Autopsy 2025 Preliminary Final: Hawks get rolled

[Blackhawk42]

F**k the Cats, honestly f**k em. No idea how you can live with yourself supporting a team like that where they get away with everything ON and OFF the field.

Stengle night club cover up.
'He who can't be named' on a sexual assault charge
Bailey Smith being untouchable despite some obvious off-season indiscretions and abusing photographers.
Outside payments to the coach.
Salary breaches with zero consequences.
Their captain, who is the AFLPA president, constantly playing for free kicks which is a horrible look.


This absolute scum organisation is likely to get the Brownlow and premiership double and it makes me physically ill.

When does the 2026 pre season start?

 

[A Diakos]

Can someone explain the rationale for reversing the Gunston mark in goal square ?

I’m trying to work it out …both players are wrestling each other …why is it reversed ?

Also the holding the balls not consistent interpretation

That all said they where the better team and scored to freely

 

[triangulation_squared]

Trying hard to find some positives without glossing over the fact we lost a prelim we were well and truly capable of winning.

Ginni and Wiz nailed some amazing goals early. Mitch Lewis nailed a massive goal from the arc. Hok ball at its best.

The Butler run down tackle on Dangerfield set the scene for how we needed to handle the Geelong mids for the entire game. Looking at the tape on that tackle, we just need more of that and less of not that. The Butler service should not have been subbed as we won every game he played 4 quarters this year.

Other commentators have made some great points around where we lost the game.

Hypotheticals are a great tool for many things
Day plays, we probably win
Finn plays, we have a plan B for Bailey Smith

3

Bailey Smith

Age

25

Ht

185cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

8.5

3star

HB

9.8

5star

M

2.3

2star

T

3.8

5star

CL

2.7

4star

D

19.8

5star

K

9.6

4star

HB

10.2

5star

M

1.8

2star

T

3.2

4star

CL

3.2

4star

D

14.8

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

2.0

3star

T

3.4

5star

CL

1.6

4star

Dear plays, we probably kick a few more goals
Merrett / Petracca / Butters play, Jai gets off the leash
We finish top four, we are fresh
Umpires don't find critical free kicks against, we get 26 points up

What they don't do is give us a grand final in the sock drawer... until next year

The team had a great crack this year and proud of the lot of them.

The girls take on Collingwood later today at Vic Park. They're undefeated. If they salute this year we keep our record of a premiership every decade in tact. Jas Fleming is back in and expect a massive game from her. Go hawks!

 

[La Vache]

I think it shows we are a rock-solid fourth placed team which requires some additions or for a few players to elevate to take another step. 1-5 against the other top 4, 3-7 against the other top 6.

It might be controversial but I think we’re slightly light for talent and our best side still looks a little bit cobbled together.

Weddle, Watson, Ginnivan, Ward, Lewis and Dear are the obvious candidates to jolt us to another level and a bounce back year from Massimo would be ideal.

The Cats simply look primed but we did what we could. Jumped them early and persisted when they looked like rolling us over.

 

[hardway]

Danger did to us what Dew did to them in 2008. Only difference it went for an entire half and all over the field. Lots of players didn’t hit the heights of last season and we were carried by our defence and a Gunston that turned back the clock and had his best ever season. Need both Merrett and Petracca to try make the jump to become a premier.

 

[Liverbird]

Merrett and Petracca both want to come to the club. Time to look fwd ... fix the midfield and the cup is in reach...

Sleepy Mark ... time to shine.

 

[Rev08]

Great season and great effort last night. Just beaten by a better team unfortunately. Tough when they have been systematically cheating the salary cap for years now.

 

[macdaddio]

It’s kind of a blessing we’re not playing in the GF, because I’m working that day and it would’ve been so devastating if I couldn’t watch us play.
Now I’m glad I can’t watch it !!!

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

The sharp quick possessions and top ons of the Previous weeks which enabled chains of control, deserted us this week.

Lost composure and never regained it after midway through the second.

Hopefully the club is ruthless enough to realise the same passengers who go missing when there is heat, need to depart, in order to keep progressing

 

[Gaborone]

too late as I said, bought a house in Banockburn...

Perhaps that's how Geelong get around the salary cap. Didn't Cameron buy a farm? There's more than one way of skinning a cat.

 

[chippie]

Merrett and Petracca both want to come to the club. Time to look fwd ... fix the midfield and the cup is in reach...

Sleepy Mark ... time to shine.

 

[Flamin Joe]

Can someone explain the rationale for reversing the Gunston mark in goal square ?

I’m trying to work it out …both players are wrestling each other …why is it reversed ?

