HAWTHORN has locked in a top spot for the 2024 AFLW season after defeating Naarm up in Cairns last night, while also sniffing out Narrm\u2019s last hope of making it into finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking post match, Hawks coach Daniel Webster<\/em><\/strong> noted that he was pleased with how his side was able to grind out a win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was obviously tough, and the longer it went on, the more sweaty and slippery it got and made it very hard when so many players are getting fatigued I thought,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut to grind out a win against high quality opposition for us was massive, a really strong performance, really gritty performance I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The win does guarantee the Hawks a top four finish and a double chance come finals, and Webster agreed that it was a \u201cmassive\u201d achievement for his side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, it’s where you want to be in those conversations and give yourself those opportunities,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt’s where we want to be. We are grateful for that but on the same token, we’ve worked very hard to get to that point and like I said, that was a really hard game. So that’s just good to be there and now we’re 10 day break to refresh and get ready for another big game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was not the easiest conditions to play in, with the temperature in the mid 20s even after the sun went down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs it wore on, it just got more and more slippery,\u201d Webster noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I thought early in the game, the conditions were fantastic. The deck’s amazing, it’s great to play on. It just would have got slippery, especially with the smaller balls as well, I reckon it just makes it harder. So it was tricky, but both teams had to play the same and grind it out, and it just made it for a bit of a slog in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the tricky conditions, Webster was really happy with the effort his side showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think from an effort standpoint, I thought we really got on top, especially the 2nd and 3rd quarter,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur execution decision making at times probably let us down and then we couldn’t get impact on the scoreboard and we left them in with a chance and they got that goal in the third out the back and it made it really hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut to fight it out the way we did was really good because I think both teams in the last quarter were off their legs and it was just a big scrap in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n