Alastair Clarkson made two big statements in the aftermath of last Saturday’s loss to Melbourne. He labelled Hawthorn a “middle-of-the-road” team and then he dropped four-time premiership great Jarryd Roughead. If he was looking for a response, he got one at the MCG on Sunday. Stream the 2019 AFL Premiership Season on KAYO SPORTS. Live & anytime in HD. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly > The Hawks upstaged premiership contenders Greater Western Sydney and Roughead showed he isn’t done yet, kicking five goals in the curtain-raiser against Footscray. The Giants failed to turn up for the second time in the space of a month. They were beaten by Fremantle in the nation’s capital a week after stunning Geelong on their home patch in April, but this was worse. Jarman Impey reacts after kicking a goal. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) Source: AAP Hawthorn held Greater Western Sydney to one goal in the opening quarter and never let the Giants back in the game, turning for home 22 points up before Jon Ceglar kicked two goals in the opening five minutes of the last quarter to kill the contest. And now Leon Cameron has a problem. “There is no doubt they haven’t been switched on from the start. They beat Geelong down there then lost to Fremantle. Leon has some issues with this,” former coach Rodney Eade said on Triple M on Sunday. “If you come with an attitude that’s off a bit, this is what happens. And it has only got worse. They are in a bit of a hole here.” After a week where Jeremy Cameron sent people punching numbers into calculators trying to work out if it is possible for someone to crack the ton again, the Coleman Medal leader was held goalless by James Frawley — although he was far from the only Giants star to have a quiet Mother’s Day. Aside from Josh Kelly and Heath Shaw, not many made an impact on a disappointing day for Greater Western Sydney. Hawthorn star James Sicily said the Hawks went back to the drawing board after an underwhelming few weeks and still believe they are capable of competing when the whips start cracking in the second half of the season. “The week was about making sure we do the things we want to do more consistently. I think in the last six or seven games we’ve been in front in the third or fourth quarter in all those games except Geelong,” Sicily told foxsports.com.au after the 33-point win on Sunday. “It was probably the first time this season we’ve been able to put four quarters together. It was a huge result. We’ve got huge belief we can match it with anyone. “The competition is so even at the moment. If we can get the game on our terms for longer, we put ourselves in a spot to win. It is easy to write us off – the media have been doing it for four years – so it doesn’t really bother us.” Out of contract Hawk Ricky Henderson continued to his career best season on Sunday, collecting another big haul of leather. This time, the man who is arguably the best delisted free agent yet amassed a career-high 36 disposals. While Clarkson questioned where Hawthorn is at last weekend, Greater Western Sydney’s premiership clock is ticking. They rarely get an opportunity to play on the MCG — where it matters most — and they wasted one of them on Sunday. FORMER SKIPPER PUTS HAND UP Alastair Clarkson dropped a bomb on Thursday night when he dropped four-time premiership forward Jarryd Roughead. It wasn’t a complete surprise when you look at his numbers, but it was still a shock. The former captain put his hand up for a senior recall after kicking five goals from 17 disposals in the curtain raiser against Footscray at the MCG. “No one else has kicked five goals on the MCG this weekend, have they?” Roughead told Channel 7 after the game ended in a draw. At one point, he was seen coaching his opponent, former Brisbane rookie Reuben Williams, in a moment that has lit up social media since then. Time will tell if he has done enough to come straight back in, but he enhanced his reputation by the way he responded on Sunday. THE OTHER JEREMY CONTINUES TO KICK GOALS He is the other Jeremy in Leon Cameron’s attack and he keeps making an impact. After starting his career as a defender, and despite training down back all summer, Jeremy Finlayson has been a surprise packet inside 50 this year. Finlayson took the first mark of the game and had two shots on goal in the opening couple of minutes, but missed both. He didn’t waste his next two opportunities before half-time, taking his tally to 15 goals after eight rounds. Jaeger O'Meara celebrates kicking a goal. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images THE JAMES TRIO Hawthorn are missing their best player Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O’Meara was well held for the second week in a row, but a trio of players named James fired on Sunday. James Sicily enhanced his All-Australian chances with a dominant display down back, while James Cousins and James Sicily found plenty of the ball around the middle. Get the ultimate AFL experience on your phone with the new FOX FOOTY App. Download it NOW for FREE on iOS and Android!<doc-sep>Isaac Smith is out. (AAP Image/David Crosling) NO ARCHIVING Hawthorn will take on GWS without speedster Isaac Smith. The winger was a late withdrawal from the Hawks’ team with a foot issue. Harry Morrison replaces Smith in Hawthorn’s side, with the 20-year-old to play his sixth game of the season. The Hawks said Smith had pulled up with a sore foot following Hawthorn’s loss to Melbourne in Round 7 and had been managed through training, but wasn’t able to get up for Sunday’s game. Isaac Smith has been ruled out. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images “Isaac was managed throughout the week and was able to get through main training,” Hawthorn general manager of football Graham Wright said in a statement. “But we’ve agreed he wasn’t quite 100% so we have decided not to take the risk.” The Giants went in unchanged, with captain Phil Davis and star midfielder Josh Kelly among their inclusions.<doc-sep>
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson looks on at the MCG. Photo: Michael Klein. Hawthorn has directed the bulk of the blame for a poor crowd on Sunday towards the AFL. Just 14,636 fans turned up to watch the Hawks upset the Giants by 33 points, which was the club’s lowest crowd at the venue since Round 16, 2004. The other game in Melbourne on Sunday saw North Melbourne attract 21,156 supporters for its 1.10pm match against Geelong. Foxfooty.com.au understands the Hawks lobbied the AFL as far back as October for its Mother’s Day game to be in Tasmania, citing the 3.20 timeslot on a traditional family occasion against a non-Victorian team as a recipe for low turnout. Live stream the 2019 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on KAYO SPORTS. Every match of every round. Live & anytime on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14 day free trial > When the league released its 2019 fixture on November 1, Hawthorn knew its Round 8 clash against GWS would struggle to pull a crowd and significantly impact the club’s bottom line. Privately, Hawthorn had hoped for 20,000, but would have preferred the match count as one of the club’s four Tasmania home games for the season. When contacted by foxfooty.com.au, Hawks chief executive Justin Reeves expressed his frustration with the scheduling. “We understand the fixture is difficult, but it’s hard to imagine a worse timeslot and venue for that game to be scheduled,” Reeves said. “Mother’s Day, Sunday at 3.20pm against a low drawing interstate opponent at the biggest ground in the country.” Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves. Photo: Tim Carrafa Source: News Corp Australia In Round 6 the Hawks pulled in a crowd of 15,888 at the University of Tasmania Stadium and Reeves said the venue would have been a perfect fit for a GWS game on Mother’s Day. “This game would have been perfect as a Sunday game in Tasmania which suit us as the local football community are available due to all their games being on Saturdays,” the CEO said. “We played Carlton a fortnight ago on our only Sunday game in Tassie for the year and had a great crowd. It was the best crowd for years.” Hawthorn is locked to play six Sunday mid-afternoon matches in 2019, which is the equal most of any club alongside the Blues. Alastair Clarkson’s men also have one Sunday twilight clash and one early Sunday match. They are due to host Port Adelaide in Launceston in Round 10, followed by Fremantle in Round 17 and Brisbane in Round 19. When the Hawks drew just 11,682 through the turnstiles at the MCG in 2004, they were 2 and 13 and about to face Port Adelaide, who won the flag two months later. Get the ultimate AFL experience on your phone with the new FOX FOOTY App. Download it NOW for FREE on iOS and Android!