Also the holding the balls not consistent interpretation

That all said they where the better team and scored to freely

I think it was Richardson at the time who said Henry slipped which made it look to the umpire in real time that Gunston had got rid of him unfairly and it shouldn't have been a free kick. Seeing the replay at the time I 100% agree.

Just one of many decisions which either cost us a certain goal or directly lead to another Cats goal. I'm never one to blame umpires for a loss but they made it pretty damn hard to get back into the game when we kept getting screwed over.

 

[The hands of stone]

As disappointing as last night was and its always an opportunity missed , I feel like we have steadily made ground on the Cats .

Hard not to be proud how we fought the game out. To win back to back interstate finals , the team is now more than Hokball and has resilence to it .

Last years Port final was probably 12 months too soon , last night was probably 12 months too soon also.

We know the area where we need to improve and bolster , we will do it and hopefully next year we get to turn the tables on the cats .

 

[Coathanger]

For anyone worried about paying the price for a couple of 29 year old mids - Dangerfield is 35 and look at the impact he had!! Was at both our last two losses and just destroyed in the midfield both games. Thought Moore and Ginni deserved a bit more love for their games last night and that was close to Nash’s best game for the club considering Newc was stopped from having any influence. Super proud of the effort tonight, we were just outclassed.

How many Brownlow’s do those two have?

 

[TazHawk15]

If that was Worps last game for the club it was shit.

A full pre-season for Dear, Day and Lewis will do wonders for the team.

As usual the Handbaggers get some baffling umpire favours but the truth is we were always up against it with running out of legs after a tough 2 months of travel. It’s easy to forget we travelled to Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane at the back end of the season before the finals even started.

Hopefully we can snare another midfielder and get Day back up and running and get a top 4 spot and give ourselves the easier route to glory.
I am sure Sammy will be drumming into the entire squad that we can’t take it for granted to be back in the same spot next year, we will have to work even harder.

 

[johnnymossop]

Watson like a leaf in the wind. Terrible display.

 

[Dewwwww]

Watson like a leaf in the wind. Terrible display.

Move on ya Flog

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

I was surrounded by Geelong grubs who were whinging about the umpiring all night. Piece of shit next to me was close to an elbow with all the "FWEE KIIICKKKK HORFOORN"

 

[johnnymossop]

Move on ya Flog

Settle down mate. He has to learn to play a team game or he is destined to underachieve. He and some of OUR team need to stop looking for individual recognition and play the team game. Pies and Cats lead the way in that regard. Putting him in the guts was laughable.

 

[Barralupo]

So frustrating that they always seemed to get the handball out when being tackled, quite a late handball at times...

 

[TONYC3163]

Settle down mate. He has to learn to play a team game or he is destined to underachieve. He and some of OUR team need to stop looking for individual recognition and play the team game. Pies and Cats lead the way in that regard. Putting him in the guts was laughable.

Potting young players is a dick move.

 

[moruyatom]

We were 16 points up when I left the wedding I was attending

Were 26 points down and hadn't scored since by the time I got home.

Wish I'd stayed sitting exactly where I was.

Thrilled with the effort and to make it this far. Genuinely just gutted it was the cockroaches that advance to a Grand Final. I don't think I can subject myself to watching Smith and Dangerflop next weekend. Might do something else with the family instead.

We all know you’ll be watching mate

 

[On Topic]

The sharp quick possessions and top ons of the Previous weeks which enabled chains of control, deserted us this week.

Lost composure and never regained it after midway through the second.

Hopefully the club is ruthless enough to realise the same passengers who go missing when there is heat, need to depart, in order to keep progressing

I thought we did try to play like that but credit to the Cats for stopping it effectively. They pressured the ball carrier and protected the space around them taking away those short quick options. We didn't adapt well enough in those moments.

The glaring weakness this game was the clearance work in both stoppages and centre bounces. They had too much power forward of centre and when they got momentum, it was near impossible to stop. Stewert going down so early while we were on well on top should of been the end but we just couldn't get the ball forward enough.

 

[SSSSSS]

Just wasn't our night.

Some of our best ball users in were off. Amon, Ginni, Mass and Sicily just butchering the ball.

 

[Dewwwww]

Settle down mate. He has to learn to play a team game or he is destined to underachieve. He and some of OUR team need to stop looking for individual recognition and play the team game. Pies and Cats lead the way in that regard. Putting him in the guts was laughable.

Watson was the least of our worries last night. We won the hitouts 52-39 yet Geelong won the Centre clearances 20-5 and total clearances 50-33. Hard for our small forwards to impact when we have only 40 inside 50s to Geelong 66