Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has rallied his players after falling short of the AFL grand final following a gut-wrenching final minute against Brisbane on Saturday night.
The Hawks stormed back from five goals down and were on the brink of victory when Jarman Impey was pinged for holding the ball, allowing Hugh McCluggage to kick the goal that sent the Lions into the decider.
It was the most dramatic decision to settle arguably the greatest game ever — but it was also correct, only adding to the brutal nature of defeat for Hawthorn.
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Hawthorn players were predictably devastated when they filed into the rooms and sat down for Mitchell’s post-game address.
But the coach didn’t simply send his players on their way, instead calling them — and support staff — in for a huddle.
Impey was right in the middle of it all.
“What about this shot in the Hawks rooms?” Nick Riewoldt said on Channel 7 while watching from the raucous Brisbane rooms.
“Talk about a contrast between what we’re seeing behind us here in the rooms and what is happening here.
“Bringing the group together, Sam Mitchell and the leaders. They’re hard to get to (preliminary finals) and they’re a heartbreaker when you lose.”
Mitchell paused for some time at the beginning of his press conference before revealing part of his message to the players.
“That if you want to strive for great things you will open yourself for all sorts of emotions — the greatest of joy, and the deepest of pain,” he said.
Asked if he had spoken to Impey, Mitchell said he had spoken to all the players as he moved to take the pressure of his veteran.
“I’m sure your narrative as the media world will be around that last final decision, but the game goes for a long time,” he said.
Mitchell admitted he was furious after the game, when asked about — and going on to condemn — Hawthorn fans’ bottle-throwing tirade towards the umpires.
“The emotion of sport is why we love it so much. All sports, but ours in particular, the beauty of the game is the emotion it makes you feel. And how it expresses itself is really hard,” he said.
“I had no idea what I wanted to. At the end of the game part of me wanted to break down in tears, part of me wanted to scream with rage, part of me wanted to throw chairs. You don’t know how (to react).
“So when you’re in the stands you need to be continuing to feel that emotion, because that’s why we love it.
“But how it manifests itself — we shouldn’t be throwing things on the field and doing those types of things. But the passion in the stands and the passion of the game is why we love it so much. I hope that for the vast majority it was felt responsibly.”
Mitchell said he was in a “mourning phase” and, in the stages of grief, “still half in anger”.
“What’s after anger? Last is acceptance and I’m a long way from acceptance right now. I’ll sit in anger for a bit longer, I’m sure all the players will too,” he said.
Mitchell said he had not rewatched the Impey free kick but suggested he had no issue with that call compared to others late in the game.
“Maybe (it was a free kick). There were a few — it’s probably not the one I was focused on,” he said.
“A couple led up to it and some key moments in the game.
“Um, I’m sure the umpires will assess how they performed in that game in key moments. Mitch Lewis out of bounds (insufficient attempt), the Dayne Zorko free kick (high tackle). But not for me to say.”
Hugh McCluggage kicked the winning goal as the boos rained down.
Veteran defender Tom Barrass told Channel 7 no one connected to Hawthorn “is going to be sleeping well tonight after how that last goal went down”.
“I suppose when you get handballed the ball and you’re already being tackled, there’s not really a whole lot you can do,” he said.
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of it tonight.”
Blake Hardwick echoed his coach’s thoughts when he spoke to the ABC.
“There were a few that were stiff, in a prelim and a time like that, it’s not ideal,” he said.
“Pretty flat at the moment. (The Impey call) might’ve been to the letter of the law… sometimes you’re stiff in footy, it happens.”
