and the rest of the competition last year.

"What we've tried to do over the summer is ... bridge that gap a little bit.

"Now beating them in the first round of the season doesn't suggest we're there, we still have a lot of work to do.

"We don't get much respite - we have a rest of eight or 10 days and then we're into the Cats."

Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge missed Friday night's game after aggravating a calf muscle injury at Thursday training.

Clarkson said the star utility is an unlikely starter for the Geelong game.

"He'd be pretty doubtful to play (against) Geelong ... calves are just tricky little things," he said.

Clarkson and Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley separately described Friday night as an ebb and flow game.

Unusually for these two sides, the forwards dominated and Clarkson was disappointed that the 'Pies had so many scoring shots.

"I don't think either side play footy in that type of manner - they're not sides that allow oppositions to kick 16, 18, 20 goals," he said.

"That's probably just a reflection of ... round one of the season, players under fatigue, 130 minutes of footy, a pretty warm night.

"I'd expected that will settle down a bit over the next few weeks."

But it was a great result for fans, with the game producing plenty of highlights.

One of the stars was Hawks forward Cyril Rioli, who helped spark the side with his second-quarter brilliance.

He took a superb mark over Heath Shaw and kicked two goals.

"I got my workrate up in the second quarter - in the first, I was a bit down," Rioli said.

"I was happy with my couple of goals.

"I think it was my second 'speccy' - I was happy with that, I don't take too many of those, so I will take that."

Clarkson also praised former Brisbane ruckman Broc McCauley, who made his Hawthorn debut and was competitive against Magpies star Darren Jolly.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, hawthorn-3122, vic, australia

First posted March 31, 2012 16:21:58

View the original article here

Clarkson confident Roughead ready

Updated April 09, 2012 13:20:07

Hawthorn believes its cautious approach to Jarryd Roughead's comeback from a snapped Achilles tendon on Monday against Geelong at the MCG - the team he was hurt against - will help him make an impact straight away.

Coach Alastair Clarkson said Roughead would be expected to contribute immediately.

"He's not in the side to be nursed through - he needs to be able to play," Clarkson said of the versatile forward-ruckman, who made a brief preseason appearance in the Hawks' campaign.

"That's why we've played him at Box Hill (Hawthorn's reserves) over the last couple of games to get that competitive nature into his game and to withstand the rigours of the game.

"We've been pretty cautious and conservative with his re-entry to playing competitive footy, but he's raring to go now.

"He's been raring to go for about six weeks. We couldn't keep him out any longer."

Clarkson expects Roughead to play "a number of roles" in Monday's match - though a stint in the ruck where there are different stresses on limb and ligament would appear unlikely first-up.

But action in the forward line as a tall foil to Lance Franklin is guaranteed as the Hawks attempt to address a shocking losing streak against the Cats.

Since the Hawks beat Geelong in the 2008 grand final, the Cats have won all seven encounters.

Clarkson has regularly spoken of how the Hawks have a gap to bridge to challenge the two best teams in the competition - Geelong and Collingwood.

The Hawks laid to rest their Collingwood ghosts with an impressive and hard-fought win to open their season last weekend.

Clarkson said if the Hawks could show the sort of resilience they displayed against the Magpies, they would give themselves every chance of breaking the drought.

"Both those sides have been the best sides in the competition the last three or four years and we've sat underneath both those sides," Clarkson said.

"We showed a resilience against Collingwood last week where were able to challenge, able to fight back and still win which was really pleasing.

"But we know it's another heavyweight battle tomorrow. At different stages, both sides are going to have control of the match.

"You've just got to make sure you hang tough in those periods of time where Geelong have the ascendancy."

Both sides go into the match without key players.

Star Geelong defender Matthew Scarlett is suspended, robbing the Cats of a proven match-up for Franklin.

The Hawks remain without skipper Luke Hodge, whom Clarkson admits could also miss next week's clash with Adelaide because of a calf injury.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, hawthorn-3122, vic, australia

First posted April 08, 2012 15:08:26

View the original article here

Buddy good to go: Clarkson

Updated July 8, 2011 12:08:00

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson says he expects Lance Franklin to play against the Brisbane Lions in Launceston on Saturday, despite a minor ankle strain.

Clarkson says his star forward has trained well this week ahead of the round 16 clash.

Hawthorn will train at Launceston on Friday afternoon as Franklin has a final hit-out to prove his fitness.

"He got through training OK yesterday so we expect him to play," Clarkson said at Melbourne Airport.

"It's not really a case of running a risk.

"He's got a very, very slight ankle strain which he's been able to recover really well from.

"We expect that he's going to be able to play tomorrow and play quite well."

The injury-hit Hawks are set to hand Josh Gibson the tough assignment of playing on Johnathan Brown, Clarkson says.

The fourth-placed Hawks will start favourite against the 15th placed Lions, although Clarkson says he has been impressed by Brisbane's recent form.

-AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, tas, launceston-7250, vic, hawthorn-3122

First posted July 8, 2011 11:49:00

View the original article here