Sam Mitchell's huge call on Hawthorn's finals hopes amid Collingwood and Carlton threat
The coach has sent a warning to rival clubs as the Hawks continue to fly in the AFL.
Coach Sam Mitchell has sent a message to Hawthorn's rivals having claimed the team are treating their final two games of the season as finals as they look to stay inside the top eight. Hawthorn has left AFL fans stunned in recent weeks with Mitchell leading his side into the top eight as finals footy looks like a real possibility in 2024 for the first time.
Hawthorn made a statement against Carlton on the weekend having condemned the Blues to a humiliating 74-point defeat at the MCG. The Hawks entered the top eight for the first time in 2024 on percentage having overtaken Cartlon on the ladder. This has been a remarkable turnaround considering the Hawks started 0-5 in 2024.
And Mitchell said his team have been playing every game like it could be a final and are ready to do so in order to retain their position in the top eight. "We have to win our next two games," Mitchell said.
"When I talk to our players it's, 'We have to win our next one game', because our next loss will finish our season. It's been a long finals campaign for us already because we've been playing like this probably since round 15 or 16."
Hawthorn are in a similar position to North Melbourne and Carlton with both teams needing to win their remaining two games to secure a top eight position. However, Hawthorn will most likely remain in the top eight with two wins due to their percentage, while Carlton and the Kangaroos will need the Hawks to lose.
"We're not the only team in this position ... there's like 10 teams that all have to win every game just to qualify for the eight," he said. "All I know for us is we've got a game this week against the Tigers that we'd shoot ourselves in the foot if we don't continue to play with the same intensity and intent that we have in the last couple of months.
"When we've done that we've given ourselves every chance and this week will be no different." And Mitchell admits he has been delighted with how the team has managed to turn around the season and finish with a sprint.
"We deserved to be written off at that point," Mitchell said when they started the season so poorly. "By the same token now we deserve to be spoken about as a side that's desperately trying to hang onto our spot in the eight and have some sort of impact. People always say the season is a marathon and our first 10km was pretty ordinary, but we've accelerated into this point and time will tell if we get there in the end."
Carlton in crisis after thumping loss at MCG
While the Hawks are flying, Carlton are in crisis. The Blues fell out of the top eight on percentage and now must travel to Perth in a must-win game against West Coast next weekend if they have any chance of playing finals footy. Carlton will also likely play the game without superstar Charlie Curnow with the Blues ace going down with a potentially season-ending injury during the ugly loss to Hawthorn.
The Blues have now lost five of their last six games. Collingwood also appear to be in major trouble of not playing finals footy having lost to Sydney in a thriller on Friday night. "We're going to fight to the very end," Collingwood star Darcy Cameron said after the loss.
Essendon are in a similar position and need two wins in their finals games and need other results to fall in their favour. "Win the last two and hopefully everything falls our way," Essendon defender Mason Redman said.
