SJ
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AFL Premiership Round 2
Geelong V Hawthorn
Geelong V Hawthorn
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Are they right?
Could it be true?
Are the Hawks really the team to beat this year?
After an off season of having their tyres inflated well above the manuals recommendation the Hawks came out, took on major challenge number one and delivered a decisive victory against one of three it was unable to overcome last season. Yes the Pies had some out but the Hawks were a few down too. Hodge, Roughy, Poppy, Bailey would all be in the starting 18 for the wee and poo. The question comes as to do you bring blokes in after such an impressive match. Hodge is doubtful and rushing him back in round 2 doesn’t make sense in such a long season. Roughy and Shiels will be seriously considered but being a Monday game, it’s anyone’s guess at this stage.
As for the cats they started slower than an oil tanker and then proceeded to do everything but put themselves a couple of kicks ahead of an impressive Dockers outfit. The cats lost it above the shoulders giving away half a dozen 50m penalties and a goal (That’s not handy when the siren rings and your 4 points down) thanks to an awkward left from the now suspended Scarlett. His replacement will be intriguing in itself. Like for like (tallish defender I mean) would say Gillies but I have the feeling that it’s more likely to be the run of Byrnes or the other forward option in Brown, who can play all over the ground if not required up forward.
The decisive factor in recent match ups between these two great sides has been Geelong’s height up forward. The cats, particularly Podsy and Otto (probably won’t be a factor this week) and a touch of Hawk in the finals last year, have caused more headaches than a night on the 500ml Woodstocks (not speaking from experience, just an assumption based on having good taste, that means not drinking that evil sugary syrup!!) for the Hawthorn backline. The fact that they held Cloke and Dawes out last week was a big win for Gibson & co and will keep them on the front foot for this rounds challenge. Podsy will be better for the run and Hawk looked to be brimming with confidence jumping at everything and snagging 4 for the night (should’ve been more). Buddy was, well, Buddy. He is such an awesome athlete and Hawthorn should get canned along with the Bulldogs (who seem to get off scot free for picking Griffen, good player but no Buddy) and of course Richmond for not taking him at 1. Yes they still got him but boy can this kid play. Imagine if he gets his confidence up Scarlett’s absence may even see the Hawks reverse the trend of recent time and try and outstretch the cat’s defense, especially if the big Rough finds his way in.
Through the guts will play a big part in deciding the winner. Mitchell is an in and under specialist and if given a free reign, will slice you up faster than any master chef contestant could dream of. Mitchell would’ve been one of the first to pop the bottle of champers when Lingy announced he was hanging up the boots. The reigning premiership captain made life pretty tough over the journey for the Hawk champ but he wasn’t the lone ranger there now was he?
Joel Selwood showed that carrying the (c) next to his name wasn't going to affect his output. Hard, tough and without fear, he will lead from the front to get his team going. Look for another big game from the chosen one.
The one thing that these two sides share is a list of a dozen blokes that can run through the midfield. Importantly too, the majority are as tough as a $2 steak. Mitchell, Sewell, Lewis, Selwood, Bartel, Chapman, Corey the list goes on. Probably the reason behind these sides have been playing it out to the final siren in almost every meeting since you know when (spent too much on therapy to actually type the words). Then there’s Cyril. He is the mystery. Has been great and crap against us in the past and another quiet one will help our cause greatly. Has the ability to impact the game in such a small amount of time and possession so needs to be held, especially early on, to limit his impact.
For the cats the x-factor comes from Stevie J. Will be dirty with his output last week and tends not to string average games together. His best is match winning, finals winning actually so expect him to impact the scoreboard both directly and indirectly with his creative play.
The tall timber is going to be an interesting battle. Hale and McCauley up against West and Stephenson. Going out on a limb here but neither would be the scariest ruck tandem going around. With all that said and done if one gets on top and starts giving first use of the ball to their midfield it will be interesting to see if the opposition pairing can put a stop to it.
With the cats being branded as arrogant during the week, it’ll be game on the day after the Easter Bunny pays a visit. For the Hawks it means a 2 zip buffer on the cats and wins over last years grand finalists in successive weeks. Just imagine the media hype then!! Along with that would be the end of the streak of 7 straight losses, something that will be a little more important at the pointy end of the season. For Geelong its back to level pegging with Hawthorn and probably Collingwood and an easier road ahead in the coming weeks meaning a winning streak can kick into gear.
One thing that we can be sure of is a tough hard slog in the guts with a lot of excitement up forward. The hawks will go in favorites but I’m backing the cats to take the points in yet another see-sawing battle. Geelong by 3 points