Life is tough sitting in the bottom third of the table. Bottom two, even more difficult.

Where normally one might engage in casual football banter at a social occasion, now you steer the conversation in another direction. Or hibernate at home.

Should one venture beyond the residential boundary it is sage to bone up on politics, the economy, the health crisis, the Ukranian invasion. Thin knowledge of all the afore-mentioned topics is enough to get the chatter rolling.

Anything, but footy.

And kindred spirits exist within the Hawthorn faithful. Right now the great Australian game is not their subject of choice either.

For two clubs accustomed to success the last couple of seasons have been challenging.

Only twice since the Eagles joined the competition in 1987 have both teams missed finals in the same season – one was last year when the Eagles finished ninth, the other was 2009 when Hawthorn finished ninth.

This year will be the first time in consecutive seasons that both clubs have been September spectators at the same time.

Over the course of the 35 completed seasons since joining an expanded VFL competition the Eagles have missed finals nine times, Hawthorn have failed to qualify for the post season 14 times. But the Hawks have won seven premierships compared to the Eagles four.   

So it is a rare occasion for these powerhouse clubs to be meeting in round 18 at the MCG tomorrow with only pride at stake. Usually they would be sharpening up for a finals assault, but this year the Hawks are 14^th with five wins and the Eagles 17^th with just two wins.

For the Eagles there have been extenuating circumstances, needing to call on every available player – and some – to represent the club in this arduous campaign. They will have used 47 players by the time Jai Culley becomes the 16^th club debutant of the season at 1.10pm (EST) tomorrow.

Regardless of the obstacles that have sprung up since the eve of the season the club will miss finals for the second time in succession. That has happened only three times previously – in 2000 and 2001, 2008-10 and 2013-14.

It’s unfamiliar territory.

The Eagles will need a lot of results to fall their way if they are to improve on their 17^th standing when the curtain falls on the qualifying rounds as they sit three games and significant percentage behind 16^th placed Essendon.

Hawthorn are in a bunch of clubs on five wins (including the Bombers) who sit between 13^th and 16^th. While they can improve their final position, best case scenario is to leapfrog GWS.

So 2022 will mark the fourth consecutive season they have been finals on-lookers. Of course that is the price clubs pay in this era of equalisation. Success is supposed to be cyclical and that is evident with the Hawks.

A hat-trick of premierships between 2013-15 and six top four finishes in six seasons meant they had little to no access to the best young draft talent in the country.

It is a similar story to the Eagles, although in lesser terms. West Coast lost to Hawthorn in the 2015 Grand Final and then won in 2018 during an era when they played finals consistently and were inside the top six five times.

Drafting young talent is an inexact science at the best of times; the further clubs are pushed down the order, the higher the risk those players will not impact at the elite level.

Of course, there are always exceptions but selections inside the top 10 are precious.

Given the history of both clubs, it’s reasonable to assume the lean stretch will be temporary but fans will get a glimpse into the future tomorrow.

While the Hawks have shown a propensity to bring in mature aged recruits from rivals clubs, Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O’Meara and Chad Wingard for example, they have recruited exciting youngsters in the last three years.

They have used their first round selection to snare Will Day (2019), Denver Grainger-Barrass (2020) and Josh Ward (2021). All appear to be top shelf players

The Eagles traded in Tim Kelly in 2019 but have focused on the draft in the last two years. They will do that again in November as they move into a significant rebuild. Three players drafted in the last eight months – Rhett Bazzo, Brady Hough and Culley will play tomorrow.