TALL, small and anywhere in between, Hawthorn defender Ben Stratton is up for the challenge.
The 26-year-old will play his 15th final when the Hawks take on Fremantle on Friday night – and as usual a big job undoubtedly awaits him.
Having restricted the influence of the likes of Port Adelaide’s Chad Wingard, Collingwood’s Jamie Elliott and Adelaide’s Eddie Betts during 2015 – the latter more than once this year – Stratton is earning a reputation as a man capable of regularly curtailing the competition’s most dangerous forwards.
“I normally take a small when we play Freo, but having said that I’ve chopped and changed during games throughout the whole year and pretty much since I’ve been at Hawthorn,” Stratton told hawthornfc.com.au earlier this week.
“Talls or smalls, I’m happy either way.
“They’ve got a couple of zippy smalls in (Hayden) Ballantyne and (Michael) Walters and those blokes, and if I’m chopping and changing between them and their mediums, guys like (Chris) Mayne, I’d be happy with that.”
Perhaps underrated outside of Waverley Park, Stratton’s lockdown abilities were on show again on the big stage when he held All Australian forward Eddie Betts goalless in last week’s semi final.
But according to the 115-gamer, he was just doing his job.
“It was just the role I was sort of given during the week. I accepted it and loved the challenge.”
Friday night’s clash against the Dockers poses another challenge, an exciting challenge according to the now seasoned finals campaigner.
“It’s sort of business as usual, but it’s a pretty exciting time of the year,” Stratton said.
“You have a long hard stretch over summer for three or four months and it’s all pretty much for this time of year.
“Probably the more finals you play…. it doesn’t get any easier that’s for sure. It probably gets harder I reckon because they’re harder to win the more pressure you sort of put on yourself and as a team.”
Externally, there has been plenty of talk about the Hawks chasing a three-peat.
But Stratton said that thought – and any pressure associated with it – was far from the minds of the Hawks as they press their claims for a fourth consecutive grand final appearance.
“There’s guys in the team that are pushing for one (premiership),” Stratton said.
“A grand final’s a grand final, it’s a different year. You can’t really talk about that, that’s in the past and there’s no point.
“It’s probably good to look back on at the end of your career and look at those wins, but we’re here and now at the moment – there’s no point looking at last year or the year before.”
With a history of stepping up at big moments in preliminary finals – a goal-saving tackle on Adelaide’s Patrick Dangerfield in 2012 and a game-saving mark in the dying moments of the 2013 prelim against Geelong – Stratton is hoping he can contribute a strong “four-quarter” performance against the Dockers.
He’s expecting a contest like the Hawks past four preliminary finals – which have all been decided by less than a goal – rather than the side’s 72-point win against the Dockers earlier this season.
“People always say ‘you beat the team last time you played them’, but I don’t think that makes a difference come finals,” Stratton said.
“It definitely is a different ball game compared to the normal season. Prelim finals are always close games, the hardest games and the loudest crowds – it will be no different Friday night.”
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