Forget the premiership hangover – Hawthorn captain Luke Hodge says a more lingering pain is working to their benefit this AFL season.
The Hawks are showing ominous signs in the pre-season after beating Fremantle in last year’s grand final and have not skipped a beat since star forward Lance Franklin left for Sydney.
It’s far removed from 2009, when they floundered after winning the flag and dropped out of the top eight.
Hodge said the disappointments between the 2008 and `13 premierships – which included the epic 2012 grand final against Sydney – were all the motivation Hawthorn need.
“There were a lot of injuries and we probably didn’t come back with the mindset, but we’d never been through that before,” Hodge said of 2009.
“A lot of the guys are older, more mature and you still have that hurt.
“Even though we’ve come off a good year … you still remember the hurt of ’09, you still remember the hurt of 2011, 2012.
“You do not want to get back to that stage.
Hodge said the Hawks had no complaints about Franklin going to Sydney in his monster free agency deal.
He pointed out Franklin had played in two Hawthorn premierships and had been extremely loyal.
If anything, Hodge has a grudging respect that Sydney pulled off the controversial deal.
“To actually get one of the biggest names in football in Melbourne away and to sneak him up there with no-one knowing about it – it was a fair effort, Hodge said.
“I was pretty impressed.
“We knew he was on the move – when he didn’t sign for so long, you’re not going into a finals campaign and you’re going to stay with the club.
We just hope we got the best out of him and Sydney are left with the rest.
Hodge added the Hawks had learnt from 2012, when they relied too much on Franklin in attack during the finals.
Last year they worked on developing their forward line and he is confident it means they will cope without the two-time Coleman Medallist.
“To fill Buddy’s role five years ago probably would have been a lot harder, but … we can expect a younger guy to come in, fill that void and just play (his) role, Hodge said.