Sam Mitchell appears an intense individual at the best of times.
His demeanour after his side's worst loss since Round 13 last season, however, indicated more than ever that his "Hollywood" Hawks are in for a tough week on the training track.
The Melbourne Demons, under Steven King, are playing fun, fast and furious football in their surprise surge up the ladder under the first year coach. It is a ten-game stretch reminiscent of those put together by Fly's Pies, Kingsley's Giants and, amusingly, Mitchell's very own Hawks, when those respective sides re-acquainted themselves with prominence after making the requisite coaching changes.
The Demons beat the Hawks at their own game on Saturday afternoon, and Mitchell was left bereft of answers after a performance he will be determined to cast as an outlier.
“We sort of pride ourselves on our work rate, and we got a lesson today,” Mitchell said.
“I they think they won ground balls by 18 or 20, and they just looked a little bit more hungry than we did today, and you can't win many games at this level of footy if you're out hunted by the opposition.
“It's a challenge to be able to put your finger on it. I would say that it's an outlier performance for this group.
“It's been a long time since you would have to say that we have been genuinely outworked in a game.”
The Hawks must quickly address an inability to defend losses in the centre square, after conceding a mammoth 10.2 from stoppage, including 4.2 from centre ball-ups. The Demons scored from over 53% of their inside 50s, in an attacking clinic that was a timely reminder of how fun a game football can be.
For the Hawks, this is a defensive profile that traditionally does not hold up in finals. A team with aspirations of the ultimate needs to find ways to repel these quick entries on occasions where dominance at the restart deserts them.
Understandably buoyed by what he's seen from his side in his first 10 games in charge, Demons coach Steven King again reiterated his commitment to being a fun football side, post-match.
"I said from day one that I want to be a team that can kick a hundred points every game and challenge the opposition, and I hope we're playing a brand of footy that even neutrals would come and watch, " King said.
"So from my perspective, yeah, I want to be box office, I want our club to play on the big stage. I want to play in those games, and obviously we're going to have to keep doing it for a bit longer to get recognised in that manner.
"I think our players love playing that brand of footy and when it gets rolling, it's hard to stop."
The Hawks play Adelaide on Thursday night, with Mitchell comforted by how quickly his side are presented with an opportunity to respond to such a poor showing. The Demons face the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
