How good were Hawthorn 2008?

[Daka]

Good but not great, Hawthorn's greatness came later,
Hawks had some average as hell players in that 2008 team with some all-time greats.

Young, Renouf, Gilham, Ladson & Campbell.

I would say even Willams, Osbourne, Bateman & even Ellis were quiet average players but you probably put them as more role players better than the players above.

I know Dew killed them... but damn you look at Geelong's line-up & you wonder how they lost the game.

 

[kriles76]

Second best team in the H&A season, best team on GF day in the end.

Geelong not winning that GF is one of the more epic chokes you will see. Not only because of how the game panned out on the day but you just don't see teams finish 21-1 161%. 34 scoring shots to 25, 6.12 to 8.3 at half time, 9.18 to 14.5 at three quarter time. You can't have double the scoring shots to half time and be behind, then come out and kick 3.6 to 6.2 in the third and 2.5 to 4.3 in the last. Yes 11 rushed behinds leading to a rule change.

Hawthorn were still very good though. 17 wins 132% and won both of their other finals convincingly. Similar to 2011 they just happened to be part of a H&A season with a team that was even better (2011 had two). Had Geelong got up I don't think many people would've memed Hawthorn about it as no one else got close. But they took their chance and the rest is history. My only memories of the game are Cam Mooney missing a sitter on the half time siren and Stuart Dew kicking two snags in 5 minutes.

You'll find that Geelong kicked 11.12. Hawthorn directly rushed or forced through 11 behinds for Geelong. The scoring shot imbalance is nowhere near what you suggest it is.

 

[Scotland]

You'll find that Geelong kicked 11.12. Hawthorn directly rushed or forced through 11 behinds for Geelong. The scoring shot imbalance is nowhere near what you suggest it is.

Yes 11 rushed behinds leading to a rule change.

I found.

 

[Erakor]

You'll find that Geelong kicked 11.12. Hawthorn directly rushed or forced through 11 behinds for Geelong. The scoring shot imbalance is nowhere near what you suggest it is.

View attachment 2401916

Good find, but even 11 rushed behinds suggest they didn’t use the ball that well in forward 50

 

[H00t]

The big thing that gets talked about 08 is the cats inaccuracy.

Outside of that 2nd and the start of the third they were very accurate.

Excluding rushed behinds they kicked 6.1 to start the game. Then 9 behinds in a row then finished with 5 goals 2.

The rushed behinds definitely make it look a lot worse than it was. They had a couple of bad misses.

 

[PhatBoy]

Good find, but even 11 rushed behinds suggest they didn’t use the ball that well in forward 50

A lot of them were the ones they walked through though.

We definitely didn’t use the ball very efficiently; we won the inside 50 count by 19. Compare the two forward lines though and that probably gives it away. We had really good quasi-forwards in Chapman and Johnson who went between midfield and forward, but of the two sides’ full time forwards Hawthorn had a lot more class with Franklin and Roughead compared to Mooney and Lonergan, and Rioli, Williams, Dew to an extent who wasn’t a forward per se but obviously hurt us going forward, compared to Stokes - who was a good player but not exceptional - and a young Varcoe and it was the one part of the ground where they could beat us if we weren’t at the top of our game and they certainly did.

 

[HolyWars]

It was one if the best GFs I've ever seen.
Hawks were brilliantly coached and led on the field, with cameos all over the place, and many blokes coming back for a 3rd 4th 5th cameo.

The Cats though, being such a great side, made the victory even better than it would normally have been. A precocious and outrageous team with some newfangled tactics and full of gumption, upset the AllStars.

It was unbelievable at the time.

I remember calling dad at three quarter time and we were both speechless at just how amazing we had played up to that point. Those Rioli tackles on the wing with 7 mins remaining in the third was when I believed we were going to win it. From that point on it was a dream scenario.

 

[Gough]

The Hollywood agents who told Theresa Palmer that they liked her but she should lose the fat bloke are the unsung heroes of 2008.

 

[Osho]

I remember calling dad at three quarter time and we were both speechless at just how amazing we had played up to that point. Those Rioli tackles on the wing with 7 mins remaining in the third was when I believed we were going to win it. From that point on it was a dream scenario.

