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From Hollywood Hawks to clipped wings: Hawthorn's poor form slammed
Connor Scanlon • June 2nd, 2025 2:00 pm
After a promising end to last season and an off-season documentary brimming with confidence, the wheels have completely fallen off at Hawthorn in 2025 - and footy analysts are not holding back.
David King and Sam Edmund gave a fiery breakdown of the Hawks’ form on SEN's Fireball, pointing fingers at leadership, game style, and the team’s overall structure following Hawks coach Sam Mitchell’s words after their 51-point thrashing against Collingwood.
“I think it was pretty clear to everyone that was here and those watching at home that at this point (we’re) miles off it,” Mitchell admitted.
“We’ve got plenty of work to do.”
Those words sparked a broader discussion, with Edmund prompting King to reflect on Hawthorn’s sharp decline across the past few weeks.
“I want to let you loose on the Hawks because last year Jack Ginnivan was putting them to sleep,” Edmund said.
“You remember in the goal square? There were TikTok videos, there were documentaries made.
“How do you diagnose a problem like Hawthorn halfway through this season?”
King didn’t hold back in his response, criticising the club’s decision to lean into media hype before proving themselves across multiple seasons.
“If Kane (Cornes) was going to be ruthless on a team, forget the love for Sam Mitchell as the genius and those sorts of things, and the Wizard Watson,” King said.
“We've never seen a team that's finished seventh the previous year do a doco about their pre-season, all guns blazing going into the next (season) and failing.
“You have to deliver.”
Despite calling the season “far from lost”, King said the Hawks' awful recent performances have stemmed from their captain James Sicily’s poor form.
“They reflect their captain at the moment - really clunky, out of form,” King exclaimed.
“Their systems are being challenged by the seriously good teams.
“They've lost their punish.”
King also explained how the 'Hollywood Hawks' have lost their exciting game style as well.
“Their (best) asset was their ability to slice and dice when in possession,” King said.
“You just see those half-backs charging, they hit the corridor and they're all fanning wide.
“It opens up that big void in the middle of the ground, and then your smalls can take control in the forward half of the ground.
“They haven't got that at the moment, it's gone.”
The tall and underperforming backline was also heavily criticised by King.
“(Jack) Scrimshaw's out of form,” King exclaimed.
“(James) Sicily’s out of form.
“I don't think (Tom Barrass) has been the complete package that they thought they were getting.
“(Josh) Battle's working hard to cover for everyone.”
While King acknowledged there's time to turn things around, he was blunt about where the Hawks sit.
“They're only a dozen weeks in. I get that, it can change in the back half of the year,” King admitted.
“But they don't have the same run, they don't have the same purpose with the ball, they just don't have the freedom.”
Edmund echoed that assessment, pointing to some fundamentals as the reason why they can’t get going.
“They just don't look as instinctive… half the time it's only a little fumble here and there when they're (on the break), and the moment's gone,” Edmund said.
“And then worse, they were actually coughing up goals as a result (against Collingwood).”
The discussion then turned back to Sicily after emotional footage emerged from the Hawks rooms post-game, where the captain sat slumped, head in hands, following Mitchell’s address.
“Well, it's impossible to lead when you're underperforming,” King said.
“A lot of people are making excuses that he's injured, well he's clearly at a level where he can compete and play.
“They wouldn't be playing him if his groins are hanging by a thread.
“That was the rumour getting floated around last week, I don't believe in that.
“I think if you put your hand up (to play), we just have to assess you as we do every other player.
“So, the fact that he has 4 kicks for a game just makes it impossible for him to stand and demand in front of the group.
“He's in a really awkward position right now.”
However, the problems extend beyond the captain, with King targeting the forward structure as one of Hawthorn’s biggest concerns.
“I'm more looking at forward of the ball.
“I look at Mabior (Chol) and he does some nice things, but does he really gut bust and run and create and charge and challenge?” King questioned.
“(Jack) Gunston sort of looks like he's got his good weeks and his bad weeks, and you're never quite sure until you see him on the move.
“I think (Blake) Hardwick has to go (down) back. I don't think (the forward experiment is) necessarily working, he's not Jamie Elliott.
“I think they need to go smaller in their backline, get Sicily forward, and whether that's at the expense of Gunston or Chol.
“And they're tough calls to make.”
The Hawks will be intent on bouncing back from three straight defeats when they meet the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
