NRL legend's words of wisdom for Hawks in flag hunt
A not-so-secret weapon at Mitchell's disposal, Hawks fan Smith addressed the club's leadership and wider playing groups in Melbourne on Monday.
The former Queensland and Kangaroos hooker spoke about mental resilience and playing in important fixtures, in particular his State of Origin experiences.
The session came as fifth-placed Hawthorn (11-5) gear up for a tough interstate assignment against fellow finals contenders Fremantle (10-6) on Saturday night.
"(We spoke about) handling pressure, handling big games and big moments in big games," Smith said.
"How to get the best out of yourself as an individual and as a group, timing your run for big games and big finals.
"The Hawkies are in a great spot at the moment.
"They're probably not playing their best football at the moment, but they're slowly building towards what can be a very positive end of the season."
Smith, who retired five years ago, grew close to Hawthorn during his celebrated NRL career with Melbourne Storm.
The former Maroons captain was wound up by Hawks veteran Luke Breust, a NSW Riverina product, who donned a Blues jersey for Monday's session ahead of the Origin series decider.
But Smith found an ally in Mabior Chol and exchanged Queensland and Hawthorn jerseys with the Brisbane-raised forward.
"It's always great to have one of the GOATs of NRL come down," Chol said.
"For him to be here, I feel like as a playing group we've learnt so much about his mindset and how he deals with big games.
"I wasn't too sure what Breusty was thinking wearing a NSW shirt, but it's great."
Chol agreed with Smith's assessment that Hawthorn haven't yet hit top gear this season, despite a four-match winning streak putting them firmly in top-two calculations.
"We're not really playing our best footy yet, but we are building," Chol said.
"We want to time our run perfect so when finals do come around we hit that up and running.
"We're so lucky to have Sam (Mitchell), and he does understand as a playing group we have a lot of things to work towards."
Former Richmond and Gold Coast forward Chol has found a home at Hawthorn over the past two seasons.
The 28-year-old has kicked 30 goals in 15 games this season and finally feels at home in brown and gold, relishing working alongside premiership hero Jack Gunston and forwards coach Adrian Hickmott.
"I've had really good coaches in the past, but I feel like I'm probably a bit more mature than what I was back in my time at Richmond and Gold Coast," Chol said.
"I feel like I've narrowed a lot of what my best footy looks like.
"I've been working very closely with my forwards coach 'Hicks' and I feel like he's getting the best out of me.
"I'm just very grateful to be in a position where I'm playing some really good footy.":
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell's search for an edge has led to him leaning on rugby league legend Cameron Smith for some words of wisdom as the AFL finals race heats up.
A not-so-secret weapon at Mitchell's disposal, Hawks fan Smith addressed the club's leadership and wider playing groups in Melbourne on Monday.
The former Queensland and Kangaroos hooker spoke about mental resilience and playing in important fixtures, in particular his State of Origin experiences.
The session came as fifth-placed Hawthorn (11-5) gear up for a tough interstate assignment against fellow finals contenders Fremantle (10-6) on Saturday night.
"(We spoke about) handling pressure, handling big games and big moments in big games," Smith said.
"How to get the best out of yourself as an individual and as a group, timing your run for big games and big finals.
"The Hawkies are in a great spot at the moment.
"They're probably not playing their best football at the moment, but they're slowly building towards what can be a very positive end of the season."
Smith, who retired five years ago, grew close to Hawthorn during his celebrated NRL career with Melbourne Storm.
The former Maroons captain was wound up by Hawks veteran Luke Breust, a NSW Riverina product, who donned a Blues jersey for Monday's session ahead of the Origin series decider.
But Smith found an ally in Mabior Chol and exchanged Queensland and Hawthorn jerseys with the Brisbane-raised forward.
"It's always great to have one of the GOATs of NRL come down," Chol said.
"For him to be here, I feel like as a playing group we've learnt so much about his mindset and how he deals with big games.
"I wasn't too sure what Breusty was thinking wearing a NSW shirt, but it's great."
Chol agreed with Smith's assessment that Hawthorn haven't yet hit top gear this season, despite a four-match winning streak putting them firmly in top-two calculations.
"We're not really playing our best footy yet, but we are building," Chol said.
"We want to time our run perfect so when finals do come around we hit that up and running.
"We're so lucky to have Sam (Mitchell), and he does understand as a playing group we have a lot of things to work towards."
Former Richmond and Gold Coast forward Chol has found a home at Hawthorn over the past two seasons.
The 28-year-old has kicked 30 goals in 15 games this season and finally feels at home in brown and gold, relishing working alongside premiership hero Jack Gunston and forwards coach Adrian Hickmott.
