The season reports started with Melbourne Demons who finished 16th, then Richmond Tigers, Fremantle Dockers, North Melbourne, Sydney Swans, the West Coast Eagles, Port Adelaide and the Hawthorn Hawks. Essendon Bombers finished 8th then we had Carlton, Brisbane, Adelaide, Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs then St Kilda and Geelong who won the 2009 premiership.
Tom Hawkins had his best year to date with 21 games and 30 goals.
The Year It Was
- Finished: 1st with 18 wins
- Kick2Kick Season Prediction: top 2
What Went Right
They got redemption from their shock loss in the Grand Final last year, the win looked very similar as the Hawks in 2008 with St Kilda having more scoring shots and at half time had 20 odd more inside 50m’s yet still only lead by a goal.
Improvement from several bit players in Mackie, Varcoe, Hawkins, Mumford and Taylor as well as the consistent effort from Brownlow medallist Ablett, Bartel, Scarlett and Corey. They also had four debutants in Gillies, Hogan, Laidler & Djerrkura which builds their depth even more.
What Went Wrong
Injuries, form in the second half of the year and goal kicking accuracy all threatened to bring another year of heartache for the club. Hunt, Harley, Ottens, Chapman, Johnson and Kelly all missed chunks of the season. It took until the second final until they had their best side with Johnson, Ottens and Harley in the team at the same time.
While not an issue in the Grand Final with main culprits Mooney and Hawkins kicking accurately, it again looked to ruin all the hard work by the midfield and backline with an overall score of 380 goals and 328 points to be one of the worst of the competition.
Player(s) that Stepped Up
Joel Corey, Cory Enright, Tom Hawkins, Shannon Byrnes and Max Rooke all stepped up to provide drive and a balanced side even when form looked to threaten the team between rounds 14 and 22.
Gary Ablett jnr finally wins a brownlow after 3 years of dominance
Trade Bait/ Goodbye’s
So far Matthew Egan has been unable to get over his foot and has been delisted, speculation continues on captain Harley‘s retirement. Quite a few of the fringe players may find themselves at another club or unlucky to be delisted.
- Mark Blake – Failed to impress with Ottens injured after they gave up King for him. Was preferred behind Mumford during the season.
- Ryan Gamble – Unable to string 2-3 games together and has to fight positions against Chapman & Johnson.
- David Johnson – Could easily get a game at any other club. Has pace, skill but only played 79 games in 7 years.
- Tom Lonergan – Could be kept as insurance but failed to cement a spot down forward or back.
- Kane Tenace – Another player like Prismall who was moved on last year.
- Trent West - Used to be alongside Blake but failed to impress this year with Mumford now the 3rd preferred ruckman.
Improvement Needed by
If he is in a Geelong jumper next year, Mark Blake needs to take that next step up. Has been exposed against several more mobile ruckman and Ottens does not have many years left in him.
Tom Hawkins showed enough to be kept at Full Forward with stints up the ground in ruck and CHF but he must improve even more next year and bring his goal kicking tally from 30 to 40-50 a year.
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