Great Game

[Cosmo Kramer]

Congratulations on a great win first up. I mean if you were a Hawthorn/Geelong supporter or a neutral supporter you would have left the ground feeling like you had great value for money in what was the best game I've seen this year.

Definatley the Hawks had their chances and costly turnovers and kicking inaccuracy at key points hurt us, Ladson/Brown misses killed us and Franklin in that patch in the third quarter could have ripped the game open.

At the end of the day the Cats efficiency in kicking and counter attack was just way better than ours, even when we seemed to control the game for periods we couldn't put it on the scoreboards but you guys were very good at going direct on the counter attack and your play on from marks was better than ours.

I thought some of your lesser names were just great tonight, yeh Bartel killed us, but stokes and enright in particular don't get anywhere near the respect they deserve and to a lesser extent the same was true with Selwood(the guy couldn't remind me more of Michael Voss if he tried) and Joel Corey.

I think it was just a great game, sure Geelong can be better with Ablett/Ling and Milburn back into the team, but with experience Hawthorn can also get better at absorbing pressure and not making costly kicking errors.

Hopefully the two teams meet sometime in the finals, because as a football fan you just love to see games of football like that (it was a similar standard/intensity to the Geelong/Pies final last year I thought)

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Good onya mate. Yeah, great contest, couldve gone either way. I love those games...in hindsight.

 

[Brasil2007]

Congratulations on a great win first up. I mean if you were a Hawthorn/Geelong supporter or a neutral supporter you would have left the ground feeling like you had great value for money in what was the best game I've seen this year.

Definatley the Hawks had their chances and costly turnovers and kicking inaccuracy at key points hurt us, Ladson/Brown misses killed us and Franklin in that patch in the third quarter could have ripped the game open.

At the end of the day the Cats efficiency in kicking and counter attack was just way better than ours, even when we seemed to control the game for periods we couldn't put it on the scoreboards but you guys were very good at going direct on the counter attack and your play on from marks was better than ours.

I thought some of your lesser names were just great tonight, yeh Bartel killed us, but stokes and enright in particular don't get anywhere near the respect they deserve and to a lesser extent the same was true with Selwood(the guy couldn't remind me more of Michael Voss if he tried) and Joel Corey.

I think it was just a great game, sure Geelong can be better with Ablett/Ling and Milburn back into the team, but with experience Hawthorn can also get better at absorbing pressure and not making costly kicking errors.

Hopefully the two teams meet sometime in the finals, because as a football fan you just love to see games of football like that (it was a similar standard/intensity to the Geelong/Pies final last year I thought)

Cheers mate, I reckon if you were at the ground tonight you got value for money - hard contested finals type footy topped off by mark of the year.

I think you blokes are about three players off having a side that will be very difficult to beat by anyone.

 

[Cosmo Kramer]

Cheers mate, I reckon if you were at the ground tonight you got value for money - hard contested finals type footy topped off by mark of the year.

I think you blokes are about three players off having a side that will be very difficult to beat by anyone.

Yeh we are a key backman short, but against Geelong thats not so much of a problem as Croad/Gilham seemed to have Mooney/Lonergans measure for the night.

Clearly Geelong are a better and more experienced side than us, well more experienced in those kind of matches at least. We can only get better, to be honest the flag will be decided by these kind of matches that can go either way and the draw. If geelong run into collingwood in week 1 of the final you have to think you guys may sturggle based on recent history but if you ran into the dogs you would have to feel very confident.

I think the general theory on the challengers (Hawthorn/Bulldogs) is that the bulldogs are the better and more efficient team, but Hawthorn are more of a threat to Geelong because they have the firepower to beat Geelong when they are up and running.

 

[Brasil2007]

Yeh we are a key backman short, but against Geelong thats not so much of a problem as Croad/Gilham seemed to have Mooney/Lonergans measure for the night.

Clearly Geelong are a better and more experienced side than us, well more experienced in those kind of matches at least. We can only get better, to be honest the flag will be decided by these kind of matches that can go either way and the draw. If geelong run into collingwood in week 1 of the final you have to think you guys may sturggle based on recent history but if you ran into the dogs you would have to feel very confident.

Recent history is we've won two of the last three. The third (this year) Collingwood's KPIs were actually below what they were in the prelim last year. I think the Cats would actually love to play Collingwood in the finals.

I reckon your gaps are actually in both the midfield and the backline - Hodge and Mitchell are expected to do too much. Guys like Bateman cough it up too easily under little/no pressure. Still, everyone will be better for the run.

 

[boozeDragon]

Recent history is we've won two of the last three. The third (this year) Collingwood's KPIs were actually below what they were in the prelim last year. I think the Cats would actually love to play Collingwood in the finals.

I reckon your gaps are actually in both the midfield and the backline - Hodge and Mitchell are expected to do too much. Guys like Bateman cough it up too easily under little/no pressure. Still, everyone will be better for the run.

