1 day ago
Hawthorn's play mightiness person ended successful heartbreak but location were metallic linings for versatile swingman Blake Hardwick, who made a typical announcement pursuing nan Hawks' nonaccomplishment to Port Adelaide.
The rising club's unthinkable tally successful 2024 came to an extremity erstwhile they lost their semi-final to Port Adelaide by conscionable 3 points - 11.9 (75) to 11.6 (72) - past Friday nighttime astatine Adelaide Oval.
In nan aftermath of nan loss, though, came immoderate bully news for 1 of nan players.
Hardwick has shared an image successful nan sheds pinch his partner Steph Tonkins, who has a processing babe bump, announcing their impending presence of their first child.
'We emotion you small one,' Tonkins posted.
Blake shared nan image pinch 3 emotion bosom emojis.
The station has been liked by a big of Hawthorn teammates, including Jack Gunston, Will Day, James Worpel, Jai Newcombe, Lloyd Meek and Conor Nash.
A big of different AFL players, past and present, person besides liked nan station including erstwhile Hawk Bradley Hill, Dan Hanneberry, Christian Petracca and Tom Mitchell.
Hawthorn inferior Blake Hardwick and his partner Steph Tonkins (pictured together) announced that they are expecting aft nan Hawks' semi-final nonaccomplishment to Port Adelaide
Hardwick has been 1 of nan astir accordant players for nan Hawks this play astatine some ends of nan field
Tonkins is simply a glamourous reformer pilates workplace and mobile mat pilates coach processing a beardown online pursuing pinch her instructional videos.
Drafted successful 2015, Hardwick quickly established himself arsenic a reliable defender.
His consistency and hard-nosed attack to nan crippled earned him nan Peter Crimmins Medal successful 2018 arsenic Hawthorn's champion and fairest player.
In 2024, nan 27-year-old has been utilized arsenic a inferior subordinate by coach Sam Mitchell and has forged a caller estimation arsenic a reliable Mr Fix-it.
'I for illustration to deliberation I'm adaptable and tin play either end,' Hardwick said earlier this season.
'It's ever different each week, sometimes I commencement forward, sometimes I commencement backmost conscionable depending connected lucifer ups and injuries successful our team.'
The glamourous mates are pictured astatine a wedding earlier successful nan year
Hardwick has praised Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell for his power connected nan squad successful 2024
Hardwick besides said astir nan power that Mitchell had 1 nan playing group during their meteoric rise.
'Sam is great, we don't look into nan extracurricular sound astatine all,' Hardwick said.
'As a coach he tin beryllium beautiful sadistic astatine times, but connected nan wrong he is each emotion and nan boys emotion him.
'He has created this crippled style, which I'm judge is bully to watch for group connected nan outside.'
After starting nan play pinch 5 losses, nan Hawks soared to their first finals triumph since winning nan 2015 premiership.
In their 2 years nether Mitchell, they person developed an electrifying marque of football.
But now they person to woody pinch nan symptom of coming truthful adjacent to a preliminary last against Sydney.
'I'm conscionable really sad this season's over,' Mitchell told reporters astatine Adelaide Oval.
'So galore group put successful truthful overmuch (effort) to get america to this constituent and for it to beryllium finished, it's not a beardown capable word, disappointment.
'There's evidently immoderate pridefulness and I'm judge that'll travel retired complete time, but correct now, I'm sad for nan players, I'm sad for nan fans — I deliberation everyone mostly loved watching what we were doing, and we were conscionable not rather bully enough.
'We'll person to unrecorded pinch that and fto it spur america connected for adjacent year.'
Related to Dimma?
Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick
The Hardwick sanction is very celebrated successful AFL, mostly because it is nan surname of Damien 'Dimma' Hardwick who won 2 premierships arsenic a subordinate and 3 arsenic coach of Richmond. So is Blake a spot disconnected nan aged block? The reply is no. Damien has 3 children, Ben, Isabelle and Imogen but Blake is not 1 of them.
However Blake has different relationship to nan Gold Coast Suns mentor. He is besides nicknamed 'Dimma', conscionable for illustration Damien. The nickname came during his inferior days with Eastern Ranges coach Darren Bewick, a erstwhile teammate of Damien's, passing connected nan nickname during training.
