Clarkson wants consistency from Hawks
May 12, 2017 - 1:41 AM Alastair Clarkson says new Brisbane coach Chris Fagan knows all Hawthorn's secrets after being a part of the AFL club for so long.But as the pair go head to head for the first time when the teams clash in Launceston on Saturday afternoon, Clarkson is hoping that knowledge doesn't transfer into an upset win.
Fagan was Clarkson's right hand man at Hawthorn for nine seasons before taking the reins at the Lions this season.
Clarkson said the pair remain great mates and exchanged text messages on Thursday night with the Hawks questioning how many of the Fagan family had jumped ship to Brisbane.
"There's every chance he knows everything about us because he's been here so long," Clarkson said.
"We've made a couple of changes but by and large the things we've done well over the journey we're still trying to do now but we're just not executing as well as we have in the past."
The usually high-flying Hawks are 2-5 for the season and the coach is demanding some consistency, both in performance and results, from his team.
"It's important for us to string some wins together," Clarkson said.
"That consistency from contest to contest, quarter to quarter and game to game is really important to us.
"We haven't been consistent in our application for an extended period of time and that's the challenge for us.
"Bit by bit we feel like we're getting better but we've still got a lot of improvement "
The Hawks have brought Jack Fitzpatrick into the side to help counter Brisbane's star ruckman Stefan Martin.
Fitzpatrick joined the Hawks at the end of 2015, having been traded from Melbourne, and was upgraded to their senior list this week.
Standing 200cm, Clarkson said Fitzpatrick would bring more grunt against Martin than forward-cum-ruck Tim O'Brien, who gives away at least 10 kilograms to the Lion.
"Jack's forced his way in with really good form; he's been the standout performer at Box Hill," Clarkson said.
"Stef Martin is a big strong ruckman and we need to have two players who have played a lot of ruck to be able to go up against him.
"Stef's a really good player and a pivotal part of their game so we wanted to make sure we've got real strength in that area."
Source: AAP
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