“He’s the one”: Ex-Hawk’s quick fix following horror Hawthorn midfield showing

The Hawks fell to the GWS by 27 points in a concerning fashion to start their season, losing the midfield battle - conceding 63 inside 50s and falling in the clearance count by seven.

Speaking on the Six Points AFL Podcast, former Hawthorn midfielder Daniel Harford was concerned about the Hawks' performance, especially with deficiencies in the engine room.

"I was worried about the Hawks leading into this game, and there's been a lot of talk about the lack of A-grade players in the midfield of the Hawks," Harford said on the Six Points AFL podcast.

"It was exposed in the game against the Giants, and they weren't able to get enough support through the middle of the ground, coughed up 63 inside 50s, and lost a game that most people would have thought they would have gone up there and won."

Harford believes that James Worpel's move to Geelong will turn out to be a big loss for the Hawks.

"That's the kicker, no one's talking about no James Worpel, he's not necessarily an A-grader, but he's a best fairest winner," Harford said.

"You take out him, Will Day doesn't get back into the team, all of a sudden, it's pretty thin in the Hawks midfield at the moment."

Harford believes that Dylan Moore could be the solution to Hawthorn's midfield troubles, allowing the likes of Nick Watson and Connor MacDonald to continue to flourish as forwards. 

"I'd be playing Dylan Moore in the midfield, I'd be making him a permanent midfielder, leave Macdonald and Watson in the forward half, let them go to business in the scoring area," Harford said

"Moore is now that guy that they should be asking more of from a leadership perspective, to take that role, take that mantle."

"I reckon he's the one, he's the magnet that you can move to lock into that midfield rotation."

Mark Stevens doesn't believe in the Hawks' current forward line structure and thinks it needs a change.

The Hawks were without young forward Calsher Dear amid form concerns, with Jack Gunston managing four goals with little help from his fellow talls. 

"They need Dear back in, for some excitement I think, and for some reason he's gone off the radar," Stevens said.

"Lewis is always kind of injured and hasn't done much, so they haven't really got a key forward setup that works, they're relying too much on Gunston." 

The Hawks will look to bounce back against the Bombers this Friday night.