Tears flow as Hawthorn suffer embarrassing 94-year first
Jonathon Patton was reduced to tears and Hawthorn suffered an embarrassing 94-year first on a horror night against Collingwood in Sydney on Friday.
Brody Mihocek produced a career-best equalling goal-kicking effort as Collingwood returned to the AFL winners list against an inept Hawthorn side, with the luckless Patton making a miserable return to his old home ground.
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The Hawks scored just 2.1 in the first half and only had 14 points by three-quarter time - their lowest total at the last break since 1926.
They went on to total just 27 points - their lowest score since 1964 and worst in Alastair Clarkson's 15-year tenure as coach.
Fewest scoring shots by HAW at 3QT in a V/@AFL match
3 - 3.0 (18) - 1949 r12 v ess
4 - 2.2 (14) - 2020 R06 v COLL
6 - 1.5 (11) - 1926 r09 v melb
6 - 2.4 (16) - 3 games
6 - 5.1 (31) - 2 games
#AFLPiesHawks— Swamp (@sirswampthing) July 10, 2020
It was the third time in five games since the competition resumed that Hawthorn have squeezed out less than 50 points.
By the end of the first three quarters they had posted just six, 13 and 14 points respectively, and then kicked 1.7 in the final period.
To make matters worse, luckless former Giant Patton limped off midway through the first quarter in his first game back at the ground he called home for eight seasons.
The key forward, whose career has frequently been stalled by knee problems, including three reconstructions, suffered his latest setback while sliding to take a low mark.
He was in tears and distraught on the bench, sparking fears he may face another lengthy stint on the sideline.
Alastair Clarkson puts struggling Hawks on notice
Clarkson has warned of dire consequences for his inconsistent side unless they can improve their ball flow and kick bigger scores.
“We're 3-3, and our season is still alive, but it won't be if we continue to play like tonight,” Clarkson said.
“We've got to get better, we understand that and we'll do our best to try and see some improvement by the end of the next game.
“We had an inability to get some flow with the ball when we had the opportunity
“We'll try to address those things and see if we can see some improvement.
“The bottom line is we have to improve in that space otherwise we are going to find ourselves losing a lot of games of footy.”
Clarkson said the club are devastated for Patton.
“There's empathy in the whole football world for someone who has had as much injury as what he has,” Clarkson said.
“He's got another challenge to overcome now and disappointing for him it's a setback but it's not insurmountable, he'll return.”
with AAP
