Why Hawthorn's finals campaign will be a total bust without a flag, according to coach Sam Mitchell
Updated . First published at
The equation is simple for Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell.
It's premiership, or bust.
That's the mentality of the leader as his young Hawks head into an elimination final against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night at the MCG.
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They weren't expected to make the finals, let alone be a genuine chance of winning the whole thing, but Mitchell never had doubt in his young side.
Now, there's an expectation that the side go all the way.
Hawthorn players prepare for their elimination final. Getty
"It's a club that's built off premierships, not off ... finals," Mitchell said on Wednesday.
"Every club is a little bit different in what they call success. Certainly for this club, if we don't win the grand final this year, we're not going to sit back and say, 'what a success that was'."
Mitchell is a seasoned veteran when it comes to September. When he played for Hawthorn, he won a whopping four premierships.
However, it's his first finals campaign as a coach, which is unchartered territory.
Sam Mitchell warms up with James Worpel during Hawthorn training. via Getty Images
"I feel like I should be nervous, but I'm not yet," he said.
"Once tomorrow night (Port Adelaide vs Geelong) rolls around and you see another game happen, it's likely to escalate in the next 48 hours."
The Hawks will have some adjusting to do, but have already played in front of a big crowd at the MCG earlier in 2024, which Mitchell knows will help settle some nerves.
"I suspect there will be 90,000 or thereabouts at the game and the fact that we've done that before, it's one less unknown," he said.
Hawks coach Sam Mitchell addresses media ahead of his side's elimination final. Getty
"It will be a different crowd to the Dusty 300th (Dustin Martin) but we've played in front of some big crowds.
"Are we as experienced as some of the other clubs? Obviously not and there are a lot of premiership players in the Bulldogs side.
"But do we go into the game confident that we've played in front of 90,000 plus? Yes."
