THE 2008 GRAND FINAL: Hawthorn vs Geelong Discussion Thread

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Old school Hawk

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Sep 1, 2008
149
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Shall I tell this bloke?
Spot,
until next week when you can, either apologize or go to town on me. you may have finished x-amount of games on top, but A.F.L. history is made up of "B grade" teams taking home the silver ware.
You are probably only a child, so I will only bring your attention to recent history when a little group of up comers in Brisbane took out the Bombers in 2001 after the bombers were clearly the best side for the previous 3 years.
Port Adelaides story would shut you up to, if you consider they were the "best side" for 4-5 years, only to capitalize on it the once.
I like Geelong for their style on the field & their humble manner & they should be favorites going in this week, but I'll tell you something that isnt to revelatory, This week your only a 50/50 chance of taking the honours, I guarantee you that it will not be a white wash like last year.
 
Lol, because you spelling players wrong doesn't count because your team finished on the top of the ladder? Also a full stop then an exclamation mark isn't necessary. Also, borard isn't a word. Maybe invest in schooling?

You give Geelong, Geelong supporters and Football supporters in general a bad name. When the game is done and there is a result then you can either gloat or crawl back into the hole you have been dorment in since Geelong won a Grand Final prior to 2007.
 

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Play by Numbers

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 16, 2007
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I still remember watching the 1991 Grand Final(as a 7 year old) and being heart broken when you beat my mighty Eagles lol. Instead of inspiring some kind of life long resentment Iv always held the Hawks as a team in high reguard. Best of luck to Hawthorn and I hope you beat the Cats. Saturdays game was such a gutsy performance and the Hawks at present are so exciting to watch. They have been my second team this year in a year of dissapointments lol:eek:. A win this week from Hawthorn would be awesome to see.:thumbsu:
 

Cynic

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Jul 13, 2006
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How important is the ruck contest this week?

Ottens is definately the only A Grader in this department and his ability to win the ruck and kick goals makes this position our most vulnerable across the field.
 

Hawk-in-syd

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Feb 9, 2007
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i sense a good bit of biff early one and am drooling at he thought - Brown, Hodge, Lewis, Guerra, Campbell - Mooney, Rooke, Milburn, Chapman....as they say in boxing "LLLLLLLLLLLLETS GET READY TO RUUUMMMMMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLE"



P.S - where will the hawks CHEER SQUAD be - hopefully back at the punt road end as our tickets are in M4 and i would hate to be near the Cats cheer squad
Don't know where the cheer squad will be but I'm in M4 too. Hope their close because it will give my missus the sh**s because shes a geelong supporter. Can 't wait, I'm so pumped and think we can give it a real go. Just so rapped to be back playing in the GF. Went to my first in 83 then 84 sucked, 85 horrible, 86 great day as whole family are Cartank supporters, 87 hot and sunburned and got cr#p from my brother for the whole year, 89 & 91 awesome days. In 91 got dropped off home in a divvy van by two Hawk supporting cops.
 

johnnyb

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Sep 18, 2008
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Am also from Sydney and got a ticket today

can't wait for this saturday to come

COME ON THE HAWKERZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
 

a.f.k.a.y.o.p.

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Aug 2, 2006
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Firstly good to see that we have finally gotten rid of that geelong supporter who was telling us all his reasons why mark williams wouldn't be playing.
Secondly, we have to stop those cocky geelong supporters from saying that they have already got the premiership all sewn up. They haven't played in the grand final this year. We are on the eve of a great game and I reckon that the same thing will happen to Geelong as it did 19 years ago. We won by a goal.
Dude we dont al think it is wrapped up at all. You get the odd flog who does, but most of us are quietly keeping the lid on - again.
Im hoping for a geelog win, obviously, but dont think there will be much in it at all.
So good luck for the game, i will be there (thank god) and actually gave my spare ticket to a long time friend who is a hawks fan, so we can both experience the day. Lets make it a cracker!!
 

chaddles

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Mar 21, 2007
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I have been so pumped ever since I found out I got a ticket!! My palms have been sweaty in anticipation of this game. I truly believe that we are in with a massive show. Coming from a small farming community in Riverina NSW, I remember watching the Hawks win a few premierships on tv - now I actually get to be there as we attempt to go for number 10!! Definitely a dream come true.

Carn the Hawks!!
 
