THE Hawks have gone down to Geelong by five points in a bruising encounter at the MCG Saturday night.

The 13.10 (88) to 13.5 (83) victory was the Cats' second over the Hawks this season and came after they reeled in a 17-point deficit in the final quarter.

The last time Hawthorn lost this year was indeed against the Cats in round five, that time by 19 points.

The recent rivalry between the two sides promised an exciting encounter, and the 63,000-plus crowd would not have been disappointed with the tight result. It is the seventh time in nine games that the final margin has been less than two goals.

The Cats failed to kick a goal in the third quarter but the Hawks found themselves in a similar position to their opponent in the fourth and couldn't score a goal.

Geelong's three-goal effort in the final term - along with some strong defence as the Hawks pushed forward again and again in the dying seconds - sealed the result.

The Hawks have not beaten the Cats since their 2008 Grand Final triumph, and despite holding their biggest lead of the game at three-quarter time, could not update their record to include a more recent winning result.

Their evening was soured even more in the final term when forward Jarryd Roughead was stretchered from the field with a suspected Achilles injury.

Roughead was uncontested and had simply accelerated from a standing start when he collapsed to the turf and instantly indicated to the bench he required medical assistance.

Clinton Young was also in the wars and subbed out of the game late in the second term with an injury to the back of his leg.

He was replaced by "super-sub" Luke Breust, who has been the Hawks' substitute player for the past five games.

Influential players
James Podsiadly had his previous career-best tally of five goals, achieved on six occasions last year, surpassed by half-time. He easily out-marked Josh Gibson several times and was even beating the Hawks' backman to the ball before Ryan Schoenmakers stepped in for a turn. He ended with 6.1 and was involved in two final-term goals despite struggling when the Hawks double-teamed him after the break.

When the Hawks got a five-goal run on early in the second quarter, it was Sam Mitchell who got them going in the engine room. After a reasonably quiet first quarter (seven touches), the former skipper got moving to find the ball 14 times in the second. He also had two of the Hawks' 12 clearances for the quarter - and four for the half - to his name.

FIRST QUARTER
In doubt during the week with a calf injury, it didn't take long for Lance Franklin to exert his influence when he kicked the first goal of the match after a patient build-up from defence. But the rest of the term was dominated by Geelong, with the Hawks struggling to find a way through the Cats' forward press. Podsiadly was causing major headaches for his opponent Josh Gibson, with two first-quarter goals and the assisting of another to Travis Varcoe.

The free-kick count also raised the ire of Hawthorn supporters when it read 12-to-1 in favour of Chris Scott's men for the quarter.
Geelong by 19 points

SECOND QUARTER
The Hawks needed a quick goal and it was Jordan Lewis who delivered within a minute of the restart. It sparked the brown and gold into life and they kicked five unanswered goals. The Cats were making mistakes in the back half with a questionable 50m penalty against Jimmy Bartel, an errant kick across goal by Daniel Menzel and a missed tackle from Matthew Scarlett, all leading to Hawthorn goals. Isolating the J-Pod on Gibson was the way forward for the Cats with the 29-year old unstoppable. Podsiadly had a career-best six goals by half-time as Alastair Clarkson shifted Ryan Schoenmakers onto the big man. In a tale of two halves, the Hawks kicked the first five goals of the term before the Cats kicked five unanswered, four of which belonged to the J-Pod. Two late goals to the Hawks gave their side some momentum heading into the half-time break and allowed everyone to catch their breath after a blistering 12-goal second term.
Geelong by six points

THIRD QUARTER
After the sensational first half, the second half started in subdued fashion before a moment of brilliance from Mitchell. With the ball up for grabs in the middle, the former Hawthorn captain beat the clutches of Joel Corey and Steve Johnson before releasing Cyril Rioli, who set up Shane Savage for a memorable goal. Franklin was beginning to muscle his way into the match, beating three Cats to snap one of his trademark goals then setting up Michael Osborne with an unselfish pass. Geelong needed someone to support Podsiadly, with the Hawks swarming the big man at every opportunity. When "super-sub" Breust brought down Cats captain Cameron Ling and kicked truly, the Hawks' lead was out to three goals as the Cats failed to register a single goal for the quarter.
Hawthorn by 17 points

FOURTH QUARTER
The Hawks, who haven't lost a final quarter since their round five loss to the Cats, started with an early set shot from Breust on a tight angle that ended out of bounds. Steve Johnson answered at the other end, and when Menzel snapped another goal within a minute, the Cats were within a goal. Some sensational work on the wing by Joel Selwood to keep the ball alive ended in the hands of Stevie J again, and the game had turned on its head. Disaster struck for the Hawks midway through the quarter with Roughead leaving the ground on a stretcher after suffering an Achilles injury. With the Cats controlling play, missed chances to Selwood kept the Hawks in with a sniff. But the Cats held their opponents at bay to record a memorable win, despite Hawthorn fans wanting a free kick to Franklin for hands in the back late in the match.
Geelong wins by five points.

The next four
Hawthorn: Alastair Clarkson's men travel to Tasmania next week to face Gold Coast, before they line up for blockbuster clashes against Essendon and Collingwood at the MCG. The Hawks then return to the Apple Isle to take on the Brisbane Lions in round 16.

Geelong      5.2  10.2   10.6   13.10 (88)
Hawthorn  2.1   9.2    13.5   13.5 (83)

GOALS
Geelong: Podsiadly 6, Johnson 2, Chapman, Vardy, Varcoe, Stokes, Menzel
Hawthorn: Franklin 4, Sewell, Young, Lewis, Rioli, Whitecross, Renouf, Savage, Osborne, Breust

BEST
Geelong: Podsiadly, Kelly, Enright, Chapman, Selwood, Johnson
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Franklin, Shiels, Sewell, Rioli, Lewis

INJURIES
Geelong: Nil
Hawthorn: Max Bailey (cork) replaced in the selected side by Brent Renouf, Young (hamstring), Roughead (Achilles), Guerra (cheekbone)

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Travis Varcoe replaced by Darren Milburn at three-quarter time. Hawthorn: Clinton Young (hamstring) replaced by Luke Breust during the second quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: McBurney, Farmer, Findlay

Official crowd: 63, 476 at MCG

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL