Adelaide 4.1 7.3 10.4 14.8 (92)
Goals: Hawthorn - Franklin 3, Breust 2, Gunston 2, Rioli 2, Young, Shiels, Burgoyne, Suckling
Adelaide - Tippett 4, Walker 4, Henderson, Sloane, Smith, van Berlo, Porplyzia, Johncock
Best: Hawthorn - Sewell, Rioli, Mitchell, Breust, Lewis, Birchall, Franklin, Young
Adelaide - Tippett, Dangerfield, Thompson, Porplyzia, Sloane, Vince, Douglas
Crowd: 69, 146 at the MCG
The Hawks qualified for the 2012 AFL Grand Final with a thrilling and hard-fought five-point win over Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday evening.
It was everything a final should be, and with that, everything a match should hold when two teams are battling it out for the chance to compete for the 2012 premiership.
As is the case in most finals, it came down to individual efforts in the dying stages to win the game, and on Saturday, it was a story that unfolded with three names most spoken about in the hours and days afterwards.
Cyril Rioli, Shaun Burgoyne and Ben Stratton.
A Graham Johncock goal to put Adelaide in front with 5:23 remaining made the moments that followed even more important, as the Hawks trio etched their names into preliminary final history.
As Johncock’s goal sailed through the goals at the City end of the MCG, it is interesting to note that Ben Stratton was centimetres away from preventing it.
The dour Hawthorn defender left his man, Johncock, to pressure the ball carrier and attempt to smother the kick only to have it just clear his hands.
It got to Johncock and he put the Crows in the box seat.
That was until Shaun Burgoyne and Cyril Rioli stepped in.
Crow Sam Jacobs got the hit out, as he had done for the majority of the game, but it was Shaun Burgoyne who read it best.
He pushed his opponent, Patrick Dangerfield until the ball, grabbed it and stormed from the stoppage with one thing on his mind.
To get it into the hot spot, 20m out from his team’s goal.
Rioli was out of position.
But the fleet footed dynamo somehow got himself to the fall of the ball, as his opponent fell to the ground.
Rioli jumped, and clutched a telling mark before slotting the goal that gave the Hawks the advantage.
Then, just a minute later, it wqs Stratton’s turn again.
With 4:07 on the clock, the ball was kicked to Dangerfield’s feet, as Stratton used his pace and athleticism to keep the pressure on the Adelaide star.
Dangerfield tried to turn him inside out, but it was almost as if Stratton had seen that play from him before.
He knew what he was going to do. And he was ready for it.
He lunged, and laid the perfect tackle around Dangerfield’s waist to dispossess him.
Then it was Rioli’s time again.
Matt Suckling cleared the ball after the Stratton tackle. It was roved by Liam Shiels who used his quick hands and great vision to release Breust who showed great composure to move the ball forward to the advantage of Jordan Lewis.
The kick was too long for the Hawks Vice-Captain though, and so it was Rioli’s time once again.
He out-bodied his man, Michael Doughty, to give Lewis the run.
Lewis dove, and pushed the ball into Rioli’s path.
Rioli was as clean as he ever is. In a pressure situation, he didn’t fumble.
He scooped up the ball with his left hand, and secured it with his right.
He took a bounce and quickly released to Lance Franklin as Ben Rutten tried valiantly to smother it.
Franklin ran into an open goal and sealed what would be a famous win for the Hawks.
It was a match that had it all. Desperation, skill, passion, commitment. It was as physical as it was breathtaking.
But it was an inaccurate Hawthorn who arguably kept the Crows in the game by kicking six, five, four and five behinds in each of the quarters.
It was a domination in the inside 50s, 64-38, but the Hawks didn’t make them pay both on the scoreboard and in general play.
Hawthorn finished the match with a kicking efficiency of 66 per cent. Adelaide finished with 69 per cent.
And when the key performance indicators are even, that kicking efficiency become even more crucial.
The clearances were tight, 34-33, but the Hawks won the hard ball, 141-126.
From all the dominance of play, and weight of numbers going forward, the Hawks took just 11 marks inside 50 from 64 entries. The Crows took 12 from 38.
The Crows took their chance, the Hawks didn’t. The Hawks could have sealed the win earlier.
But, when it’s all said and done, the Hawks are into the 2012 Grand Final.
And the rest is history.
Performances worth noting
Sam Mitchell: He had 29 disposals and was clearly the best Hawk on the ground at half time. He was clean and could find a teammate when others around him couldn’t. He finished the game with 29 disposals, seven clearances, six tackles and an incredible nine inside 50s.Luke Breust: He has come a long way in just one season, Breust is now a key player in Hawthorn’s forward set up. He has been outstanding in the two finals to date and was excellent on Saturday. He gathered 23 disposals, had six inside 50s and kicked 2.3 from half forward.
Lance Franklin: Franklin kicked an inaccurate 3.5 for the game, but he looked dangerous all game and had the Crows defence worried every time he went near the ball. That left the door open for Rioli and Breust to have an impact. It is an at times, a selfless Franklin who graces the MCG.
Xavier Ellis: The midfielder was thrown a defensive role on Adelaide’s Brent Reilly and he performed it well. Reilly has been the Crows’ best rebounder from defence this season and his impact on the match was limited by Ellis’ work.
What Alastair Clarkson said: “Big games require some pretty special moments sometimes”
“Our whole team handed the last couple of minutes of the game pretty well.
"We need guys stepping up at crucial times and both those boys did that at the crucial moment."
“We perhaps just didn't get the type of conversion we would've liked in the first quarter to put some genuine scoreboard pressure on Adelaide.
"That just made it a real tight contest from the get-go.
"There's been plenty of times in games where poor kicking actually costs you, and we're lucky tonight that it didn't.”
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