Happy Hawthorn claim Premiership
September 27th 2008 07:28
Hawthorn has repeated the result of the 1989 Grand Final by defeating Geelong by 26 points on a beautiful, sunny Melbourne day in front of over 100,000 people.
It was on before the very first bounce, with Matthew Stokes testing out Luke Hodge's ribs and Cameron Mooney being roughed up by Trent Croad.
The Cats looked more composed in the opening minutes, and it showed with Tom Lonergan kicking the first goal of the match.
But Chance Bateman, Xavier Ellis and Jarryd Roughead came back and all scored majors to give Hawthorn a 13-point lead.
Geelong came back late in the first term to take the lead. Gary Ablett was given two 50-metre penalties to score the Cats' second goal. Max Rooke and Cameron Mooney, dodging and weaving, scored his first for the day to take a one-point lead into the break.
When the second half commenced, no-one predicted that Geelong would struggle to kick a goal. Having dominated for such long periods, the Cats only managed to score 1.9 whilst Hawthorn capitalised with three majors, to go into half-time up by three points.
Some selfish by Paul Chapman, Brad Ottens and Steven Johnson could have seen Geelong extend their dominance on the score board.
Cyril Rioli, Mark Williams and Travis Young all kicked majors to see the Hawks lead.
Trent Croad hobbled off the ground with a foot injury mid-way through the second term, sending shockwaves through the Hawthorn camp as to how fit he was coming into this match. His foot playing up and causing some severe discomfort.
Sam Mitchell may be missing a part of the 2009 season after he took Ablett high in a front-on tackle, which looked sickening on the replay.
Tom Harley received a heavy knock very late in the half, when Jarryd Roughead tackled the Geelong captain, and had an ugly head clash with Mark Williams. Both players stayed down for a while, but were able to pick themselves up and walk off the ground at half-time.
When the teams came out for the Premiership quarter, Geelong started the better, playing the football that has seen them only lose two games in the last two seasons.
Ablett kicked the Cats' first goal of the term, and their first for almost a quarter. But Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin came to life, replying to Ablett's goal within a minute.
A free kick to Rick Ladson, and a quick handpass to Luke Hodge saw the Hawks take the lead mid-way through the third term.
The most experienced player on the ground in Stuart Dew bombed the footy long into the Hawks' forward line and created a contest between Franklin, and his opponent, Matthew Scarlett. The ball spilt to ground and Rioli took the crumbs and strolled in to extend the lead.
Stuart Dew backed up his work from only a few minutes ago when he swooped to score Hawthorn's 12th goal and push the margin to 18 points.
Mark Williams' hard work payed off when he was in the right place to kick his third for the game. Dew's second for the term moments later meant that Geelong trailed by five goals. Hawthorn had kicked nine of the last ten goals to lead by such a margin.
An Ablett torpedo from outside 50 landed in Darren Milburn's chest in the goal square, and his goal cut the margin to 23 points. And when Ablett was cleaned up by Mitchell again, Steve Johnson had a chance to bring the Cats within 17 points, which he did.
The final term started with some end-to-end action. Hawthorn looked the more dangerous, trying to slow the tempo of the match, whilst Geelong ran hard, striving for the ball.
It may have taken ten minutes for the first goal of the last quarter to come, but it was a Lance Franklin special. Marking the ball on the lead from a Chance Bateman pass, the Coleman Medallist played on, swung onto his famous left foot and kicked the ball truly to give Hawthorn a 21-point margin.
When captain Mitchell scored his first for the match, Hawthorn looked home, as he extended the lead to 27.
Tom Harley gave away a 50-metre penalty to Rick Ladson, who converted and sealed the victory for Hawthorn, giving the Hawks their tenth flag, and Shane Crawford his deserving first Premiership Medal.
Max Rooke kicked a consolation goal to cut the margin back to 27, but a Roughead reply neutralised it and restored it to 33 points.
Lonergan reduced the score to 27, but it was not to be a romantic story for the Cat, after losing a kidney on the football field two years ago.
But it was the Hawks' day, and their year. They claimed victory by 26 points, and Luke Hodge took home the Norm Smith Medal - judged best afield for his 26 possessions and controlling the Hawks' defence.
It was on before the very first bounce, with Matthew Stokes testing out Luke Hodge's ribs and Cameron Mooney being roughed up by Trent Croad.
