The two fierce rivals that gave the AFL the ‘line in the sand’ now face a cut-throat duel when Essendon host Hawthorn.
Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson noted that the loser of Friday night’s clash at Marvel Stadium will drop off the pace as the run to the finals starts gathering steam.
The two sides sit a game plus percentage outside the top eight.
While Clarkson played down the significance of the rivalry with the Bombers on Thursday, they would love to put a significant nail in Essendon’s 2019 coffin.
It is 15 years since retired club great Dermott Brereton is said to have told the Hawks at halftime to draw ‘a line in the sand’ against Essendon, leading to a series of brawls in the third term.
Four years later, Clarkson was furious at Bombers star Matthew Lloyd, who laid out Brad Sewell with a bump on the way to a narrow win that put Essendon into the finals at Hawthorn’s expense.
“Given we’re behind the ledger, in terms of being 5-6, if we lose this week – and the same with Essendon – it’s a pretty cut-throat sort of game,” Clarkson said.
“You start to feel like you lose contact with the group of 8-10 sides that are sitting above you on the ladder.
“It’s an important game in that respect.”
Since Hawthorn’s upset round-seven loss to Melbourne, Clarkson has warned several times that they are searching for the right mix that will take them to their next premiership.
He also notes there is no way of knowing how long that will take.
“Our next bit of silverware is not coming next week, we’re realistic enough to know that’s not the case,” Clarkson said.
“Irrespective of the result this week, as long as we’re seeing some signs that we’re heading in the right direction – and that might not be obvious to the wider football public or even our own supporters – but as long as it’s obvious to us, then we know we’re heading in the right direction,.”
The Hawks are yet to win successive games this season and one factor has been injuries, with star recruit Chad Wingard sidelined again.
Wingard now has a hamstring injury.
“We need to get his body right – he’s just had three or four of these tiny little episodes that are causing him to miss weeks here or there,” Clarkson said.
“”The concern with that is over time, you just don’t get any continuity with his footy. We need to work that out.”
