Hawthorn defender Matthew Suckling will sit out the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Picture: Getty Source: Herald Sun
IF the Hawthorn team was made up of chess pieces, Matthew Suckling was the rook, the man who could go long or lateral with such penetration that defence was suddenly turned into attack.
His knee injury at the weekend was devastating for him, and equally devastating for the Hawks.
In the split second when Suckling moved fractionally left then right and then collapsed, Hawthorn's premiership chances took an almighty hit.
Already they are without Brendan Whitecross, a prolific midfielder who last year ranked second in scoring chains from the Hawks midfield.
In Suckling's case, when he started a scoring chain from defence, the Hawks scored from one in every four forays, the most of any regular defender in the competition. When Suckling intercepted the ball, the Hawks scored in every third foray, which was the most of any player from intercepts.
Remember, too, the 24-year-old shared kick-in duties with Brent Guerra.
Their horrendous luck started in the qualifying final against Collingwood when Whitecross tore his anterior cruciate ligament, then Clinton Young departed via free agency, and now Suckling.
Already the Hawks midfield is described in the AFL prospectus as their "weakest area", and that was before Suckling fell.
It is noted in the prospectus, Suckling ranked:
SECOND at the club for inside 50s/rebound 50s combined.
FIRST in rebound 50s.
TWENTY-THIRD in the AFL for metres gained.
THIRD for ball retention of the top 50 players in metres gained.
SECOND most goals at the Hawks outside 50m.
Commentator David King described the Suckling injury as "massive".
"They are going to lack genuine line-breakers and run through the middle of the ground and Suckling is exactly that," King said.
"He changes the angles of the game. We talked a lot about his kicking last year ... he's got mystery about what he's going to do with the ball."
King highlighted score involvements - the damage players, he called them.
"He was fifth behind Mitchell, Franklin, Breust, Roughead," he said. "He didn't have a great finals series from memory, but if you take out the finals series, he was ranked second on their score involvements in the home and away season behind Sam Mitchell. He will be a massive loss."
The challenge for coach Alastair Clarkson is to find replacements. Brad Hill has shown he can play the game, but not at the responsibility levels of Suckling.
Jed Anderson is also young, Xavier Ellis has stagnated, Shane Savage is a forward/mid who needs to improve, and the others are untried.
With seven players either 30-plus or turning 30 this year - Mitchell, Sewell, Burgoyne, Gibson, Guerra, Lake, Osborne - the Hawks enter the season with the third most experienced list.
And now they have lost Suckling.
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