Goodbye to game’s greats
Given Friday night’s game was unlikely to have any finals ramifications, the match instead focussed on the four players whose careers drew to a close at its final siren. Luke Hodge, Bob Murphy and Matthew Boyd played their finals game in front of the 48,090-strong crowd, while Josh Gibson farewelled the faithful with a lap of honour at halftime. All three players had special moments throughout the night. In the first quarter, Boyd fed Murphy for what would be the final goal of his career. While Hodge’s dying minutes’ spoil to quell any hope the Dogs had of a comeback was simply vintage Hodge.
Hawks more of the ball and more tackles
Although the Bulldogs kicked the first goal of the game inside the opening minute of play, the Hawks, who answered soon after with a Shaun Burgoyne major, would lead for the remainder of the match. Despite the margin never exceeding five goals, the game always seemed to be in brown and gold control. This was illustrated by the tackle and disposal counts. Luke Beveridge's team laid just 10 tackles in the opening quarter and they finished the match with 46 to the Hawks' 73 despite Hawthorn winning the possession count 429-373. The Hawks simply had the upper hand on both sides of the ball.
Finals race
The Hawks’ Friday night victory kicked off a fascinating weekend. The finals race was very much alive with the seventh and eighth positions available for as many as five teams. The Hawks extinguished the Dogs’ chances of sneaking in to a finals berth before they could even worry about what else had to fall into place for them. Melbourne then lost to an impressive Collingwood side on Saturday, failing to guarantee themselves a finals spot. A day later, Essendon were able to make the most of their opportunity, booking themselves a spot of September action after overcoming Fremantle. Richmond then denied St Kilda their faint chance of qualifying as they easily accounted for them at the MCG. But the weekend culminated in the final match of the week, with West Coast hosting Adelaide. Their mission was simple, beat the already-confirmed minor premiers by 20-plus points and the Demons’ place in the eight would become theirs. The Eagles were impressive all day and deservedly earned themselves an elimination final against Port Adelaide in a fortnight after beating the Crows by 29 points.
Read: Match report Hawthorn v Bulldogs
Dogged by a hangover
The Dogs’ loss on Friday night confirmed they would miss finals less than 12 months after lifting the premiership cup. One of the youngest teams to win a flag in AFL history, the Bulldogs simply faltered under the pressure of a premiership defence. The Dogs became the fifth side in the last 18 years to fail to reach finals after winning it all the year previous.
Buddy wins fourth Coleman
Although his Hawthorn departure was four years ago, Hawthorn fans remain big fans of Buddy Franklin. On the weekend, Franklin once again illustrated why he is so hard to ignore, with the popular goal kicker claiming his fourth Coleman Medal in remarkable fashion. Trailing Eagle Josh Kennedy by five goals at the start of the round, Franklin seemed too far behind the lead to be able to snatch victory. But, as only Buddy can, the Swan put on a show on Saturday night, kicking ten goals to boost himself five majors beyond Kennedy. Kennedy managed only the single goal on Sunday, confirming Buddy’s achievement. The 30-year old becomes one of only eight players to have won four or more Coleman Medals. He joins game greats Tony Lockett and Peter Hudson with four league goal kicking awards.
