According to coach Alastair Clarkson, Hawthorn are "spluttering" at the halfway point of the 2019 AFL season.
But the Hawks' plight may get even worse after their 19-point Gabba loss to Brisbane Lions on Saturday night.
Clarkson said they would undergo a mid-season review to try and get to the bottom of what had caused their erratic season start, arguably summed up by their round 11 loss.
Hawthorn hit the ground running to kick five unanswered first-term goals before being reined in by a young Lions outfit now in sight of their first finals campaign in 10 years.
"We are just a spluttering side. We have to lick our wounds. We have a bye next week so we will review our season up to this point and see if we can get better in the second half of the year," Clarkson said.
Yet it may get more dire before it gets better for the once mighty Hawks.
Boom recruit Chad Wingard is set to be sidelined for an extended stint after going down with a hamstring injury and taking no part in the final quarter against Brisbane.
It is another setback for Wingard who missed the first two rounds of the season due to a calf complaint.
"We'll wait and see," Clarkson said.
"The bye next week will help, but if he's got a soft tissue he'll probably miss games, but I'm not sure of the severity of it."
And James Sicily may come under scrutiny over a first quarter incident with Lincoln McCarthy.
Replays showed Sicily striking McCarthy in the stomach in an off-the-ball incident that left the Lion sprawling on the turf.
McCarthy required treatment but resumed the match.
Clarkson was more worried about getting his Hawks to finally fire in 2019.
They haven't been able to seal back-to-back wins all year.
"We're five and six (5-6 record). We're middle of the road," Clarkson said.
"We're in that next stage where we're trying to find that next group of players that can win us some silverware and seriously challenge.
"What keeps holding us back is we can't get consistency from one quarter to the next, let alone one game to the next and that's what we've got to work on."
Clarkson said Mitch Lewis (two goals) and James Worpel (team high 25 touches) had at least been a shining light.
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