“What they don't have, I think, is the quality of some of our players; they don't have the psychological drive we have. We've beaten Geelong when it matters.”

 

It would have been impossible for Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett to foresee what ultimately ensued from his comments following the 2008 Grand Final.

 

Now a part of football folklore, the words sparked the Cats into a private pact that demanded of each other that they “never lose to Hawthorn again”.

 

And, the Geelong players made good on this internal promise for a very long time. 11 games spanning across five seasons went the Cats way.

 

It wasn’t as if Hawthorn couldn’t get close – eight of these losses were single-digit margins – but that just heightened the fame of the so-called Kennett Curse.

 

Thankfully for Hawthorn fans, the Curse was broken at the perfect time with the brown and gold triumphing in the 2013 preliminary final.

 

Despite the Cats holding a 20-point lead at three-quarter time, the Hawks supporters’ pleas of “not again” were answered by the football gods.

 

Geelong managed just one goal in the final term compared to the Hawks’ four, which included that famous Shaun Burgoyne goal and, gratefully, Alastair Clarkson’s side had booked itself a ticket to the big dance. We all know what happened next.....