The two previous Hawks finals matches were also pretty good. The signs were there, in retrospect.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Remember a weird positive atmosphere/feeling about this game. The night before couple of Carlton nuffy friends were extremely confident that hawks were going to win!! Outsiders point of view by people I respect the opinion of probably got me more comfortable. Plus, hawks were in excellent form during the finals with real scoring power which the saints couldn't capitalise on in 2009! Score power is so important in this game. Even if you're an underdog, it means you're always in the game with a surprise goal or two. Cats obviously the best team all year though.

I reckon every single Hawks fan up to about the moment Cyril did that piece of individual brilliance were just happy we were competitive against the juggernaut. From than on there was a genuine feeling we could actually win it and so could the players. Bruce Mcavaney actually made a really good observation a few minutes before that infamous 5 minute burst stating he felt Hawthorn were shifting the momentum of the match and could anybody else see what he was seeing. It really did feel like Foreman vs Ali with Geelong being Foreman and us being Ali absorbing all the blows than when it was time to strike we switched gears and brained them with the game up for grabs.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

You must have missed the second qtr when we pissed the premiership away with horrendous goalkicking.

Having said that, Hawthorn 2008 were very good, But Geelong 2008 would win 7/10 times against them imo.

We didn't when it matter though and that's all that matters.

From memory it was 2 bad misses, Ottens and Mooney, alot of pot shots from different positions but not all easy. You also only beat us by 11 points in our only other game against each other that year and we were actually in front with about 10 minutes to go so it's not a foregone conclusion you would have won 7/10. Our best footy was clearly good enough to match it with you guys but you guys sustained that high level more than we did until the finals where we easily could have won both QF and PF by 80 points plus. Took the foot off in the 2nd halves of each game knowing they were won.

 

[Delisted]

Awesome premiership. Very very lucky that the list of drug users didn't get let out by the media. It was ok for them to crucify West Coast though.

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Stewie Dew.. 'An unlikely, bulky hero

If you look at the form, the Cats were up all year, losing only a single H&A to the Pies. A % of 160+

In Clear second place was the Hawks at 17-5; % of 131

But the Hawks begun tapering up the performances in the last 3 H&A Rounds after an unexpected loss to Richmond. By the time Finals came around, we were singing, and as stated here killed the Saints and the Dogs onroute to the big game..

In the Finals, the Hawks managed to generate scores of:

127-118-115
and the Cats did
119-83-89

It just felt like the Cats were tapering off slightly, just as the Hawks Lifted, and we were able to get this super powerful side with seven All Australians at the right time for a famous win. We were fn good that year

I am lucky enough to have been at 10 of the Hawks Flags, and 2008 is right up there with 89 as the best

The irony is that during the majority of the Kennett curse a seriously inferior Geelong side the to the 2008 team managed to stack up the wins vs Hawthorn.

If you look at that 2013 prelim final Geelong team, it was nowhere near the talent level of the 2013 Hawks.

That was our chance to square the ledger and we blew it....just

Even the 2016 Geelong team contained some very very ordinary talent...and we did beat a stacked Hawthorn team.....that game flies under the radar a bit

You had the best player on either side though Dangerfield. Actually 2016 we were nowhere near as good as the years before. We pinched alot of close games which covered up a few cracks that were developing. We definitely weren't a top 2 side that year around 4-6 IMO.

Can’t really remember the 2008 Hawks side that well.

But I do remember that Geelong team.

The cats kicked 11.23. I think they just lost it.

11.12 actually. 11 were rushed. It was the game that brought in the deliberate rushed behind rule because we used it as a tactic to try and unsettled the Cats zone.

 

[Dark Eagle 9]

"I know you.... your the Dawson!"

Yea that was definitely Hawthorns best premiership ever. Far greater than 89.

Thanks for taking away the payers right to concede the behind though. I think this one was around the beginning of the continuous fiddling of the AFL rules by the powers that be.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

If you did not know the result and you said to me that:

• Geelong would have 9 more scoring shots
• Geelong would dominate possession
• Ablett had 35, kicked 2 and was clearly BOG
• Mitchell gets tagged out of it and would have 11 touches
• Buddy amd Roughead were nullified for most of the game
• And that Hawthorns best player has just come out of retirement from Port and is borderline obese

I would have said Geelong must have won by 12 goals!!!!

