Geelong to win this week because

[strategy]

Ablett and Ling back in this week compared to the last time they met .ADD Milburn to that as well .

Young and Dew will come in for the Hawks re last time but they are not of the class of the above players .


Ellis may go out and Murphy in to play on S.Johnson.

Mackie and Taylor have great vertical leaps and long reaches to spoil their opponents.

Rooke onto and injured Hodge .


Is Chapman fully fit to run all day with a crook hammy ?

Geelong have had 24 hours extra recovery time .

Geelong put their head over the ball quicker than any other team to get the ball and then to offload it by handball or kicking it or tapping it on.

Ottens is stronger than the Hawks rucks and rucks better as well .

Hawks players get rattled too early if someone is testing their patience .Many of them lack composure and maturity .They tend to forget the ball and play the player when the rough stuff starts .

 

[shake_and_bake]

agree with most of that especially the ottens part, massive advantage for us even blake is in good touch so our rucks will help our midfield but i think taylors verticle leap doesnt matter because imo he is quite vulnerable but i hope he has a good game, him and mackie in one on one contests will struggle if hawthorn can use the ball smartly and get it in there quick but if our defense is aloud to come off and help out all the time then the hawks could struggle.

all in all i think if geelong can get through the cluster and play the cluster smartly and well then they will win. if we dont then hawthorn could win and win comfortably

 

[thejester]

Ling could well be the difference, IMO. I know everyone talks about Buddy and Hodge but Mitchell is a superstar and had a huge influence on the game in Round 17. The general consensus is that this game will be won or lost in the midfield; nullifying Mitchell, as Ling did so well in '07, will get us a long way to victory.

 

[New Mayblooms]

win what?
The Brownlow?
Probably,but they aint wining the granny.
GO THE MIGHTY HAWKS

 

[Mitchell Madness]

the difference is Bateman, in round 17 he was nowhere near fit. He has become hawthorns new Tagger. he has killed every opponent since round 17, hell, he even killed richmond, but none of his teammates stood up.

Hawthorn have two taggers at least equal with ling, but not as publicised in bateman and Sewell... these two will win it.

bateman will go to Ablett and kill him. sewell to bartell. Mitchell and Lewis in and under.

The hawks are well disciplined and will not be sucked into watching in awe. the cats wont know whats going on.

 

[winty]

Milburn was a late withdrawal in Round 17 too. He's a vital component of our backline that we sorely missed that night.

 

[Flukey!]

Games played 6-8 weeks ago mean nothing today, and will mean less on Saturday.

 

[CaptainDavey]

Herein lies the answer:

Ablett, Bartel, Corey, Selwood, Ling, Scarlett, Johnson, Harley, Milburn.

As good as the Hawks are, I don't think they'll be able to match THAT kind of quality. It's not their time this year but it will be soon I'm sure

 

[NEMINI]

Wojo missed also as well as chapman being done halfway through the game.

 

[MC_9]

Herein lies the answer:

Ablett, Bartel, Corey, Selwood, Ling, Scarlett, Johnson, Harley, Milburn.

As good as the Hawks are, I don't think they'll be able to match THAT kind of quality. It's not their time this year but it will be soon I'm sure

I think our top quality players are very close to Geelongs with:

Franklin, Hodge, Mitchell, Sewell, Bateman, Lewis, Roughead, Williams, Brown.

However i believe the difference lies in the bottom 5 or 6 players for each side, were i believe that Geelong have the edge.

Anyway expect a close game, and this game is well and truely up for grabs.

Go the Hawks.

 

[winno16]

I think the hawks will win it just. they remind me of the brisbane lions in 2001. Essendon were raging favourites and no one gave the lions much hope. but they showed up and played fearless footy throwing themselves at every contest harder than the bombers that day. The hawks should watch that tape this week and i reckon they can win in a massive upset

 

[tarky]

win what?
The Brownlow?
Probably,but they aint wining the granny.
GO THE MIGHTY HAWKS

keep dreaming

 

[Messenger]

Hawks players get rattled too early if someone is testing their patience .Many of them lack composure and maturity .They tend to forget the ball and play the player when the rough stuff starts .

Name names. And give us some recent examples. I bet you can't.

May have been true twelve months ago.

Geelong are deserving favorites, but Hawthorn are closer than you think.

 

[PottSie2]

The Hawks will win because WE.PLAY.TO.WIN riding the bumps with a grin at Hawthorn ....

 

[Pettas]

The Hawks will win because WE.PLAY.TO.WIN riding the bumps with a grin at Hawthorn ....

but we are geelong the greatest team of all.......