The Cats looked more composed in the opening minutes, and it showed with Tom Lonergan kicking the first goal of the match.
But Chance Bateman, Xavier Ellis and Jarryd Roughead came back and all scored majors to give Hawthorn a 13-point lead.
Geelong came back late in the first term to take the lead. Gary Ablett was given two 50-metre penalties to score the Cats' second goal. Max Rooke and Cameron Mooney, dodging and weaving, scored his first for the day to take a one-point lead into the break.
When the second half commenced, no-one predicted that Geelong would struggle to kick a goal. Having dominated for such long periods, the Cats only managed to score 1.9 whilst Hawthorn capitalised with three majors, to go into half-time up by three points.
Some selfish by Paul Chapman, Brad Ottens and Steven Johnson could have seen Geelong extend their dominance on the score board.
Cyril Rioli, Mark Williams and Travis Young all kicked majors to see the Hawks lead.
Trent Croad hobbled off the ground with a foot injury mid-way through the second term, sending shockwaves through the Hawthorn camp as to how fit he was coming into this match. His foot playing up and causing some severe discomfort.
Sam Mitchell may be missing a part of the 2009 season after he took Ablett high in a front-on tackle, which looked sickening on the replay.
Tom Harley received a heavy knock very late in the half, when Jarryd Roughead tackled the Geelong captain, and had an ugly head clash with Mark Williams. Both players stayed down for a while, but were able to pick themselves up and walk off the ground at half-time.
When the teams came out for the Premiership quarter, Geelong started the better, playing the football that has seen them only lose two games in the last two seasons.
Ablett kicked the Cats' first goal of the term, and their first for almost a quarter. But Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin came to life, replying to Ablett's goal within a minute.
A free kick to Rick Ladson, and a quick handpass to Luke Hodge saw the Hawks take the lead mid-way through the third term.
The most experienced player on the ground in Stuart Dew bombed the footy long into the Hawks' forward line and created a contest between Franklin, and his opponent, Matthew Scarlett. The ball spilt to ground and Rioli took the crumbs and strolled in to extend the lead.
Stuart Dew backed up his work from only a few minutes ago when he swooped to score Hawthorn's 12th goal and push the margin to 18 points.
Mark Williams' hard work payed off when he was in the right place to kick his third for the game. Dew's second for the term moments later meant that Geelong trailed by five goals. Hawthorn had kicked nine of the last ten goals to lead by such a margin.
An Ablett torpedo from outside 50 landed in Darren Milburn's chest in the goal square, and his goal cut the margin to 23 points. And when Ablett was cleaned up by Mitchell again, Steve Johnson had a chance to bring the Cats within 17 points, which he did.
The final term started with some end-to-end action. Hawthorn looked the more dangerous, trying to slow the tempo of the match, whilst Geelong ran hard, striving for the ball.
It may have taken ten minutes for the first goal of the last quarter to come, but it was a Lance Franklin special. Marking the ball on the lead from a Chance Bateman pass, the Coleman Medallist played on, swung onto his famous left foot and kicked the ball truly to give Hawthorn a 21-point margin.
When captain Mitchell scored his first for the match, Hawthorn looked home, as he extended the lead to 27.
Tom Harley gave away a 50-metre penalty to Rick Ladson, who converted and sealed the victory for Hawthorn, giving the Hawks their tenth flag, and Shane Crawford his deserving first Premiership Medal.
Max Rooke kicked a consolation goal to cut the margin back to 27, but a Roughead reply neutralised it and restored it to 33 points.
Lonergan reduced the score to 27, but it was not to be a romantic story for the Cat, after losing a kidney on the football field two years ago.
But it was the Hawks' day, and their year. They claimed victory by 26 points, and Luke Hodge took home the Norm Smith Medal - judged best afield for his 26 possessions and controlling the Hawks' defence.
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Comment by Rick D'Andrea
on Anyone Got The Time?
Fantastic Footy
Who knows what Riewoldt may have done if he had those precious 11 seconds given to him.
What we do know is that the timekeepers need to be professional. They made a mistake, and have openly admitted it. Stuart Wenn did blow the whistle for time-on, but the timekeeper did not see it.
It is time for angry Richmond supporters to move on, and pass the next 11 seconds doing something else with their time, instead of winghing and blabbling on about what-ifs.