Jenkins' sliding doors moment that sees Hawthorn thanking their lucky stars

Former Adelaide Crow Josh Jenkins has identified the massive sliding doors moment that has partly caused the Hawks to be in the position that they are in now.

After failing to land two in demand key backmen in Esava Ratugolea and Ben McKay, Jenkins believes their pursuit of Tom Barrass and Josh Battle soon after has proven to be luck on their side, rather than good recruiting.

“From memory, the Hawks were dead keen on a couple of key defenders. Esava Ratugolea and Ben McKay,” Jenkins said on SEN’s Crunch Time.

“And at the time, the Hawks weren’t necessarily a destination club. They weren’t the place where free agents and trade targets wanted to go.

“So they miss on both. Ratugolea goes to Port Adelaide and he’s been okay. He’s been in and out of the team. He’s been forward and he’s been back.

“And Ben McKay is perhaps the most under pressure player this week.

“Whereas, the players that they miss on go to the respected clubs and mostly struggle, they end up having to circle back, hitch their wagons to Tom Barrass and Josh Battle and what a pairing they look to be.

“Again, not necessarily through absolute skill and targeting, more so they missed the first two targets they went after in Ratugolea and McKay.

“It’s better to be lucky than it is good.”

Barrass and Battle have both averaged over five intercept possessions a game since joining the club, as well as combining with an average of four intercept marks per game from their first three matches together.

Ratugolea is yet to play for Port Adelaide this season and Ben McKay has been widely criticised for his form to begin his 2025 campaign.

The Hawks play GWS on Saturday night in Launceston, where both teams will look to try and continue their undefeated runs to begin the season.