 

[beano43]

The Hawks will win because WE.PLAY.TO.WIN riding the bumps with a grin at Hawthorn ....

very good reasoning.



Will be a very close game, midfields are quite even and Geelong's defence will be able to hold Hawthorn's forward line. Geelong attack v Hawthorn defence is the critical battle and will be decidedly Geelong's way if Mooney can take a few grabs and provide a presence at CHF. Then again if Croad nullifies him and Hawthorn get quick defensive rebounds through the half-backs and into Franklin and co. it could spell trouble for Geelong.

A close game.

 

[apiro]

The Cats have been the best team this year, no doubt. On paper they deserve to be favourites comfortably. Cat's fans are entitled to be ultra confident.

However, as much of a cliche as this sounds, the better team on that one day will carry the flag.

Based solely on preliminary finals form I would go for the Hawks.

 

[worthogs]

........Based solely on preliminary finals form I would go for the Hawks.

On that basis Port should have won last year

 

[bluespooner]

Does a side that capitulates and allows itself to get smashed by mediocrity to the tune of over 80 points by Collingwood deserve to be declared champions - I think not.

Will Geelong get the armchair ride from the umpires they got last time when they played Hawthorn - well in a just world they shouldn't. I thought Hawthorn outplayed them for most of the night.

Its time to get over the Geelong love-in which has seen mediocre players like Mooney and Stokes get all-Australian at one time. Easily the most impressive team of the finals has been Hawthorn and providing they get a fair deal from the umpires can win this one comfortably

 

[Tristagi]

I think our top quality players are very close to Geelongs with:

Franklin, Hodge, Mitchell, Sewell, Bateman, Lewis, Roughead, Williams, Brown.

However i believe the difference lies in the bottom 5 or 6 players for each side, were i believe that Geelong have the edge.

Anyway expect a close game, and this game is well and truely up for grabs.

Go the Hawks.

Some sense out of a hawk on grand final week?
Hawks top 15 can match with the cats but its the lesser 6 or 7...

Dermie summed it up last night when he called up SEN a little tipsy last night, the hawks can go with the cats for a half but over all the cats are a 4-5 goal better team both at our bests, but if you can restrict us from hitting our best its game on.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

Ablett and Ling back in this week compared to the last time they met .ADD Milburn to that as well .

Milburn is a liability.

Bloody hack footballer.

 

[stringsandrums]

Cats had Ling, Ablett and Wojinski(?) missing when they played the Dogs in round 16. Result, won by 10 goals. Cats have Ling, Ablett back in. Result, 5 goals.
Means nothing

 

[biggalz23]

Cats had Ling, Ablett and Wojinski(?) missing when they played the Dogs in round 16. Result, won by 10 goals. Cats have Ling, Ablett back in. Result, 5 goals.
Means nothing

means nothing hey? i bet u would have come as close as within 5 goals if cooney and boyd hadn't played against us

for the record we played our second worst game of the season on fri night

 

[Whiskers]

Milburn is a liability.

Bloody hack footballer.

This is not bay 13.

However if your serious .................well ....... well i got nothing.

 

[The Casey Cat]

Does a side that capitulates and allows itself to get smashed by mediocrity to the tune of over 80 points by Collingwood deserve to be declared champions - I think not.

Was ONE game. We won 21 others. Think you will find it was the best 22 game regular season ever stats wise.

Will Geelong get the armchair ride from the umpires they got last time when they played Hawthorn - well in a just world they shouldn't. I thought Hawthorn outplayed them for most of the night.

We will get as many as we deserve and yes that will probably be more. Why?

Contested possessions:

Geelong 1st
Hawks 16th

Clearances:

Geelong 2nd
Hawks 14th

Tackles:

Geelong 1st
Hawthorn 12th

Its time to get over the Geelong love-in which has seen mediocre players like Mooney and Stokes get all-Australian at one time. Easily the most impressive team of the finals has been Hawthorn and providing they get a fair deal from the umpires can win this one comfortably

Mooney has not been mediocre the last two years. Was excellent last year and good this year. Stokes has never been AA so know idea wtf you're on about there. Just more jealous anti Geelong stupidity as far as I can see.

Easily the most impressive team of the finals has been Hawthorn and providing they get a fair deal from the umpires can win this one comfortably

What because they beat the Dogs by 3 more goals than we did when we played a fair way below our best (like last year's prelim)? And if Geelong should win it was all because of the umpires? Well why not. Fitting way to end a pathetic post I suppose.