Hawthorn 4.5 4.6 9.10 11.15 (81)                
Sydney 1.4 7.4 10.5 14.7 (91)      
 
Goals: Hawthorn - Franklin 3, Breust 2, Gunston 2, Hale 2, Ellis, Smith
Sydney - Jack 2, Kennedy 2, Malceski 2, McVeigh 2, Morton 2, Goodes, Hannebery, Reid, Roberts-Thomson

Best: Hawthorn - Franklin, Sewell, Burgoyne, Mitchell, Breust, Hale,
Sydney - Hannebery, O'Keefe, Kennedy, McVeigh, Jetta, Goodes

Crowd: 99,683 at the MCG

It was not the result the players, coaches, supporters, staff and the Club as a whole were aiming for. On the last Saturday in September, the Hawks fell short.

Defeated by a determined, tough and resilient Sydney team.

That is not to say though, that the Hawks weren’t all those things too, because they were.

They were all that, and more.

After bursting out of the blocks in the opening term, and a breathtaking play on the boundary line by Luke Breust and Paul Puopolo that culminated in a goal to the former, it seemed as though it could have been the Hawks’ day.

But, after squandering a number of chances in front of goal, kicking five behinds in the first term, not building a bigger lead than the 19-point advantage taken into the first break, the Swans pounced.

Their second quarter was Sydney at its best.

After being dominated in the middle in the first term, the Swans were able to break even in the contested ball (36-38) and despite losing the clearances (9-17), the defence and midfield pressure was suffocating the Hawks.

At half time, Sydney out tackled Hawthorn 56-37 and forced crucial turnovers in the middle of the ground. Even when the Hawks did get the ball inside 50, it was under extreme pressure and the backline of Ted Richards, Heath Grundy and Rhyce Shaw in particular had a field day.

The pressure, combined with the relentless effort of Josh Kennedy, Ryan O’Keefe and Daniel Hannebery in the middle, turned the game.

With little impact in the first term, Kennedy opened the second with a burst, kicking a goal in the opening minutes to spark what was to be a six goal to zero quarter.

Kennedy had nine possessions for the term, including two clearances.

But it was O’Keefe doing most of the damage, with his relentless attack on the man and the ball. At half time, O’Keefe had laid eight tackles, had 14 disposals, three clearances and two inside 50s.

There was no space for Hawthorn to work in, the Swans had shut them down and in particular, Lance Franklin’s impact curtailed with just four disposals in the second quarter. He was best on ground in the opening term with 10 possessions and a goal.

His opportunities were limited, with the Hawks managing only 11 inside 50s, when it had 18 in the opening quarter.

Josh Gibson was ineffective in his “third man up” role, as Sydney coach John Longmire got the match-up he wanted, Adam Goodes on Gibson.

Goodes drew the ball, and so Gibson was forced to be accountable. He was taken all over the field, and the Swans forwards worked together to separate the Hawks’ defence.

That meant, that Ryan Schoenmakers, Shaun Burgoyne and Ben Stratton were exposed, as the Sydney forwards had too much time and space.

His opportunities were limited, with the Hawks managing only 11 inside 50s, when it had 18 in the opening quarter.

As has been the case for the Hawks on a number of occasions this season, the playing group never gave up despite falling behind by 27 points.

Led by Brad Sewell (eight clearances) and Sam Mitchell (seven) in the middle, the Hawks found time and space and their run from defence.

It was the Hawthorn we know and love, and it was devastating in its attack on goal.

In the blink of an eye, the Swans’ 27-point lead was gone, and the Hawks were in front.

Franklin again became a factor, kicking two goals for the quarter and dished off another.

When Isaac Smith put the Hawks in front with a brilliant running goal from 50, it seemed as though the Hawks were going to break the game open.

And it did, in the opening 10 minutes of the final term as Breust and David Hale kicked the opening two goals to give the Hawks an 11-point advantage. Misses to Lance Franklin and Matt Suckling proved costly, as Sydney locked the game down, closing up all the space in which the Hawks had done the damage.

The Swans ended the match with an incredible 110 tackles. They did what they needed to do to close up the game, and every one of their players did their bit. Led by O’Keefe with 15 tackles.

Then, as they so often do, the Swans attacked relentlessly for five minutes and took their chances. First it was Hannebery, then it was Kieran Jack and Adam Goodes who put the Swans in front.

The Hawks couldn’t find the space, and the final two snaps from Brad Sewell told the story, as the best he could do was squeeze out a kick from the congestion for two behinds.

Then, the killer blow as Nick Malceski goaled with a minute on the clock.

And the rest was history.

The siren rang to anoint the Swans, and break Hawk hearts.

It came down to pressure and efficiency, and the Swans did both better than the Hawks.

It won the tackle count 110-84 and found a teammate 73 per cent of the time compared to the Hawks’ 63.

The Swans were more efficient, that was the difference, particularly when going forward, with 21 scoring shots from 43 inside 50s for a return of 14.7.

Compare that with Hawthorn’s 26 scoring shots from 61 entries for 11.15.

That’s how the Swans walked away with the cup.

It was not the desired result from a game that promised so much.

But, the effort, commitment, passion and strength in which the Hawthorn group played with was what Hawks fans had come to expect.

It was ALWAYS HAWTHORN.

What Alastair Clarkson said: You can go through 120 minutes of footy, and every player and every coach is going to find something they thought they could have done better.

"You add all those things up, and you lose the game of footy.

"They just had a little bit more polish when they went forward than what we did.

"We had a lot of opportunities and we just couldn't finish, and our inside 50 entries weren't polished enough to give us a chance.

"It was a great effort by our guys to get themselves right back into the game by three-quarter time.

"We won some of the stats in the midfield that we're searching for in terms of contested ball and clearances, and with the way we play our footy, that usually converts into a victory for us.

"It didn't on this occasion, but you've just got to keep turning up.

"They're big games, they're hard to win, and we didn't get it today, but it's not going to stop us from going damn hard across the summer and trying to go again."