Welcome Welcome to Hawthorn, Chad Wingard. 200 games! Announces retirement (2 Sept 2024)

[SSSSSS]

Hell of a highlight reel.

 

[Brishawk]

Unpopular opinion on this board, but I reckon we did see close to Chad's best at the Hawks - it just completely missed our best. He was outstanding in 2021 and would have given the AA side a tilt if he'd played every game, was having the type of impact that Warner is lauded as having this season.

16 games
22.4 disposals per game
7.1 score involvements per game
12 goals
19 goal assists

Just one player in a long line of players absolutely robbed of their most productive years through soft tissue injuries. Hope the reports are true and he stays around the club in another capacity.

Plenty of great football at the hawks but my comment was more a reflection of his frequent unavailability meant he was often absent or returning from injury and not playing to he best level. 20 games a season on those numbers and he is an all time hawthorn great.

 

[KermitJagger]

Plenty of great football at the hawks but my comment was more a reflection of his frequent unavailability meant he was often absent or returning from injury and not playing to he best level. 20 games a season on those numbers and he is an all time hawthorn great.

On that I agree!

 

[The hands of stone]

Thanks Chad. Always gave 100% and sometimes almost looked like he tried too hard .
Freakish skills and by all reports a first class person.

After he did his achillies one of my work colleagues wife was looking after him in hospital (nurse) . Casually mentioned how her hubby was a Hawks fanatic .
Two days after discharge a pack arrives for her , signed jumper , merch and the like .

Incredible generous act to have that thought after suffering such an injury .

 

[OnTheRocks]

At his best he was ......the best. Farewell Chad

 

[MisterBean]

At his best he was ......the best. Farewell Chad

Very few were comparable to Chad Wingard at his best.

 

[burger09]

What a game breaking young tyro he was early on.
Rare talent.

 

[grumbleguts]

Thanks for the fond memories Chad. Please stay on and be a part of the culture at the club.

 

[Cyril says]

Great man and player.

Enjoy your retirement and I hope the Hawks ask you to stay connected on Indigenous and other issues - people like you are few and far between.

 

[Alite]

I knew Wingard was good, but watching Chad torch the Hawks live at Docklands gave me a huge level of respect for his talent. Even Hodgey trying to put his head through the post could not stop him. Weeks on the sidelines were coming for Hodgey, but Chad still kept winning every contest. On that day he was unstoppable.
Fast fwd to the trade deal to get him to the Hawks and I was not happy. Yes I knew he was a great player but I liked Burton and did not want the draft pick loss for a player I felt was selfish.
Fast fwd to Chad coming back from an injury and playing with Box Hill. The selfless way he played and the joy he showed playing with that (lower-level) group turned every perception I had on him on its head. Either he had matured or I had seen him for the first time for who he really was, it did not matter, he was an awesome team player.

The cruel thing is that he was just getting back to his destructive, and maybe most team-oriented, BEST before an injury effectively ended his career.

I would have liked to see what "The Chad" could have done with the current Hawks Unit. Sadly it is not to be.

Well done on a fine career that brought me wonder, awe, and respect,... for you have been a footballer that made the Game great to watch.

 

[Mr Lizard]

 

[Ned Ryerson]

I get what people lamenting not seeing him at his best are saying - but there were a good chunk of games over periods when he played for us injury free where he was absolutely at his best. When he was playing in the midfield there were games where we looked unbelievably better than when he wasn’t there. At times he was unfairly maligned because of the price paid for him - but that was never his fault he just wanted to play for our club and I’m glad he did.

All the best Chad - I hope you continue to be involved with our club in some capacity.

 

[HeHateMe]

Was my favourite opposition player for a long time so I'm so thankful I got to see him also playing in the brown and gold. Legend and I hope he sticks around for a little while longer, feels like he belongs around this current group of players in some capacity. Is he interested in coaching?

 

[Flamin Joe]

It's missing the highlight where Hodge pushes him into the point post.

On a serious note, that goal he kicked against us where he weaved through traffic was etched into my memory so much so that anytime we played him after that I feared anything could happen anytime he got near the ball. Was such a dangerous player in his prime.

 

[HeHateMe]

It's missing the highlight where Hodge pushes him into the point post.

On a serious note, that goal he kicked against us where he weaved through traffic was etched into my memory so much so that anytime we played him after that I feared anything could happen anytime he got near the ball. Was such a dangerous player in his prime.

I remember that game, felt like we were on-top and Wingard was the only real spark of life. Felt like the boys went after him a little which only achieved the opposite results we were after, instead of going into his shell he went beast mode taking everyone and everything on.