"I've had really good coaches in the past, but I feel like I'm probably a bit more mature than what I was back in my time at Richmond and Gold Coast," Chol said.
"I feel like I've narrowed a lot of what my best footy looks like.
"I've been working very closely with my forwards coach 'Hicks' and I feel like he's getting the best out of me.
"I'm just very grateful to be in a position where I'm playing some really good footy.":
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell's search for an edge has led to him leaning on rugby league legend Cameron Smith for some words of wisdom as the AFL finals race heats up.
A not-so-secret weapon at Mitchell's disposal, Hawks fan Smith addressed the club's leadership and wider playing groups in Melbourne on Monday.
The former Queensland and Kangaroos hooker spoke about mental resilience and playing in important fixtures, in particular his State of Origin experiences.
The session came as fifth-placed Hawthorn (11-5) gear up for a tough interstate assignment against fellow finals contenders Fremantle (10-6) on Saturday night.
"(We spoke about) handling pressure, handling big games and big moments in big games," Smith said.
"How to get the best out of yourself as an individual and as a group, timing your run for big games and big finals.
"The Hawkies are in a great spot at the moment.
"They're probably not playing their best football at the moment, but they're slowly building towards what can be a very positive end of the season."
Smith, who retired five years ago, grew close to Hawthorn during his celebrated NRL career with Melbourne Storm.
The former Maroons captain was wound up by Hawks veteran Luke Breust, a NSW Riverina product, who donned a Blues jersey for Monday's session ahead of the Origin series decider.
But Smith found an ally in Mabior Chol and exchanged Queensland and Hawthorn jerseys with the Brisbane-raised forward.
"It's always great to have one of the GOATs of NRL come down," Chol said.
"For him to be here, I feel like as a playing group we've learnt so much about his mindset and how he deals with big games.
"I wasn't too sure what Breusty was thinking wearing a NSW shirt, but it's great."
Chol agreed with Smith's assessment that Hawthorn haven't yet hit top gear this season, despite a four-match winning streak putting them firmly in top-two calculations.
"We're not really playing our best footy yet, but we are building," Chol said.
"We want to time our run perfect so when finals do come around we hit that up and running.
"We're so lucky to have Sam (Mitchell), and he does understand as a playing group we have a lot of things to work towards."
Former Richmond and Gold Coast forward Chol has found a home at Hawthorn over the past two seasons.
The 28-year-old has kicked 30 goals in 15 games this season and finally feels at home in brown and gold, relishing working alongside premiership hero Jack Gunston and forwards coach Adrian Hickmott.
"I've had really good coaches in the past, but I feel like I'm probably a bit more mature than what I was back in my time at Richmond and Gold Coast," Chol said.
"I feel like I've narrowed a lot of what my best footy looks like.
"I've been working very closely with my forwards coach 'Hicks' and I feel like he's getting the best out of me.
"I'm just very grateful to be in a position where I'm playing some really good footy.":
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To give him as much time as possible with his family, the Maroons booked Munster on a separate flight that got him to Sydney in time for the captain's run on Tuesday afternoon. "I can't wait to give him a hug," Slater said ahead of Munster's reunion with the team. Munster ran out with the team at Accor Stadium around 4pm, greeting the small group of onlookers invited to the team's final training session before the hotly-anticipated decider. He appeared his usual energetic and focused self following a distressing few days. "Naturally, he's been pretty upset over the last couple of days. But I think the last couple of days he's been where he's needed to be and that's with his mum and his sister," Slater said earlier. Slater understood the best thing he could do for Munster sitting in his room on Sunday was to be there as a mate, then give him all the time he needed with his family. The coach knew that because he lost his own father Ronnie earlier this year. "There's no real words that fix any of this," Slater said. "Unfortunately there's not a switch. "I haven't dealt with this as a coach, but I've dealt with it as a person. I lost my father in January. I know what it's like and Cam's an inspiration for many people. "He's a hero to many people in Queensland. I can only imagine his dad would've been his first inspiration and his first hero. He'd be hurting right now." That's why Slater knows Wednesday night is the time for the Maroons to show up for Munster, just as he showed up for his teammates in guiding them to victory against the odds in Origin II. "Their skipper is going to need them on Wednesday night," Slater said. "I'm sure it'll give them a huge boost, to see their mate going through something that you only go through once in your life, losing your father. I'm sure it's going to have a huge impact on them." Slater has already seen his senior players leading the squad with aplomb in Munster's absence. It's been a blessing for the group to have Josh Papalii, the Canberra prop called out of representative retirement to reinvigorate the forward pack. "It's a feel, with Papa," Slater said of the veteran's impact on the squad. "The best way I could describe it is it's probably a calmness. Big Tino (Fa'asuamaleaui) has been like a little puppy dog, following him around all week."
