In a Tweet

 Utter excitement, followed by the ultimate devastation. What a match.

The Rundown

This game was a complete arm wrestle with ferocious contests and lead changes a theme throughout the entirety of the game.

The first quarter saw a scarcity in goals for both sides, as only three were kicked for the entire quarter, typifying the contest that the game was.

As the Hawthorn midfield led by Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Sam Mitchell relished the contested game style, so did Cats Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood.

Dangerfield exerted his greatest dominance on the game in the third term, yet the margin remained virtually nothing, with the Cats holding a slight two-point ascendancy heading into the fourth quarter.

The game continued to ebb and flow literally to the final siren, where Isaac Smith stood 40 metres from goal with an opportunity to win the game in the most dramatic possible circumstance. His kick travelled right of the goal face, and the lead remained with the Cats in perhaps one of the greatest clashes of these most fierce rivals.

The Star

Jordan Lewis was exceptional, on a night that required his inside grunt and battle hardened body. Often going head to head with the rampant pairing of Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, the proven finals performer was made to earn every one of his 36 disposals.

The Moment

The moment this game will always be remembered by is one that Hawks fans would undoubtedly rather forget. As the final siren blew and Isaac Smith went back to line up for a goal that would have booked Hawthorn a place in a preliminary final, most Hawks fans would have been feeling reasonably confident. Unfortunately, Smith tugged his shot right, instead handing Geelong the privilege of a preliminary final berth.

The Coach

"We had our chances throughout the course of the night, so did the Cats. It comes down to the last kick, so it could quite easily have been us victorious and them licking their wounds".- Alastair Clarkson

Read: Who's in the mix for Round 4?

GEELONG       2.3    5.5   10.9   12.13  (85)
HAWTHORN   1.2    6.6   10.7   12.11  (83) 

GOALS
Geelong: Caddy 2, McCarthy 2, Motlop 2, Hawkins 2, J.Selwood, Menzel, Guthrie, Blicavs
Hawthorn: Breust 3, Rioli 2, Schoenmakers 2, Gunston 2, Burgoyne 2, Hill  

BEST 
Geelong: J.Selwood, Dangerfield, Guthrie, Hawkins, McCarthy, Blicavs, Menegola 
Hawthorn: Lewis, Birchall, Gunston, Rioli, Breust, Hodge, Mitchell 

INJURIES 
Geelong: Menegola (right ankle)
Hawthorn: Sicily (illness) replaced in selected side by Howe, Burton (calf)   

Reports: Nil 

Umpires: Margetts, Stevic, Meredith

Official crowd: 87,533 at the MCG