Aug 31, 2008
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THE LINE-UP:

G. Birchall.............S. Gilham..............B. Guerra
M. Stokes.............T. Lonergan..........P. Chapman

T. Murphy.............T. Croad..............L. Hodge
S. Johnson............C. Mooney...........M. Rooke

C. Young..............S. Mitchell...........J. Lewis
J. Selwood............C. Ling................J. Corey

S. Crawford...........L. Franklin............M. Osbourne
C. Enright..............H. Taylor.............D. Milburn

C. Rioli.................J. Roughead..........C. Brown
T. Harley..............M. Scarlett...........J. Hunt

Foll:
R. Campbell, C. Bateman, B. Sewell
.......B. Ottens, G. Ablett, J. Bartel

Int:
B. Renouf/S. Taylor, R. Ladson, S. Dew, M. Williams
....................M. Blake, D. Wojinski, A. Mackie, J. Kelly

------

THE TACTIS:

Bateman v Ablett - Bateman's shown he can tag quality, albeit lazy, players out of the game. But not only that, he's proven he can really hurt sides going the other way. He's probably the only one in our side that could keep up with Ablett on the burst, and has a bigger tank so has the ability to push the other way.

Sewell v Bartel - This depends on whether or not Bartel starts in the middle. I figure he will. Both are genuine hard nuts that will win the ball and push off to make position further up the field. I'd like to see this one happen as Sewell is obviously a quality tagger when given a 'role,' and if he's in/around the packs he's liable to win his own clearances too. He should be able to keep up with Bartel over the ground.

Lewis v Corey - My two favourite players, and would definitely look forward to this one. Corey will get big number regardless of who's playing on him, will win clearances and push hard to help out the defence/run from the backline. Lewis is our best clearance player, reads the play extremely well and is tough as nails, he always pushes hard into space and can kick a goal. Would expect him to play off Corey ala Cross in the first Final. If left unnoticed he will definitely hurt Geelong, so hopefully he could keep Corey honest.

Murphy v Johnson - Perfect sized match-up. Murphy played a blinder when moved onto Johnson last time. I read in the paper today he had 22 possessions to Johnson's 5. Will definitely take that, but his prime role will be to force Johnson up the ground. Wouldn't mind if Johnson gets 20+ touches if that happens.

Questionable:

Sewell v Corey - For the same reasons given with the Bartel match-up. Will win his own ball in/around the packs, both are fantastic clearance players.

Sewell v Ablett - If the Bateman matchup's not working to plan Sewell's the next obvious choice, provided Ablett's playing in the middle. Hopefully is able to push Ablett to the outside of the packs, though if he's given half an inch when the ball finds its way into his hands then expect him to be off. Hence I think Bateman's the best choice.

Crawford v Milburn - Milburn wont be able to keep up, and will definitely try to peel off. Will be risky having Crawf chasing kicks up the field while Milburn's able to move around the backline. But if Crawf gets some telling touches early expect Geelong to make a change. I would hope Crawford's able to pull Milburn out of the game, somewhat.

Same could be said with a match-up against Enright. In fact on second thought that may be the best option, Crawford will definitely keep Enright accountable, and is still good enough to win lots of his own ball. Though this leaves Osborne’s high marking prowess up against Milburn, who is a quality defender - I’m assuming Enright isn’t as solid overhead as Milburn.

Either would be interchangeable, though.

Birchall v Stokes - We all know how important Birchall is to our style of play, his (usually) fantastic long kick is essential in setting up our run/play from the backline. As for Stokes; he reminds me alot of Milne in that he's a bit of a front-runner who doesn't really like the heat. Now I don't really want to see Birchall defending on the last-line, which is exactly what Geelong might do if they use this matchup to their advantage.

But seeing as he hasn't been in the best of form of late I could see him pushing up the field a bit to chase a kick - not that he doesn't do that anyway due to Geelongs style of play - which would be beneficial for us as Birchall would be up around the wings/defensive 50 when he gets the ball where he can use his long kick to maximum effect. Birchall could also push off Stokes, but this could leave us exposed down back if we turn it over.

If this match-up goes wrong Ladson is the obvious choice, Guerra's another.

The little things:


Brown being moved down back onto Chapman.

I'd rather not see Guerra chasing Chapman around as he will not be able to keep up, he has the body size but not the motor. Plus his skills are far too valuable to be wasted worrying about his man the whole time. Thus I think Brown could be the ideal candidate for Chapman if he's getting too many kicks early. He's quicker, tough and a strong defender.

Can do the job, though this obviously leaves us without that extra pressure-inducing player in our forward 50.

Harry Taylor on Franklin early.

