Mitch Hahn

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I regard him, as most do, to be a very important player - particuarly in a side with little grunt/big bodied midfielders. He busts packs, he takes strong marks, tackles hard, brings other players into the game and does all the fantastic one percenters when he's fit and firing. Hahn was incredible in the weeks before he did his knee in 2006, he was doing everything.

However; that's not the point of my post. I question his bodys ability to continue to stand up week in, week out. His last two seasons he's only played 11 games ('06) and 10 games ('07) respectively.

Both the knee and shoulder injuries were more 'bad luck' than anything else, but it's fair to say Hahn has had his fair share of injuries. His shoulders have been worked on a couple times among a few other problems he's had.

He's critical; he's the type of player that would relish playing Finals football with the way it's played, but I'm not so sure his body is reliable.

Do you think his body is OK for full seasons - that he's simply endured bad luck? And how many seasons do you think he has left? At 26 years, I'd argue Hahn has probably three.

[LostDoggy]

Do you think his body is OK for full seasons - that he's simply endured bad luck? And how many seasons do you think he has left? At 26 years, I'd argue Hahn has probably three.

A combination of both bad luck and him throwing himself at everything. He is a very determined young bloke expect to see him give it his all more so than any other season. He is getting his conditioning right and is very commited to playing every game this season. Years left 3-4 his bash and crash type of game always takes a few years off their footballing lives bar a few exceptions here and there.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Hahns an interesting one TBB - we've given him a three year deal so clearly we rate him highly and believe he has a fair bit left. In year 2 post the knee reco he should get a bit more pep back in his legs. He needs a huge preseason to get super fit so that he can lead the forwardline in pressuring, scrapping and doing whatever it takes to keep the ball in there. Our forward line pressure was almost non existent with Darcy, Higgins and Johnson.

If he can get fit enough then spells on the ball will definitely excite the faithful - he's got those Mark West pack breaking qualities that are hard not to love.

Hes got the body size and physicality so do you think Hahn could play as a power forward?
What do people think of his aerial ability?
Is his goal kicking good enough?

[bornadog]

He is actually a thumping kick and I have seen him kick some long ones from outside 50, but his acuracy is not great as he tends to hook the ball a bit. Across the half forward line he can be a real powerful player, but as for aerial skills we haven't seen much of him in that regard as he doesn't have much of a spring, although he can take a strong grab.

I am expecting big things from him in 2008, as long as the body can hold out.

[wimberga]

I think Harbrow would be quite a good apprentice to Hahn in the forwardline. I very much like Harbrow for his tackling and defensive pressure. He doesnt have the crash and bash of Hahn, nor the long kicking ability from what i have seen, but i believe Hahn could teach him a thing or two about keeping the ball in the fifty.

Anyone else think this would be a good partnership?

[LostDoggy]

I think Harbrow would be quite a good apprentice to Hahn in the forwardline. I very much like Harbrow for his tackling and defensive pressure. He doesnt have the crash and bash of Hahn, nor the long kicking ability from what i have seen, but i believe Hahn could teach him a thing or two about keeping the ball in the fifty.

Anyone else think this would be a good partnership?

I'm not sure why but I think Harbrow will be a far better defender than forward but this isn't a bad pairing idea. Harbrow defensive work for someone so young and this is great for us. If anyone can teach him a few more tricks it will go a long way into making him a better player.

[Mantis]

I think Harbrow would be quite a good apprentice to Hahn in the forwardline. I very much like Harbrow for his tackling and defensive pressure. He doesnt have the crash and bash of Hahn, nor the long kicking ability from what i have seen, but i believe Hahn could teach him a thing or two about keeping the ball in the fifty.

Anyone else think this would be a good partnership?

As you pointed out Harbrow already has many traits that are similiar to Hahn .ie. forward 50 pressure. Why don't we team Mitch up with someone like Higgins who's defensive skills need a hell of a lot of work and which might mean some of these traits rub off on him.

[LostDoggy]

As you pointed out Harbrow already has many traits that are similiar to Hahn .ie. forward 50 pressure. Why don't we team Mitch up with someone like Higgins who's defensive skills need a hell of a lot of work and which might mean some of these traits rub off on him.

