Review Geelong defeat Hawks "when it matters" by 6 goals to make another Grand Final

[TomsBulgingDisc]

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Holding the man! Free kick, Geelong.

 

[Wish Wellingtons]

This ****ing club.
Love you all.

We released the kraken tonight.
Captains BOG performance.

Didn't think Sicily was that good tbh

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

Watching Sam Mitchell sook it up in that press conference was the sweetest thing of all. What a flog that bloke is.

 

[catters_28]

Was there last night. What a night.

Jesus christ that first quarter though. I was having war flash backs to the 2016 prelim for a bit there. And then Stewart and Henry going down, I thought we were ****ed.

The Hawks supporters around me were absolutely gleeful of course.

But then the tide turned. We were only a point up at half time but the Hawks fans were incredibly worried.

Have to say 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

kicking that last goal was the cherry on top. What a shame half the Hawks fans weren't there to see it.

 

[Generalissimo]

Have to say Bailey Smith kicking that last goal was the cherry on top. What a shame half the Hawks fans weren't there to see it.

As soon as he got the handball receive I knew it was a goal.

 

[Stokey]

I thought the same but his mobility did seem to improve the longer the game went, which maybe supports the dead foot theory.

Anyone who has jarred their foot know you literally can't stand on it when it happens. It's similar to cramp. Just need a bit of physio to loosen it up. I reckon he had a precautionary jab but will be fine.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Like someone else in the thread said, Mannagh is a lot like Stevie J. He had a few ordinary kicks trying to make something happen, one of which was intercepted and went up the other end for a goal. But the positives were he generated goals, kicked 2 himself, and makes things happen when we need something on the scoreboard.

Clark might look mid framed but he was throwing himself in at the contests, got some clearances and the only slight on his game was when he got the rush of blood to the head and missed the target trying to switch the play.

Felt like someone told Stengle that its 2022 again, he was good against Brisbane but tonight he was an absolute menace and if he repeats this form next week he will kick 3 or 4.

Mullin was better once he went back up the ground, he just can't play deep d50, its not his bag. Forwards have the guile against him and he panics. But in the midfield he is still a jet. Next week no matter who we play, he will be vital. But was he on Newcombe? Atkins was on Newcombe a lot.

Close was excellent in every aspect except his goal kicking. 2 behinds and 2 bad misses, but everything else is what you want out of him. If he kicked 2 of those 4 chances we talk him up as one of our best tonight.

Blicavs is a freak of nature. Felt like he had way more than 12 disposals and 3 marks. Was really smart running off Leek for his goal, when we were up against it early his clearances helped get the ball forward and give the defence a breather, I would love to see the hit outs to advantage stat because Leek won hit outs and before they went anywhere Blicavs got a hand in the way to nullify it.
Hilariously Blicavs backwards handballs means his metres gained stat was only 54 but he had some big defensive and midfield clearances.
His game was a perfect example of a "stats don't tell you the full story" game.

Must have played well cos Leek didn’t get any stats

 

[Pollywaffle]

I think tonight was a bit of a mini-breakout game for Clark. He will likely sub in the GF, but we saw tonight he did well off 62% time on ground especially off the back of the Brisbane QF where he didn't get much time and only got 1 disposal.

And he did some good work (seemingly) out of the midfield (apart from that switch kick!)

 

[Hinkley29]

That is one of the better wins we have had since we started our historic run of success. Which is saying a lot given the unbelievable teams and wins we have had in the last 20 years.

Losing Stewart for basically the whole game, and our most important defender on 1 foot for most of the game? Plus a 20 point deficit? I thought we were cactus. Not many teams survive that.

The way the midfield protected the backline after those injuries was something to behold. I don’t rewatch many games, but this will make the rotation.

Awesome.

 

[Mattttty]

20 to 5 centre clearances
Total domination in what was recently a weakness

That's arguably the most important thing about this win. We've been a good side the last couple of years, without a great midfield. And we've managed to work out how to win without dominating in there. Now pit peak-Dangerfield in there, with Atkins playing the best footy of his career, along with quality like Smith, Holmes, Blicavs and Miers - and it's a whole different story. All of a sudden the defense has less pressure on it and the forward line gets more opportunities.

 

[MisterMarcus]

Thinking about it, was probably the perfect finals game. We were constantly challenged, and proved we could withstand every time.

It wasn't some training run no-pressure blowout, but it wasn't some game where everything broke down (apart from the first 20 mins) and we had to fumble our way to a lucky win.

We backed ourselves in, they came at us again and again, and we fought every one of their attacks off.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Kudos. You were big on him right from the start.

