Mitchell refuses to press panic button after Hawks rout

By Ed Jackson 

A 67-point AFL lesson at the hands of premiers Brisbane at the Gabba was a bitter pill for Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell to swallow.

But it doesn’t have him reaching for the panic button.

With just two rounds to go before finals, Friday’s 11-goal defeat opens the door on the third-placed Hawks potentially missing a top four spot as the chasing pack breathe down their necks.

The Lions are now two points behind the Hawks on the ladder while Adelaide and Melbourne sit just a further four points back with their games yet to come this weekend.

It means the Hawks – who haven’t beaten a top 10 team since May – need to win next weekend’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG to ensure they’ll retain that hard-earned third position, especially with the Lions set to host out-of-form Gold Coast in a Queensland derby at the Gabba.

Mitchell made no bones that Friday’s display wasn’t good enough and his team were well beaten, with the challenge now being to show the AFL world that performance was a one-off.

“We’re better than that and we’re going to have to prove it,” Mitchell said.

“We’ve got to learn some lessons from that game.

“By the end of this round we’ll be sitting third on the ladder, coming into two games to go, playing Collingwood on a Saturday night.

“So by the time we lick our wounds and spend a couple of days being annoyed at looking backwards, pretty quickly we’ll recognise that we’re a good side and ready to move forwards.”