HAWTHORN 3.5 7.8 10.10 14.18 (102)
GEELONG 4.0 7.4 14.6 15.7 (97)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 4, Burgoyne 3, Hale 2, Hill 2, Guerra, Breust, Franklin
Geelong: Johnson 4, Motlop 2, Christensen, Hawkins, Vardy, Bartel, Selwood, Guthrie, Taylor, Murdoch, Caddy
BEST
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Burgoyne, Gunston, Hale, Birchall, Guerra, Hill
Geelong: Johnson, Motlop, Guthrie, Selwood, Taylor, Stokes, Duncan
Official crowd: 85,569 at the MCG
Who played?
Hawthorn
B: Stratton Lake Guerra
HB: Burgoyne Gibson Birchall
C: Smith Mitchell Hill
HF: Breust Franklin Gunston
F: Puopolo Roughead Rioli
FOLL: Hale Sewell Hodge
I/C: Lewis Bailey Whitecross Shiels
EMERG: Spangher Anderson Cheney
Geelong
B: Rivers Lonergan J Hunt
HB: Mackie Taylor Bartel
C: Kelly Selwood Stokes
HF: Christensen Vardy Motlop
F: Podsiadly Hawkins Caddy
FOLL: Blicavs Duncan Johnson
I/C: Corey Guthrie Murdoch Varcoe
EMERG: T Hunt Kersten West
Hawthorn fans fondly remember the last meeting between the Hawks and Cats, it was the night the boys brown and gold snapped an 11-game losing streak against Geelong to win their way into the 2013 AFL Grand Final.
But it wasn’t easy.
In familiar Geelong style, the Cats outplayed the Hawks for the majority of the game and looked the likely winners after a seven goal to three third quarter to lead by just over three goals at the final change.
The Hawks struggled to break through Geelong’s defence, with Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead ineffective but Jack Gunston the shining light up forward with four goals.
It took a heroic effort and spark led by Shaun Burgoyne, Sam Mitchell, Ben Stratton and Josh Gibson in the final term, as they rose to the challenge when the time came in the final quarter.
Hawthorn actually had almost 100 more disposals than Geelong (383-292), more clearances (36-32), 22 more inside 50s (64-42) and 10 more marks inside 50 (16-6) but it was the Cats who made the most of their chances for the first three quarters until the Hawks finally found their range in the last term.
Liam Shiels was outstanding first on Steve Johnson and then on Joel Selwood, while Mitchell played arguably the best game of his distinguished career, with 38 disposals, 11 clearances and eight inside 50s but it was his leadership that truly showed his value.
Burgoyne was the match-winner though, with his clearances, pressure and last but not least, the match-winning goal. He finished with 24 disposals, seven marks, six tackles and three goals.
For the Cats, Johnson booted four goals, while livewire forward/midfielder Steven Motlop was brilliant with 14 disposals and two goals. Tom Longergan and Harry Taylor were outstanding in defence and Josh Caddy played a vital role off the bench as the substitute, with 12 disposals and a goal.
What the coaches said
Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: "We said to our players at three-quarter time, 'Just because they've got their noses in front now doesn't mean we can't come back and have our moment in the sun as well'.
"And so they just dug in and persevered.
"We've worked hard as a footy club over the course of this year and wanted to give ourselves a chance to try and get back into a Grand Final.
"So the boys dug deep and it was great to get the win in the end."
Geelong’s Chris Scott: "We're all devastated, understandably.
"I think they've just been stellar this season. We have a lot to look forward to.
"We put ourselves in a position where we could've played off in another Grand Final.
"We weren't quite good enough on the night. Hawthorn were."