I think the turning point of the match was Rooke matching up on Mitchell. Mitchell was killing it until that point. We were enjoying Rooke on Hodge purely because Hodge was having a dog of a night. I disagree with the view that Bateman and the third tiers cough it up too much. I think Hodge had a bad night, Sewell had a pretty ordinary night (this guy is way underdone following shoulder and appendix surgery)... I don't think it's as simple as "Hodge and Mitchell are expected to do too much".

 

[Renegade]

Yeh we are a key backman short, but against Geelong thats not so much of a problem as Croad/Gilham seemed to have Mooney/Lonergans measure for the night.

Wow...tough!!
We had 4 All-Australians out....and the 5th miss the second half...

 

[The Casey Cat]

Yeh we are a key backman short, but against Geelong thats not so much of a problem as Croad/Gilham seemed to have Mooney/Lonergans measure for the night.

Our problems getting through the 'cluster' saw them denied much of a chance to really get into it (which is great play by the Hawks) however I don't think you could say their individual opponents had their measure.

 

[jim boy]

Wow...tough!!
We had 4 All-Australians out....and the 5th miss the second half...

Chapman isn't an All-Australian.....yet

 

[Cosmo Kramer]

Wow...tough!!
We had 4 All-Australians out....and the 5th miss the second half...

You missed my point, I was just saying the being a tall backman short is a problem against Geelong as they only play 2 tall fowards down their normally, Mooney and Lonergan/Hawkins, sometimes Ottens floats down there.

Where being a tall backman short is a problem for Hawthorn is against teams like Brisbane, they have Bradshaw and Brown and Clarke/Charman.

 

[Brasil2007]

Chapman isn't an All-Australian.....yet

Yeah, he's just a B&F winner

 

[HAWKS HEROES]

Well done as a cat supporter did say to me you got out of jail on that one [ meaning the cats] yes i agree if we did not make those silly mistakes in the last few minutes may have been a different story.

kudos to the cats for not doing what other teams have done to us all year and that is bash us up and get away with it , like what freo did to you guys we have copped that crap from all other teams , why don't they just play footy like what our teams did last night.

it was a great game to watch the atmosphere was terriffic ,not sure on your thoughts of the ump's they did not pay everything that happened and i reckon the ball went out of bounds and you guys got a goal [ hey i could be wrong too will be re watching game soon] but the ump's did not lose us the game we lost it but i am happy it was not by a large margin .

well done and have a good game next week who ever you play and may we meet in the finals

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showpost.php?p=11834490&postcount=177

i did post this in a different thread on here , maybe i should have started a new thread instead

 

[Motormouse]

Well done as a cat supporter did say to me you got out of jail on that one [ meaning the cats] yes i agree if we did not make those silly mistakes in the last few minutes may have been a different story.

kudos to the cats for not doing what other teams have done to us all year and that is bash us up and get away with it , like what freo did to you guys we have copped that crap from all other teams , why don't they just play footy like what our teams did last night.

it was a great game to watch the atmosphere was terriffic ,not sure on your thoughts of the ump's they did not pay everything that happened and i reckon the ball went out of bounds and you guys got a goal [ hey i could be wrong too will be re watching game soon] but the ump's did not lose us the game we lost it but i am happy it was not by a large margin .

well done and have a good game next week who ever you play and may we meet in the finals

Agree with your post almost without reservation. I must say about the bolded part that while I shout at the screen when it happens, when watching the replays I thank the umpires for letting the play flow in situations where intervention would be purely for the sake of the rules (eg no advantage either way).

Having said that, I do not condone anything against the rules, in view of the umpires or otherwise.

 

[Hawk43]

Have to agree with the OP, well done cats, great win. It's great to see your team demolish the opposition but finals-like games like this are just as rewarding to win because you have to be able to win the high-pressure close tough contests.

Come the grand final there is always the chance that you will be missing key players, so to show that you can beat the 2nd and 3rd best teams in the comp without some of your guns is a massive effort. Us and the dogs were missing players too but nothing of the quality you had out.

I hate people dwelling on umpiring decisions (both teams were equally ripped off), poor skills, missed shots at goal etc etc. Both teams had their chance to win and geelong took it.

That being said i do hope we can find some better form in the coming weeks and meet again in the finals. Good luck for the rest of the year although you hardly need it

 

[HAWKS HEROES]

I hate people dwelling on umpiring decisions (both teams were equally ripped off), poor skills, missed shots at goal etc etc. Both teams had their chance to win and geelong took it.

yes exactly both teams copped bad decisions by the ump's unfortunately this does happen to all teams and always will [ they are human and don't see all] , we made some errors that cost us a bit and we will learn by that .

like you said we had our chance to win it as did geelong and geelong took it by the teeth and did not let go .

we will be better for it and it will be an even better game next we meet