AFL 2025 Second Preliminary Final - Cats v Hawks Fri Sept 19th 7:40pm EST (MCG)

[STPer18]

I have read many melts on here but nothing like this. I’m astounded

It's been bubbling all year across multiple threads, this was the final straw for the 'neutrals' I think.

 

[sleep]

It will absolutely crush your very little heart if the Cats dont win, wont you? If you somehow lose I fully expect a melt 2017 QF style (losing to an MCG club at ‘home’).

Will you blame the noise if you lose?

u around?

 

[Hawkk]

u around?

Never left. As I said, all week it played completely to script. Geelong is objectively a 5-7 goal a game better team than Hawthorn and will be until Hawthorn fix up their midfield.

Having watched the Hawks v Lions (Gabba), GWS (Sydney), Adelaide (Adelaide Oval) and Cats all live nothing changed my opinion of that. It was one of the most predictable finals I've watched (where the top seed had a gap go the 3rd). Our only hope was to get in front early and get our crowd on side (which we did) but the Cats class shown through after quarter time and by the second half if was just relentless service from the middle.

I'm just hoping Brisbane can find a way to win today because I really rank that matchup in a Grand Final. If, and its a bit if, we can get Petracca, Merrett and a fully fit Day back, Easter Monday will be an incredible match next year. IMO this year was an incredibly coaching achievement to make top 4 with a clearly deficient list.

I think even the most biased Hawthorn can see that there is a clear gap between both teams atm. Its up the trade and list team to now close it…

 

[sleep]

Never left. As I said, all week it played completely to script. Geelong is objectively a 5-7 goal a game better team than Hawthorn and will be until Hawthorn fix up their midfield.

Having watched the Hawks v Lions (Gabba), GWS (Sydney), Adelaide (Adelaide Oval) and Cats all live nothing changed my opinion of that. It was one of the most predictable finals I've watched (where the top seed had a gap go the 3rd). Our only hope was to get in front early and get our crowd on side (which we did) but the Cats class shown through after quarter time and by the second half if was just relentless service from the middle.

I'm just hoping Brisbane can find a way to win today because I really rank that matchup in a Grand Final.

If, and its a bit if, we can get Petracca, Merrett and a fully fit Day back, Easter Monday will be an incredible match next year. IMO this year was an incredibly coaching achievement to make top 4 with a clearly deficient list.

Trac and Merrett. Both?

How do you fix the KPFs?

 

[SSSSSS]

Trac and Merrett. Both?

How do you fix the KPFs?

I don't think we really have a problem with KPFs anymore.

A combination of Chol/Lewis/Gunston/Dear is something to work with.

 

[sleep]

I don't think we really have a problem with KPFs anymore.

A combination of Chol/Lewis/Gunston/Dear is something to work with.

Chol - lazy
Lewis - Injured
Gunston - On the way out
Dear - Needs time.

A bunch of B graders + Gunston.

 

[Hawkk]

Trac and Merrett. Both?

How do you fix the KPFs?

So you want a proper discussion on this? Cool…

We don’t. If anything we can afford to give up KPF assets. Last night showed that our forward line was highly efficient...




So where did we spanked? The same place we did in the four games we played against the Lions and Cats…




Hawthorn is most obvious team in the comp to fix. It won't win a flag until they can at least get 40 per cent of the clearances. You can't win a cut throat final against the best losing centre clearances 20-5. That's nonsense…

 

[Hawkk]

Chol - lazy
Lewis - Injured
Gunston - On the way out
Dear - Needs time.

A bunch of B graders + Gunston.

Okay. Cool. It functioned perfectly fine last night. Re Gunston, that's like me seeing the Cats relied on a 36 year old to get them over the line which is nonsense. If we add Petrecca that's also another option up forward…

 

[SSSSSS]

Chol - lazy
Lewis - Injured
Gunston - On the way out
Dear - Needs time.

A bunch of B graders + Gunston.

The perception that Chol is lazy is an unfair myth.

He averages the equal highest pressure act of any key forward (shared with Riccardi) and equal second (with Neale) for most tackles as a key forward behind Riccardi.

He cracked in hard last night (6 tackles) and has done so all year.

40 goals as forward/ruck is a great return.

Dear will be a gun. If Lewis gets a full preseason I can see him getting back to his best. Was great yesterday before he ran out of legs.

 

[ceebsaf]

Imagine if Adelaide won a finals game.
Even 1 of 8 quarters in the finals.

You guys would have at least had an enjoyable finals series rather than being embarrassed with the pathetic performance from your club.

A club so exposed going into the 2026 season without much hope…….

I’d know who we would all have our money on out of the 2.

Nah

 

[sleep]

Okay. Cool. It functioned perfectly fine last night. Re Gunston, that's like me seeing the Cats relied on a 36 year old to get them over the line which is nonsense. If we add Petrecca that's also another option up forward…

Cats lost Corio Tommy + Henry. Dont get me wrong i hope the Hawks stay with this fwd line set up. They wont win a flag with the current set up.

Not to mention Witches Hat Watson is nothing more than icing on a cake.

I rate Moore, he's a player that can win finals.

Get us over the line? Make no mistake, we smacked the hawks.

 

[ceebsaf]

Cats lost Corio Tommy + Henry. Dont get me wrong i hope the Hawks stay with this fwd line set up. They wont win a flag with the current set up.

Not to mention Witches Hat Watson is nothing more than icing on a cake.

I rate Moore, he's a player that can win finals.

Hoks too busy drinking their own bathwater and tik tokking about it. Even when we lost. Collingwood fans far more respectable on bf.