Geelong didnt have 9 extra scoring shots, or are people finally admitting rushed behinds are from poor opposition footy and not some dirty underhanded tactic?

Remember, we've spent nearing on 20 years of people whining about how hawthorn ruined the game with 11 rushed behinds

 

[Mr Meow]

You had the best player on either side though Dangerfield. Actually 2016 we were nowhere near as good as the years before. We pinched alot of close games which covered up a few cracks that were developing. We definitely weren't a top 2 side that year around 4-6 IMO.

11.12 actually. 11 were rushed. It was the game that brought in the deliberate rushed behind rule because we used it as a tactic to try and unsettled the Cats zone.

Geelong and Hawthorn in 2016 were both 10 goal worse versions than their 2013 selves.

The Cats were held up by Dangerfield and Selwood being incredible and a couple of others (Hawkins, Duncan) being elite. There were a lot of B and C graders after that.

 

[canny30]

Geelong and Hawthorn in 2016 were both 10 goal worse versions than their 2013 selves.

The Cats were held up by Dangerfield and Selwood being incredible and a couple of others (Hawkins, Duncan) being elite. There were a lot of B and C graders after that.

Christ Scott coached some srsly ordinary talent levels for a number of years when you look back on the lists Geelong had......and still kept us Top 4 -ish

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

One of if not the best goal ever kicked in a GF, for pure guts and determination.

“An unlikely bulky hero!

The resistance may be broken!”

 

[luciien]

Not a single mention yet of how immense Hodge was that day. It was two turnovers from his own boot that handed Geelong victory in round 17.

Busted his ribs and was coughing up blood deep in the last quarter vs the saints in the Prelim.

Before the first bounce Mooney and Stokes are trying to soften him up with a few elbows. Hodge raised his arms and let them go for it, laughing in their faces.

All day he just seemed to be in the right spots to blunt Geelong with an array of spoils, bumps, intercepts, tackles and crucial bail out kicks.

Snuck forward and jagged a goal too . Gaz had great stat's that day, but was absolutely nowhere near BOG.

 

[Seeds]

These threads are pretty random.

Good on em, but our '08 team was neither the '07 or '09 in terms of calibre.

Our full forward was Tom Lonegan, ffs.

In the end, '09 doesn't happen without '08. Fair trade, cos I love that game so much. Even if these threads are, as I suspect, some weird kind of trolling.

Why doesnt 09 happen without losing 08.

Thats just a silly coping mechanism you have employed to help the loss seem more palatable.

 

[Seeds]

Not a single mention yet of how immense Hodge was that day. It was two turnovers from his own boot that handed Geelong victory in round 17.

Busted his ribs and was coughing up blood deep in the last quarter vs the saints in the Prelim.

Before the first bounce Mooney and Stokes are trying to soften him up with a few elbows. Hodge raised his arms and let them go for it, laughing in their faces.

All day he just seemed to be in the right spots to blunt Geelong with an array of spoils, bumps, intercepts, tackles and crucial bail out kicks.

Snuck forward and jagged a goal too . Gaz had great stat's that day, but was absolutely nowhere near BOG.

Helped that he was playing on an injured stokes who never should of been selected

 

[Seeds]

Geelong was ordinary in the prelim against the dogs. Too many players were carrying niggles. Just werent on like they were for most of the season.

 

[Seeds]

One of the greats imo. Geelong didn't choke Hawthorn were just better when it mattered. How good or great do you rate the hawks. Or do you overrate them?

For me the brand of footy they played that season could match it with almost any side. Especially what they played like in the finals.

Lol. Go watch the second qtr and say it wasnt a choke with a straight face. All those missed goals from 30m out where there was no pressure had nothing to do with hawthorn.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

Lol. Go watch the second qtr and say it wasnt a choke with a straight face. All those missed goals from 30m out where there was no pressure had nothing to do with hawthorn.

A few misses doesn't equate to a choke. You lost to a better team on the day.

Get over it.

 

[PowerfulPies2023]

How many were rushed?



Thank you.