AAA<\/p>\n
Sam Mitchell charged into Hawthorn\u2019s change rooms at half-time of his team\u2019s round seven clash with Gold Coast, ruckman Lloyd Meek firmly in his sights.<\/p>\n
An errant backwards handball by Meek in the dying stages of the second quarter had led to a crucial turnover, allowing the Suns to score a goal with four seconds left on the clock.<\/p>\n
Mitchell, fuming, delivered an animated spray \u2013 which amateur lip-readers discerned contained a lot of f—s \u2013 that quickly went viral on social media, largely due to the wide-eyed expressions of Meek\u2019s shocked teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that when he\u2019s aggressive and he\u2019s fired up, it\u2019s because of how much he cares, and I\u2019m the same,\u201d Meek told this masthead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m exactly the same. So like, we\u2019re all competitive people. We wouldn\u2019t be here if we weren\u2019t. We all want to win. And sometimes those conversations are just what it takes to get the message across.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, obviously no one likes being yelled out. But I was still so stoked with how we were able to respond and come out of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawthorn went on to win the game by 49 points, holding Gold Coast goalless in the final term.<\/p>\n
Meek points out there\u2019s a lot the broadcast cameras don\u2019t see or show. The ruckman said Mitchell checked in with him before running out for the third quarter, and again after the game, to check he was OK.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came up to me and said \u2018well done, you responded really well\u2019, and we had a good chat, no one sees that,\u201d Meek said.<\/p>\n
![\"Lloyd](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/c4a94a0a0727a949be8ec7b895a03259f992f103.jpeg\")
Lloyd Meek says his coach Sam Mitchell embodies the values Hawthorn want to be known for. Eddie JIm<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just see one 30-second snippet and think \u2018geez, he\u2019s copped a spray\u2019. But it\u2019s like no, we\u2019ve actually had conversations all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up in Mininera in regional Victoria \u2013 Meek hails from a prestigious rowing family, with his dad and his siblings all winning Head of the Lake titles. He was selected by Fremantle with pick 69 in the 2017 draft, but did not debut in the AFL until his fourth season at the Dockers. He later moved to Hawthorn during the 2022 trade period to seek more opportunities in the ruck.<\/p>\n
As an example of Mitchell\u2019s close connection to his players, Meek revealed the coach delivered handwritten letters to each of them before their qualifying final win, on the road, against Fremantle.<\/p>\n
\u201c[In the letter] he mentioned that he was glad that I picked Hawthorn and had faith in me, and how we\u2019ve both, I guess, grown over that four-year period,\u201d Meek said.<\/p>\n
Meek said he found it difficult to fully articulate what Mitchell meant to the playing group, heralding the head coach as someone who \u201cmakes every single person feels valuable\u201d.<\/p>\n
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A kiss on the head from Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell to Nick Watson after the qualifying final win over Fremantle.AFL Photos<\/p>\n
\u201cHe [Mitchell] is Hawthorn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s so pivotal and so important to what we\u2019ve built \u2026 not discrediting the[other] people; the board and the football club and the other coaches and staff, but he has built so much of the environment that we get to come in and enjoy every day, and that\u2019s probably been something that I have valued and appreciated since coming to Hawthorn. \u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything he spoke about and his vision for us and the club was so aligned with what I wanted in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meek has endless praise for Mitchell\u2019s coaching abilities, but has some doubts about the coach\u2019s prowess at chess. Mitchell and a few other Hawthorn players regularly play chess online, with the head coach known to have a solid winning streak.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve ever played [against] him, but I reckon I\u2019d be able to beat him,\u201d Meek joked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he likes to play on chess.com, so I think he\u2019s pretty handy. He probably uses AI to cheat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawthorn\u2019s preliminary final clash with Brisbane on Saturday comes six weeks after the back-to-back reigning premiers took them to the cleaners in round 22, the Lions storming to a 67-point win at the Gabba.<\/p>\n
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