Hawks fans just embrassasing and pathetic in general.

 

[Hawkk]

Cats lost Corio Tommy + Henry. Dont get me wrong i hope the Hawks stay with this fwd line set up. They wont win a flag with the current set up.

Not to mention Witches Hat Watson is nothing more than icing on a cake.

I rate Moore, he's a player that can win finals.

I agree with that — which is why we need Petrecca like I said. We also need improvement from Dear (who played six games this year) and make a decision on Lewis (who I would trade to get Petrecca info the side). A fully fit Will Day, Wettle and the inclusions definitely moves the needle. We can also push Josh Battle forward if need be.

But I appreciate the concern…

 

[Hawkk]

Hoks too busy drinking their own bathwater and tik tokking about it. Even when we lost. Collingwood fans far more respectable on bf.

Hawks fans just embrassasing and pathetic in general.

Adelaide’s biggest flaw - apart from the rampant homophobia - is Matty Nicks. You can't win a finals quarter with an idiot as coach...

 

[Cool Kangas]

I have read many melts on here but nothing like this. I’m astounded

If they’re from hawthorn supporters then hahaha. They come across as obnoxious as their players and coach.

 

[MisterMarcus]

I have read many melts on here but nothing like this. I’m astounded

Funniest thing is, they’re probably thinking “Bruh I’m landing some knockout punches here”

Not realising they look like 5 year olds throwing a tantrum because they dropped their ice cream….

 

[Lunchlady Doris]

How can nobody tackle Atkins so he can't handball?

They don't call him Axe for nothing. Unstoppable.

 

[StackedHunch]

Cats lost Corio Tommy + Henry. Dont get me wrong i hope the Hawks stay with this fwd line set up. They wont win a flag with the current set up.

Not to mention Witches Hat Watson is nothing more than icing on a cake.

I rate Moore, he's a player that can win finals.

Get us over the line? Make no mistake, we smacked the hawks.

Yeah OK, take away the impact of two goals (Gunston and Butler) from plain wrong umpiring, you might have legitimately beaten us by 2-3 goals...you dominated centre clearances...but somehow our forward line isn't working?
The only reason your forwards weren't completely shut down (as in the first quarter) was because your mids were dominating. As for Watson, well, we need more strategies to counter teams whose MO is to suppress superior players.

 

[Coasters7]

Maybe you should have watched the entire match, not just the last quarter, when the umps started to reverse after a night of Crow favouritism.
Given we generally lost all our other close matches, your argument is absurd (and ignores the umpiring that could have cost us tight games in Darwin and Brisbane).

Doesn’t matter when it was. They did enough to get you a result and that was only one example.

Facts are over the course of the season it was worth 1 win minimum so you can’t be complaining about 1-2 calls that went against you last night. Really does help the narrative that Hawthorn are nothing without the umps.

 

[ceebsaf]

Adelaide’s biggest flaw - apart from the rampant homophobia - is Matty Nicks. You can't win a finals quarter with an idiot as coach...

Sort of agree with the nicks comment. Not the homophobia. Completely overblown.

Maybe check your own backyard first with your clubs racism allegations.

 

[PhatBoy]

Yeah OK, take away the impact of two goals (Gunston and Butler) from plain wrong umpiring, you might have legitimately beaten us by 2-3 goals...you dominated centre clearances...but somehow our forward line isn't working?
The only reason your forwards weren't completely shut down (as in the first quarter) was because your mids were dominating. As for Watson, well, we need more strategies to counter teams whose MO is to suppress superior players.

Isn’t the last bit how sport works? It’s played two ways. YOUR team has the option of shutting down OUR players who do damage too, you know. If he’s so superior, let him step up. I thought Cameron was pretty well held last night. You know what? He stepped up and still kicked 3 really important goals.

For a team whose MO is shutting down ‘superior players’ we sure did well to kick 115 points in a little over 3 quarters. If Watson is so superior, he should get away. He didn’t. He got shut down by someone from the other side of the planet.

 

[StackedHunch]

Isn’t the last bit how sport works? It’s played two ways. YOUR team has the option of shutting down OUR players who do damage too, you know. If he’s so superior, let him step up. I thought Cameron was pretty well held last night. You know what? He stepped up and still kicked 3 really important goals.

For a team whose MO is shutting down ‘superior players’ we sure did well to kick 115 points in a little over 3 quarters. If Watson is so superior, he should get away. He didn’t. He got shut down by someone from the other side of the planet.

Geelong is uniquely negative in the league. It's a clear point of difference and a competitive advantage. Realistically, if our mids were firing, Watson wouldn't have been so quiet. The mids under Newcombe were not going to be able to make up for Day's absence.

 

[Chinacats]

Great win and turn around after butchering the ball too much early . Looking slick the cats! Bears or woods? (50/50 I guess) get that snoop dog pennant cats!

 

[Hawkk]

Sort of agree with the nicks comment. Not the homophobia. Completely overblown.

Maybe check your own backyard first with your clubs racism allegations.

It takes a village

Like I said, if you told me mid last year that we'd get 5 finals (including 2 knock MCG finals before 98,000 plus) I would take it every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Now, like the Crows, the challenge is to come again and improve by at least 20%. There's a good reason that Hawks posters have been far more active in the drafting and trades board than the match day threads in recent weeks…

 

[PhatBoy]

Geelong is uniquely negative in the league. It's a clear point of difference and a competitive advantage. Realistically, if our mids were firing, Watson wouldn't have been so quiet. The mids under Newcombe were not going to be able to make up for Day's absence.

Team defends. Huge if true.