MELBOURNE coach Simon Goodwin knows the risk the Hawks will bring, recognising their form and impressive string of results leading into Sunday afternoon. 

The Hawks are coming off back-to-back wins against two top-eight sides in Collingwood and the Bulldogs.  

Goodwin recognises the form in the Hawthorn line-up and is ready to take on the challenge.  

08:45

RD 23 | Media Conference | Simon Goodwin

Simon Goodwin addresses the media ahead of our Round 23 clash with Hawthorn, thanks to Fujifilm.

Hawthorn recognition  

“Their mids are in really good form, they’re also using the ball really well,” Goodwin says. 

“They’re taking a lot of marks against opposition and controlling the game with the ball in hand.  

“They play with great unity, connection and a lot of spirit, so they’re in really good form.  

“They’re not a team that’s certainly ranked where they are on the ladder.” 

Tall opportunities. 

“Browny missed a little bit of training and a game, so he’ll come back this week via the VFL,” Goodwin says. 

“Tom McDonald will play his second game. He’ll play another game in the VFL and will start to build.  

“We’re starting to get some options we haven’t been blessed with a lot of talls playing footy at the moment. 

“Plus, Bayley Fritsch is a week away so we’re starting to get some more options around selection in that part of the game.”  

Momentum movements 

“We feel like we’ve got a lot of momentum throughout the year, we won five in a row up until last week,” Goodwin says.  

“We lost a really tight game that could’ve gone either way against a team that’s won seven in a row. 

“We’re continuing to learn about our game and how we get better, that’s the art of building through the season, to adjust and make changes where we can get better.  

“We think we've got a lot of stability in our team and some cohesion in the way that we play. And we think we're going to be able to forge ahead and give it a real good crack.” 

08:48

RD 22 | Match Highlights

The Blues and Demons clash in round 22

 Bouncing back 

 “You saw two teams value very similar things in terms of the contest in defence and our ability to absorb a lot of inside fifties early was outstanding,” Goodwin says. 

 “We took a lot out of that and then we took a lot out of how we start to shift momentum as the game went on. 

 “Three times throughout the game, we were 12 to 18 points down in low scoring affair we were able to come back and nearly win the game. So, there were certainly a lot of positives for us.”