 

[Blackhawk42]

I have a strange mix of feelings when thinking about Chad.

As a Hawthorn supporter, I actually feel guilty. Clarko (misguidedly IMO) brought him in with the promise of success.
For the duration of his senior playing career at Hawthorn we never played in finals. During that period Port Adelaide has finished top 4 multiple times but never been able to get over the line to appear on Grand Final day.
I genuinely think Wingard may have been the difference had he remained in Alberton. Could be retiring a premiership player, or at least had a fair crack at winning one.

Despite this, he appears to be a fantastic influence on the group culturally, and likely played a part in getting Karl Amon

10

Karl Amon

Age

29

Ht

181cm

Wt

71kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

6.8

4star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.6

4star

MG

294.5

4star

D

21.0

5star

K

15.0

5star

HB

6.0

3star

M

6.0

5star

T

2.0

3star

D

10.4

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.0

4star

MG

146.8

3star

over to the Hawthorn.

I'm sure Chad himself doesn't regret his decision to move to Melbourne and play for us, but the lingering question of 'what if' will forever creep into my mind when I think of him on a personal level.

Hope the rumours of him sticking around the club are true regardless of anything!

 

[Flamin Joe]

Could be retiring a premiership player, or at least had a fair crack at winning one.

To be fair, had he not injured his Achilles he could be having a fair crack at winning one at Hawthorn right now. Who knows, a fit and firing Wingard may have been enough for us to finish top 4 as afterall we were only a bee's dick away from finishing there without him.

 

[pd_89]

I was super excited when he came over from Port and although his career for us didn't really hit the heights expected, I'll always like him as a bloke.

Little story: I was getting sushi one time and he was there ordering next to me and the staff made an error on his order. I couldn't hear what the mistake was but they were apologising profusely so assumed it was bad f**k up.
However, he was extremely nice and polite about, laughed it off with them and reassured them it was all good before thanking them and going on his way.

Its not much of a story and its probably not something to brag about but for some reason it always left a lasting good impression on me regarding his character and how he is as a person.

 

[KermitJagger]

I was super excited when he came over from Port and although his career for us didn't really hit the heights expected, I'll always like him as a bloke.

Little story: I was getting sushi one time and he was there ordering next to me and the staff made an error on his order. I couldn't hear what the mistake was but they were apologising profusely so assumed it was bad f**k up.
However, he was extremely nice and polite about, laughed it off with them and reassured them it was all good before thanking them and going on his way.

Its not much of a story and its probably not something to brag about but for some reason it always left a lasting good impression on me regarding his character and how he is as a person.

Aren't many better things to snap judge people off than how they treat others in customer service, imo.

 

[phlogiston]

Aren't many better things to snap judge people off than how they treat others in customer service, imo.

Agreed.

Slightly OT, but I worked once for a really quirky guy (who was also fabulous to work for and with) who used to take a potential hire out for coffee with a compliant waitress who would mess up the order, and he would see how the potential hire dealt with it.

(I passed the test )

 

[HedgeFund]

Make no mistake, with 2 x AA selections so early in his career, he was absolutely elite. We did the right thing luring him across and saw patches of his brilliance in 2020 & 2021.

He can retire well satisfied that he got the most he could out of his body.

I genuinely hope he can help us forge a path forward with a league leading indigenous programme.

It may well be the greater impact he has on Hawthorn, more valuable than any on field contribution (of which he was to an extent robbed of making).

Go well Chad.

 

[barbster]

I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays elsewhere next year.

 

[Bedi]

Thanks Chad. Always gave 100% and sometimes almost looked like he tried too hard .
Freakish skills and by all reports a first class person.

After he did his achillies one of my work colleagues wife was looking after him in hospital (nurse) . Casually mentioned how her hubby was a Hawks fanatic .
Two days after discharge a pack arrives for her , signed jumper , merch and the like .

Incredible generous act to have that thought after suffering such an injury .

Hate to see him missing out on the success of this year. Deserved to be there and part of it.

 

[TONYC3163]

I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays elsewhere next year.

I would.

 

[Brishawk]

It's missing the highlight where Hodge pushes him into the point post.

On a serious note, that goal he kicked against us where he weaved through traffic was etched into my memory so much so that anytime we played him after that I feared anything could happen anytime he got near the ball. Was such a dangerous player in his prime.

I was also traumatised by that but i felt a lot better when he did almost the same thing v bombers when playing for us