They have been accused of being self-satisfied with their celebrations and bratty carry-on at times, but they also have a warm self-awareness at Hawthorn. And self-deprecation.

After taking time to get going – i.e. three-quarters of a match that could, and should, have already been out of their reach – the Hawks eventually comfortably beat Melbourne.

James Sicily leads his Hawks off after another win, albeit not their most impressive effort.Credit: Getty Images

Their captain, James Sicily, smiled. The game felt a bit like the season – clunky. The game was clunky. The Hawks had been clunky. In fact, most of the competition, he said, had been a bit clunky.

That is fair. By “clunky”, we assume he means the Hawks have been inconsistent within games but have been getting to the destination without any great style. Like driving a Kia.

The Hawks are, unsurprisingly, a diminished team without the class of Will Day, but they have so far managed to still win against poor teams. And, yes, Melbourne that includes you.

The Hawks did it by playing tight defence and relying on Melbourne not to score, which is, to be fair, something Melbourne quite reliably obliges with.

The Hawks should have been five or six goals down at half-time. But ... Melbourne.

So Hawthorn were still in it and found a way to win through a Jack Gunston reprise and James Worpel’s industry.

Worpel – the out-of-contract midfielder – played a game against Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver that will have list managers wondering which one of that trio of potentially gettable midfielders would you fancy for the price at the end of this season.

Sicily, endearingly, was quick to smile at his own improved kicking after it had been patchy – OK, clunky – in recent games for a player who is normally exceptional by foot.

The draw has fallen nicely for Hawthorn in this period of clunk, with games against West Coast, Richmond and Melbourne.

The month ahead, starting on Thursday in Darwin against Gold Coast, presents a sterner change. The best that can be said for this week is that their opponents are also playing off a five-day break.

Is there a non-clunky team in it after nine........

© Brisbane Times