Higgins has a long way to go in this area. He's proven that he can be a quality player when he has the ball but at the moment he is almost a bystander on the defensive side

Shame someone like Libba couldn't spend a few hours each week with him.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Higgins has a long way to go in this area. He's proven that he can be a quality player when he has the ball but at the moment he is almost a bystander on the defensive side

Shame someone like Libba couldn't spend a few hours each week with him.

Higgins is a pretty mature kind of kid so you'd think he will understand that his defensive work has to improve enormously. At this stage he really cant be played on the ball because he doesn't do enough without it. What about pairing him with a Daniel Cross?

I like the idea of pairing Akermanis and Harbrow.

It seems to be a shame that Libbas working style has cost him an opportunity in the AFL system at the moment when I would imagine he definitely has something to offer. What I saw of him at Box Hill he was super impressive.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Hes got the body size and physicality so do you think Hahn could play as a power forward?
What do people think of his aerial ability?
Is his goal kicking good enough?

I don't think Hahn can play as a power forward, but he can play as a very strong, mobile second or third option. Hahn's at his best when Johnson and Murphy are playing well in the forward line, taking away good defenders. Hahn's stronger than most, and thus he's a decent contested mark. He's not really an aerial player, but against only one or two others, he can pull them down. As said above, his goal kicking isn't as accurate as it should be. It's improved over the years though, but he's not the first person you'd give the ball to. Nevertheless, he can kick a long goal.


As you pointed out Harbrow already has many traits that are similiar to Hahn .ie. forward 50 pressure. Why don't we team Mitch up with someone like Higgins who's defensive skills need a hell of a lot of work and which might mean some of these traits rub off on him.

Agreed; Higgins needs to learn the 'defensive' ropes, Hahn or Cross would be good for him IMO. Needs to lift in this area drastically because as others have said, he's basically a bystander atm.

[dog town]

The key to Hahn has always been getting enough games and fitness under his belt so that he can give repeated efforts. When he was at his best he was able to use his big frame and physicality not only once in a passage of play but 3 or 4 times. I dont think he has been able to get that fit again since late 2005/early 2006. He will mainly be used as a target man up forward which he has done pretty well when fit enough. He always creates something when on song and I think is worth having in the side.

[hargs37]

I think Harbrow would be quite a good apprentice to Hahn in the forwardline. I very much like Harbrow for his tackling and defensive pressure. He doesnt have the crash and bash of Hahn, nor the long kicking ability from what i have seen, but i believe Hahn could teach him a thing or two about keeping the ball in the fifty.

Anyone else think this would be a good partnership?

No one in the team has the crash or bash like Hahn! He's what I like to refer to as THE X Factor. He fires, we fire. His physical pressure and pressense lifts the whole club, and he drags players with him into some of those contests. We will need a player of Hahns ilk in the future as a leader , cause when the likes of West Johnno and even Aker hang up the boots, then leadersd will have to presnet themselves. He will be one of those players!

[southerncross]

A fit Hahn is very good for the team balance but he isn't as good as some here seem to think. He just doesn't get enough of the ball.
With Welsh likey to come into the forward line there is going to be a bit of a crush for available positions and possibly Hahn might be more of a bench player.

[Dry Rot]

My fear is that is soft tissue injuries are mounting up. Obviously has more guts than most, but not the most versatile.

[Mantis]

My fear is that is soft tissue injuries are mounting up. Obviously has more guts than most, but not the most versatile.

Which soft tissue injuries are you talking about?

He missed the last 6 or 7 games because Gia couldn't hit him on the chest from 30m under no pressure.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Which soft tissue injuries are you talking about?

He missed the last 6 or 7 games because Gia couldn't hit him on the chest from 30m under no pressure.

That was McMahons pass, not Gia's. The worst kind of kick you can ever be on the receiving end of. If you don't dive, you're weak. Dive, and you're open to serious injury. McMahon's kicks tended to drop like this a fair bit towards the last half of the season.