‘Didn’t celebrate enough!’: Hawks ‘mosquito fleet’ on relationship with coach; season turning point

Hawthorn’s dynamic “mosquito fleet” have opened up on their unique relationship with coach Sam Mitchell and revealed the turning point of their fairytale season.

The Hawks are set to embark on a mouth-watering semi-final against Port Adelaide tonight as they look to keep their rampaging run alive in 2024.

Speaking exclusively to Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall for Fox Footy, Hawthorn’s lively small forward quartet shed some light on what Mitchell is really like off the field.

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“He knows when to be serious and when not to as well. We have this rule – 48 hours – you can celebrate for 48 hours but when you get back [into the club] it’s time to switch on again,” former Pie Jack Ginnivan said.

“He’s got that really good balance between having fun and when it’s time to go, we go. He’s been amazing for me.

“Me and Mitch are pretty similar in the way we act… he’s very cheeky with his drive-by comments which is how I am, we’re pretty similar and we both love the game of footy as well. He’s been so easy to connect with and amazing for me.”

Mitchell has also become entrenched in the team’s planning for goal celebrations, known as “cellies” as his remarkable season at the helm continues.

“He loves it, he sent me the one I did on the weekend, and he sent me a soccer player doing it, that’s where I got the inspo from!” livewire small forward Connor Macdonald said.

Assistant coach Adrian Hickmott has also been a key driver of the “cellies”, encouraging the young brigade to showcase their personalities on field while having fun and working hard.

“He loves it as well, he’s probably been the biggest driver other than the lads, it’s pretty much been ‘Hick’. Every meeting he’ll be like ‘boys having fun on the weekend, what have you got for us this week, you better be celebrating otherwise I’ll get angry at you!’,” vice-captain Dylan Moore said.

“Our Monday review sometimes is ‘why didn’t you celebrate enough?’,” Moore revealed.

As the Hawks languished at a season win-loss record of 0-5 at the start of the season, it’s fair to say, “things weren’t going great”.

Moore, who is set to play his 100th AFL match this weekend, told media that his side would “bring mouthguards to training” the following week in what became a catalyst for Hawthorn’s remarkable rise.

“I think that Gold Coast game was the biggest flip around for us, we changed some things at training and were able to turn it around. We became a bit more serious; we weren’t happy with where we were at, ultimately we were able to win some games and get on a roll,” Ginnivan said.

“The media have blown that up around the mouthguards, but it was the conversations the night before that really drove it. It wasn’t my comments in the media, it was the changerooms after the Gold Coast game and all sat around and asked ‘why are we here? Do we want to be here?’,” Moore added.

“We all had really honest conversations with each other as a playing group with no coaches, that was the first part of my career where I understood what standards are needed to win a premiership.

“We had premiership players in the room who spoke up and said this is where we need to be, this isn’t where we want to be, let’s be better. From that, everyone’s put in an extra 5-10% and that’s all that’s needed in AFL, to gain that that extra 5-10% and then you’re a lot better off.”

But how did such a young group cope with such honest and perhaps brutal feedback?

“I thought it was a great conversation to have, we didn’t start well but it felt like around the group we were still happy, still celebrating and that’s what I love about the group,” Ginnivan began.

“We weren’t winning but we were celebrating and having fun, but the results weren’t working. The conversations were hard, but it was a positive thing that needed to happen. Since that moment we’ve taken everything in our stride.”

Hawthorn will push towards a preliminary final berth when they take on Port Adelaide in a huge semi-final clash from Adelaide Oval on Friday night.