Herald Sun player ratings have singled out one Hawthorn player who "disappeared" during the team's loss, while stating that several teammates never got going at all, according to the Herald Sun.
The ratings ran under the headline "Every player rated: One Hawk 'disappeared' – others never showed up," published on Saturday, 19 September 2026.
The result was framed by other outlets as the game of the season. The Age described it as a contest that delivered both agony and ecstasy, quoting the line "whatever you paid, it was worth it." The Australian focused on the finer details, reporting that they will be the things keeping the Hawks up at night through the summer.
The match also produced a crowd incident. News.com.au reported calls for life bans after what it called a "disgraceful" scene, while Nine.com.au reported that the Hawks coach called out supporters who threw bottles at umpires following the heartbreak.
Those two reports indicate the fallout extended beyond the scoreboard, with the coach publicly addressing spectator behaviour and others pushing for severe sanctions.
The player ratings, the coach's response to the bottle-throwing and the review of costly moments all point to a club facing questions on several fronts at once.
What to watch next: whether the calls for life bans are acted on, and how Hawthorn responds to the review of its season-ending defeat.
