Hawthorn players say they are sad to be leaving Tasmania, calling it a place where their team generally plays well, following last night’s game at UTAS Stadium.
Midfielder Josh Ward spoke today after the team’s gutsy win that saw his side come from two goals down in the fourth quarter, the first match after it was confirmed the Hawks would not be playing any more home matches in Tasmania after 2027.
“It’s sad to be leaving,” Ward told Pulse at Melbourne Airport.
“I love going down there and playing there and we play well there generally.”
“So yeah, sad, but it is what it is.”
Ward described the conditions in Launceston on Thursday as typical for a night game, with dew and cold weather making things tricky.
“Night games tend to get a little bit dewy and cold,” he said.
“But we’ve played well there historically and able to handle them.”
Ward laughed off rumours that the team didn’t have hot showers after the game, saying that wasn’t the case this time around.
“That’s not true, no,” he said.
“It has happened before though, which is not fun.”
“Last night was a much needed hot shower.”
On the win itself, Ward said the tough conditions actually helped his side get back to basics after a few below-par weeks.
“It was a real back to basics sort of game, especially with the conditions and felt like that helped us sort of get back to just connection and celebrating, doing the little things,” he said.
“That held us in good stead so can’t go away from that going forward.”
Ward also singled out teammate Blake Hardwick, who kicked four goals in the match.
“He’s such a reliable player,” Ward said.
“Gives us a great option to go forward, doesn’t need much instruction really, he just gets the job done.”