I can see Geelong going with this as they'd no doubt like to free up Mackie, and use him as a last resort. If Franklin gets some early touches I'd expect to see Mackie moved onto him. Hopefully Franklin does something to spark some confidence, because taking Mackie out of the game, whilst playing well for us = a double victory.

Harley on Rioli.

Due to Rioli's inexperience I could see Geelong putting their captain on him. We've all seen how good Harley can be chopping off the leads and intercepting passes, so they may try to exploit Rioli's inexperience from the start.

No doubt Rioli will be a real threat around goals, and even up the field. I'd like to see this match-up happen as I think Rioli could do enough for us. But I expect to see Wojinski moved onto him as soon as it looks like Rioli's getting the ascendency.
 

bak2bak8889

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Mar 13, 2007
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judd2sewell... I like the way you think. The only thing I will add is that bateman will go to J,Selwood... This bloke goes under the radar ALOT because of a crack midfield so I think Chance will shut him down and hurt him going the other way..... Lots of options but thats what I think after watching him destroy DelSanto.... Cheers to everyone and HOPE you all have the BEST GRAND FINAL EVER,,,,,,,,Go the HAWKS!!!!! P.S Crawford you are a superstar
 
Nov 23, 2000
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Just thought id drop in and wish the Hawks all the best this Saturday.While there has been somewhat of a healthy[Some bitter :D] rivalry between posters of both clubs here on BF since 2005,I for one will put it all behind me and barrack for you guys this week.[Not that my youngest daughter would allow me to go for the cats anyway].Go Hawks do it for my Daughter :):thumbsu:
 

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browneyyy30

Rookie
May 19, 2008
26
0
eastern suburbs
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I have been lucky enough to gain tickets in the ballot, however my mother and sister missed out... they're distraught and would love any opportunity to gain tickets to the GF. Perhaps it's not ur team in the final and you're thinking of off-loading some tickets? (Would be interested in any offer) PM me please
 
Just heard on SEN that Travis Varcoe is iffy with soreness from last week and that Thompson has said there are 3 or 4 with niggles.

You beeeeaauuttyyyyy:thumbsu:

I wonder if that's an excuse to drop him after Bomber said that he wouldn't?
 

pro_punter

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Feb 21, 2007
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Good luck on the weekend boys, hope you get the job done. One thing that worries me from a Hawks point of view is if Geelong play Ottens forward, along with Lonergan and Mooney, do you have enough down back to cover that. You have Gilham and Croad any other tall options.
 
Aug 31, 2008
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Good luck on the weekend boys, hope you get the job done. One thing that worries me from a Hawks point of view is if Geelong play Ottens forward, along with Lonergan and Mooney, do you have enough down back to cover that. You have Gilham and Croad any other tall options.

Robbie Campbell's been touted as becoming our 'gorilla' defender for a few years now. He'll simply follow Ottens down the ground, though this would mean young Renouf (if he keeps his spot) will be left to do all the rucking duties against Blake.
 

Neville Bartos

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Mar 7, 2004
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Something worries me about team selection this week.

If Murphy comes in (which he HAS to) to take Steve Johnson, who goes out? It has to be someone out of Ladson (Clarko's favourite not going anywhere), Ellis (played super well last time and is a reliable back-up midfielder should Mitch/Sewell/Lewis go missing) or Young (we'll miss his run through space and his massive kicks into the forwardline).

Then there's the Renouf or Taylor problem, with both players being a potential liability in the game.

I'm not looking forward to 5pm. The who realisation that we're in the big one on Saturday will be pretty clear by then
 

Anthemy

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Sep 4, 2008
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Hoping it's not X out for murphy as i am rapt with his year thus far. i do realise that we NEED murphy to play though, will be still upset.
 

raff23

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Dec 2, 2007
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Ladson doesn't add much to the team so it wouldn't be a big loss if he is omitted. Tom Murphy MUST play, absolutely pantsed Johnson last time and if it wasn't for hodgey giving geelong the ball he wouldn't have got that last goal. Ladson would probably pick up a stokes or varcoe type player but i think we can afford to put birch onto stokes and create run and carry going the other way, Ladson is more opponent orientated and won't create run as much. Leave X to take Varcoe and release Guerra into his quarterback role which would mean Browny has to go back onto chapman. The orders for chapman's man would be to run him all over the place to test out the hammy, hopefully we get him worried about and lose a bit of focus, it could happen. Most importantly we must block or take rooke out legally to allow hodgey to dictate terms across half back, this is pivotal to us winning the game.
 

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