Clark has that grit. That will to affect the contest. Almost Selwood..
Edit: Fixed typo

I still think he can be a 200 gamer. The issue is he has neither the endurance nor the size strength for the inside mid role (yet) but theres a tenacious player and good football brain in there. Needs time to develop physically but he has the will to get there. Hes harshly judged around here

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Haven't read the threat as yet, BUT **** YES I LOVE THIS ****ING CLUB AND I TOLD YOU WE HAD THEM COVERED!!
My daughter and I were surrounded by great, passionate Cats fans and next to a bay of feral hawks, couldn't have scripted the game better in the end.
Dangers game was goated, as good a final as you'll see, absolutely brutal and brilliant.
I thought, and those around me all thought the same, that Clark had multiple VERY important moments, especially during the third when we really put the foot down. Took some big hits, kept his head over the ball and contested very well. His high gather and hands to Mannagh who goaled was awesome, and I feel he took a MASSIVE step toward fulfilling his promise and potential, 1 poor turnover aside.
Stewart out is brutal and I hate it, BUT silver lining is we cover it pretty well, Stanley in, Blicavs and SDK more back and we use Zuthrie or Henry as that floating interceptor.
I have zero worries about our list or our form or our system. This time yesterday I felt we had 1 foot in the GF, right now I feel we have 1 hand on the Cup.

 

[Mattttty]

He showed why he was highly rated, the aerial handball and the composure to mark and play on in the centre of the ground plus his pressure and tap ons were enough for me. He’ll be a player

Thank you. Finally, people are starting to see Clark's potential. These little signs of class have been there all along. Give the lad another pre-season to build his fitness and strength and he will become an important part of the team. And then I look forward to seeing plenty of folks over in the 'I Was Wrong' thread. Go Cats!

 

[Mattttty]

I still think he can be a 200 gamer. The issue is he has neither the endurance nor the size strength for the inside mid role (yet) but theres a tenacious player and good football brain in there. Needs time to develop physically but he has the will to get there. Hes harshly judged around here

Exactly. And those are two things (endurance and strength) that you can build. He's starting to show his natural talent.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Have to give kudos to this post on Hawks board.( Amid some whinging about the umpiring..)

Umpires cost us dearly in this one. Every single time a goal was scored the umpires took the ball to the middle for a ball up. And we just had no hope of overcoming that.

Some humour amongst the disappointment

 

[patience]

That handball whilst in the air was a thing of beauty from Jhye

 

[year of the cat]

Have to give kudos to this post on Hawks board.( Amid some whinging about the umpiring..)

Umpires cost us dearly in this one. Every single time a goal was scored the umpires took the ball to the middle for a ball up. And we just had no hope of overcoming that.

Some humour amongst the disappointment

There’s a hell of a lot of sooking on their board about the umpiring. If they think that was the difference in the result they are completely clueless. But predictable lack of class and grace from a classless and graceless club.

 

[Generalissimo]

There’s a hell of a lot of sooking on their board about the umpiring. If they think that was the difference in the result they are completely clueless. But predictable lack of class and grace from a classless and graceless club.

They got away with a few rugby passes and ducked into a lot of tackles, so I'm not sure what they're whimpering about.

 

[#6 Thorp #7 Selwood LOL]

Won’t deny we got a couple of handy calls throughout the game, but the umpiring in the 4th quarter saved them from a 10 goal drubbing.

 

[Mattlock]

 

[Mattlock]

The luckiest man alive.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Baz and Holmes seem to have this really tight bond, it's awesome to see. They are going to torment opposition midfielders for the next 10 years.

 

[MisterMarcus]

Have to give kudos to this post on Hawks board.( Amid some whinging about the umpiring..)

Umpires cost us dearly in this one. Every single time a goal was scored the umpires took the ball to the middle for a ball up. And we just had no hope of overcoming that.

Some humour amongst the disappointment

It seems Hawthorn fans can at least have a bit of a laugh, be honest about being beaten by the better team on the day, and show respect to us.

I've seen how Richmond and Collingwood nuffies carried on after winning flags - hell, even how Carlton carried on after making one prelim in 20 years - and I realise it could be worse than the Hawks.

 

[MisterMarcus]

There’s a hell of a lot of sooking on their board about the umpiring. If they think that was the difference in the result they are completely clueless. But predictable lack of class and grace from a classless and graceless club.

Reality is that they've got a few players who have become known for trying to milk frees and sucking the umpire in. So the benefit of the doubt probably goes against them.

I do remember one where Ginnivan probably was legitimately caught high, but he's done so much ducking and diving in the past that you can't blame the umps letting it go.