The Hawthorn Hawks have prevailed over the Geelong Cats 15.14.104 – 10.8.68 in another classic encounter for the first final of the 2014 AFL Final Series at the MCG.
Fans were treated to some electric footy on Friday night. Geelong Captain Joel Selwood proved just why he has so few critics, playing a leading role for Geelong. Will Langford has been a tremendous success story this year for Hawthorn and he was also industrious in his first final for the club.
Selwood was inspirational, playing his best game of the year with 31 disposals and three goals in a crucial match for his Cats, but it was not enough to carry the side to victory.
Both teams were showing nerves early, over-kicking open players going forward. Geelong displayed some excellent ball skills coming out of defence and made it hard for the Hawks front men through physical contests in the forward 50.
Early goals to Selwood and Bartel were countered by three to the Hawks, who led by eight points after the first quarter.
The second quarter began as the first, with Bartel and Selwood kicking the first two majors and the Cats were in the lead once again.
Two crumbing goals to Smith and Puopolo saw Hawthorn retake the lead, only for Josh Walker to set up a classic finish, kicking a goal after the siren to level the scores 6.5.41 – 6.5.41 at the major break.
The Hawks showed patches of the class that embodied their 2014 season. David Hale kicked his first goal in the third quarter within the opening minute, capitalising on a poor defensive decision by the Cats and signalling trouble for Geelong.
Jack Gunston began to fire, kicking two goals in two minutes and pushing the margin out to 13. The Hawks dominated the entry into the forward 50 (15-7), and Geelong began to show their frustration with some aggressive, ill-disciplined roughing off the ball.
Hawthorn began the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead, and it got even better, with Luke Breust grubbering through his first and putting the Hawks out to 20. Hawthorn looked home, dominating possession and placing the challenge before Geelong.
Mark Blicavs scored from a set shot and pulled the gap back to a more manageable 14 points with one minute on the clock, and the Cats consolidated.
Hawthorne needed to lift, and the call was answered through a magnificent run and accurate kick from Shaun Burgoyne, finding the hungry Jarryd Roughead who goaled and established an imposing 22-point gap with seven minutes to play.
The Hawks kicked three more goals and booked their ticket into the preliminary final in two weeks.
“It’s great to have [two weeks] off, but this time of the year you are happy to play every week,” commented Luke Hodge, who claimed he was still feeling fresh after a busy season.
Geelong will need to take the long road to the grand final. They play the loser of North Melbourne and Essendon, who face off on Saturday night.
