HAWTHORN coach Daniel Webster did not pull any punches when assessing his side’s second consecutive AFL Women’s straight sets finals exit. While 2024 was more of an unfortunate story of a first-time finalist, 2025 was assessed as “nowhere near standard” by the brown and gold’s senior mentor.

Frustration set in after finding themselves a whopping 31-0 down at quarter time, conceding their largest ever deficit in that term on the biggest stage. Webster was visibly ropable and the normally measured coach produced an all-time spray.

“I’d prefer not to (give a spray), but the facts and realities are, the first quarter was nowhere near standard and that’s not what we expect if you put on the Hawthorn jumper,” he said. “So players need to know that then and there, and I think to their credit, they responded really well. Just needed it from the first bounce.”

While the Hawks were disappointed with their performance, Webster had to give credit to an “electric” Carlton after the Blues ran rampant in the opening term booting 4.7 (31) and keeping the Hawks to just three inside 50s.

“We were so far from it and that’s the most disappointing thing,” Webster said. “When it’s a big final and they got (on) a roll and we were unable to stop it. We battled the game well after that, did some good things, but yeah, all the damage was done there.”

Hawthorn did kick 4.9 in the final three quarters, but aside from outscoring the Blues in the second and fourth terms, again conceded four goals to nil in the premiership quarter that put any hope of a comeback to bed.

Though the Hawks have been battling through an injury crisis, Webster refused to use that as an excuse. He said it was a “challenge” to manage training loads, but that the performance was not befitting of a team that had 21 fit players on the day. He described the output as looking like the Hawks “limped to the line”.

Unfortunately the 11.13 (79) to 4.9 (33) loss marked the Hawks’ third straight defeat, at an average of 44.7 points. While two of those were to the rampant Roos, it still left what had been a promising season with a bitter taste in the mouths of those in brown and gold.