Watch highlights from the Round 2 match against Geelong.

Geelong 4.1 7.3 10.7 14.8  (92)           
Hawthorn 3.4 8.6 13.7 13.12 (90)   
                   
Goals: Geelong - Podsiadly 5, Hawkins 3, Johnson 3, Bartel 2, Smedts
Hawthorn - Lewis 3, Franklin 2, Rioli 2, Whitecross 2, Hale, Mitchell, Roughead, Suckling

Best: Geelong - Hawkins, Bartel, Selwood, Podsiadly, Corey, Lonergan, Christensen, Enright
Hawthorn - Mitchell, Rioli, Whitecross, Lewis, Franklin, Burgoyne

Crowd: 69,231 at MCG

It was a result all too familiar to the Hawks the last time Geelong and Hawthorn met at the MCG.

In Round 2, an Easter Monday blockbuster attracted almost 70,000 fans, all of whom were glued to their seats until the finals seconds of the match, as the Cats snatched a 2-point win over a gallant Hawthorn.

Despite taking an 18-point lead into the final change, the Hawks failed to register a major in the final term, as the Cats piled on four unanswered goals in a thrilling final quarter.

The Hawks were left to rue missed opportunities to seal the game, with Lance Franklin, Michael Osborne and Shane Savage all squandering opportunities to kick a steadier for the Hawks.

As expected, the game was hotly contested, with the ability to win the football in close important. Both sides were ferocious in their attack, both at the ball and the man, with a total of 153 tackles being laid over the course of the match.

The Hawks won the key performance indicators - contested possessions (160-150), clearances (39-38), tackles (83-70) and inside 50s (55-53), but were unable to capitalise.

Geelong forwards James Podsiadly and Tom Hawkins were dominant, with Podsiadly proving a handful for the Hawks defence all day. He kicked five goals and had 15 disposals, while partner Hawkins gathered 22 disposals, kicked three goals and took six contested marks.

The difference between the two sides was their ability to use the ball efficiently going forward.

The Cats were as crafty as ever, moving the ball quickly to spot up targets inside 50. Their quick ball movement restricted Hawthorn’s ability to get numbers back to help young defender Ryan Schoenmakers, who had his hands full with Hawkins.

Geelong’s quick and precise ball movement led to 17 marks within scoring range, and more importantly, scoring opportunities close to goal. 11 of Geelong’s goals were kicked within 35m of goal, including four from the goal square.

The Hawks on the other hand struggled to spot up a target inside 50, managing just eight marks inside the arc. That meant that the Hawks had more trouble converting their opportunities, thus ending the match with an inaccurate 13 goals 12 compared to Geelong’s 14.8.

Sam Mitchell was Hawthorn’s best, with 31 disposals, however, 21 of those came in the first half. Geelong midfielder Taylor Hunt did an outstanding job on the Hawks’ clearance machine, holding him to just 10 disposals in the second half.

For the Cats, it was Joel Selwood (25 disposals) and Jimmy Bartel (20 disposals, two goals) who led the way in the middle.

What the coaches said:
Hawthorn’s Alastair Clarkson: “We had our chances, but we just didn’t take them. We won nearly every measurement except the most important one.

“The manner in which the sides went into their forward lines was different.

“We know how good a side they are, and we just haven’t been good enough to get there, we’re confident in our group that we will, but we need to be a bit better than what we were today."

Geelong’s Chris Scott: “We made a few coaching blues in the first half, in retrospect, we would have started the game differently.

“He (Hawkins) just looked too big and strong there at times.

“I feel like we’re seeing the fruits of some of the things we were talking about and hoping for 12 months ago.”