Hawthorn's Round 0 performance has further amplified questions over the club's midfield.
The Hawks suffered a 27-point loss against GWS, conceding nine goals in a second quarter where the game got away from them.
GWS won ground balls by 19, clearances by seven and contested possessions by 11.
It follows an off-season where the Hawks unsuccessfully attempted to land former Essendon captain Zach Merrett, recognising a midfield deficiency which cost them in September last year.
“As basic as it sounds, get numbers to the contest, and they were really good at that and we were disappointing,” Sam Mitchell said at his post-match press conference.
“If you play against a side like the Giants and don't get numbers to the contest, they will get on top of you and that's exactly what happened.”
Jai Newcombe led the midfield last year and was arguably the club's best player on Saturday, but had little support as GWS star Finn Callaghan and recruit Clayton Oliver helped the Giants secure a match-winning lead in the third quarter.
Conor Nash, Connor MacDonald, Sam Butler and Nick Watson were the main others to run through the midfield.
“I thought they outworked us from the very start of the game and some of our numbers around halftime, we gave up 35 marks in the second quarter and weren't able to slow them down and get the game on our terms at all in the second quarter and the majority of the first half,” Mitchell said.
“They made the most of their chances going forward and took the game away from us pretty quickly.
“It feels like our performance was within our control and there's some things we can rectify to make sure we're well prepared and will perform better than we did tonight.
“I think midfield-wise, we had some players who didn't play their best tonight…we've got worked to do but I don't think where I thought we were positioned four hours ago is much different to now.”
Meanwhile, GWS coach Adam Kingsley praised Oliver, who racked up 26 disposals to go with a game-high 10 clearances in his first game for the club.
“I thought he was really good around the stoppages,” Kingsley said.
“He's so clean, sometimes he's too fast with his hands. Other than Tom Green, I don't think we've got anyone who handballs the ball as cleanly or fast as him so it caught a few of us by surprise. Clayton's impact will just continue to increase I think.”
The Giants' ability to defend was what most pleased Kingsley, with Hawthorn never able to find rhythm or play their natural, free-flowing style.
“I thought our ability to protect the corridor which we know they want to go through and I thought our ability in the contest to pressure them and quick-kick the ball forward,” Kingsley said.
“We didn't always get it right, but I thought for the most part we did.
“I thought we had a better balance of attacking speed which was good to see, I thought we had really strong moments in stoppage.”
Kingsley also praised debutants Phoenix Gothard and Joe Fonti, who played mostly on Watson. Watson kicked two goals, but Fonti “minimised his impact” according to Kingsley and matched him for speed. Gothard kicked a creative goal from 10 disposals after a strong pre-season.
Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Hanger 2026 AFL Season Guide! Packed with 150+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 AFL Season Guide is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.
