Despite not ultimately going the way we would have liked; this game was a breathtaking exhibition of our game.

 

The Cats started with a bang, kicking nine goals to two in the first quarter. But the Hawks fought back strongly in the second term to cut the margin back to just 17 points by half-time.

 

Following a four-goal burst in a ten-minute period of the last quarter helped Alastair Clarkson’s men hit the front and continue to hold the lead until the final siren.

 

The only issue was Tom Hawkins had the ball at the bell, within range.

 

In a moment that could only be compared to a terrible nightmare for Hawthorn fans, the big forward calmly slotted the winning goal, his sixth of the day.

 

It was the Cats’ ninth successive win over Hawthorn. As Jake Niall wrote in his match report in The Age the following day, “Geelong and Hawthorn’s rivalry has been the game’s most compelling for some years, but this latest instalment has taken not only their competition, but AFL football to unprecedented heights.”