Which premiership will be remembered as better - Geelong 2011 or Hawthorn 2014?

Which team was better?


  • Total voters
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Crazy John

Senior List
Nov 30, 2013
299
624
AFL Club
Richmond
Both these sides will be recognised as two of the greatest premiership teams in history, especially when you consider the obstacles that each side had to overcome in order to win the flag.

- Both had just lost arguably their best player to northern state franchises (Gary Ablett and Lance Franklin).

- Geelong had just lost their coach to another club, while Hawthorn lost their coach for 5 weeks during the season to illness.

- Both went into the Grand Final against juggernauts who were labelled unstoppable by the media (Collingwood 2011 and Sydney 2014).

- Hawthorn had to deal with several injuries to key players during the season, while Geelong dealt with injuries at the wrong time of the year, and had to carry injured players into the Grand Final.


Which team do you rate as better, and why?
 

Billyc

Norm Smith Medallist
Oct 17, 2009
8,355
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Hawthorn
Hawthorn by a long shot. Can't think of any side facing more adversity and then winning the flag - and in such emphatic fashion.

Plus Buddy went to Sydney, not Gold Coast. If Ablett went to Collingwood I suspect 2011 might have been rather different.

2014 was Hawthorn's greatest ever flag.
 

Pavlovs Cat

Premiership Player
Sep 19, 2012
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Who cares? I'm sure Hawk fans are just as happy now as we were in 2011. I actually thought 2009 was Geelong's best win of the three we won. St Kilda were awesome that year and teams in the last round were hoping to play us during the first week of the finals. Otto was underdone and Gardiner was important in that Round 14 win they had over us.
 

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Herne Hill Hammer

Cancelled
10k Posts
Jun 22, 2008
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Both these sides will be recognised as two of the greatest premiership teams in history, especially when you consider the obstacles that each side had to overcome in order to win the flag.

- Both had just lost arguably their best player to northern state franchises (Gary Ablett and Lance Franklin).

- Geelong had just lost their coach to another club, while Hawthorn lost their coach for 5 weeks during the season to illness.

- Both went into the Grand Final against juggernauts who were labelled unstoppable by the media (Collingwood 2011 and Sydney 2014).

- Hawthorn had to deal with several injuries to key players during the season, while Geelong dealt with injuries at the wrong time of the year, and had to carry injured players into the Grand Final.


Which team do you rate as better, and why?

Apart from being the reigning premiers, why were Collingwood a juggernaut?

They lost 2 games for the home and away, both to Geelong. The lost 3 games for the entire season, all to Geelong who incidently beat Hawthorn 3 times for the season too.

You ask which premiership will be remember as better and then in the poll ask who is the better team.:confused:

The Hawthorn side of 2014 aren't necessarily better than the Geelong side of 2011 but Hawthorn's flag from a purely footy point of view judged for the entirety of the season was better than Geelong's 2011.
 

two up

Cancelled
May 13, 2010
359
465
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Adelaide
I think people are forgetting how much Geelong were written off at the end of 2010. No one gave them the slightest chance, the era was over etc. People were talking of Collingwood going through undefeated and they were an amazing team that year (better than Sydney). Hawthorn have had a terrible run with injuries this year but everyone knew with a full team on the park they would be hard to beat, which eventuated. I personally think Geelong, but they're both great efforts
 

Footyfan85

Team Captain
Sep 13, 2014
540
564
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Geelong
Geelong by a mile.

Collingwood were a gun side who had only lost 2 games that year + reigning premiers.
Hawks were up there.

2014 - no competition. Geelong sliding, Freo injured, Port Adelaide not quite there but up and coming, Sydney good but over hyped with Buddy.
Interestate team in a GF (home ground advantage).

Geelong 2011, was one of the greatest sides of all time. Did they finish 19-3? (3 losses by under 2 goals I reckon?).

EASY.
 

DardySingh360

Premiership Player
Mar 16, 2011
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Geelong were favourites in the 2011 GF.

Also 2011 was a very uncompetitive year compared to 2014, it was clear that those two sides would be in the Grand Final from about half way through the season (although Hawthorn gave Collingwood a real scare in the Prelim).

2014 was a much more open and competitive season, and for most of the year there were 5 teams who could have won the flag. Hence why 2014 is a more impressive flag, the hurdles they had to overcome are amazing.
 

Inferno

Norm Smith Medallist
Mar 7, 2006
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2014 will likely be more remembered. We were slight favourates while Hawthorn were underdogs (no idea why considering they beat Sydney at the same venue last time they played) and 2011 looked like being Geelong vs. Collingwood from about May onwards where as this season had 5 teams who at various points were premiership favourates. Plus the fact it's back to back and that 2014 was generally a more interesting season as a whole.

In terms of which team is better though, which is an entirely different question (and I have nfi why the OP would conflate the two), I'd definitely say Geelong 2011.

Although the most remembered GF of recent times will always be 2007, if only for the margin :cool:
 

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Cicatriz

All Australian
Sep 25, 2005
879
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Geelong
I think people are forgetting how much Geelong were written off at the end of 2010. No one gave them the slightest chance, the era was over etc. People were talking of Collingwood going through undefeated and they were an amazing team that year (better than Sydney). Hawthorn have had a terrible run with injuries this year but everyone knew with a full team on the park they would be hard to beat, which eventuated. I personally think Geelong, but they're both great efforts
Too old, too slow were how we were known.
 
Aug 31, 2008
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Geelong answered their critics like nobody's business.

They got absolutely pantsed by Collingwood in the previous finals series, which apparently spelt the end of their reign... Not to mention losing arguably the greatest ever player to play the game.

Personally I laughed at people writing them off and was very pleased to see them get up (not that I had anything against Collingwood). It was a great achievement.
 

Barry_Badrinath

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Aug 23, 2011
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Why is Hawthorn's premiership being talked up as one of the best ever? They finished with a 20-5 record and a percentage of about 140%. That's about par for a premiership side. Have I missed something? Surely losing some players to injury doesn't make your premiership any better than a team that won 20-23 games with a percentage of 150+?
 

thebarry111

Team Captain
Sep 28, 2008
580
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melbourne
AFL Club
Geelong
Hawthorn by a long shot. Can't think of any side facing more adversity and then winning the flag - and in such emphatic fashion.

Plus Buddy went to Sydney, not Gold Coast. If Ablett went to Collingwood I suspect 2011 might have been rather different.

2014 was Hawthorn's greatest ever flag.

This is more a blight on hawthorns ability to win the flag. The reality is that their were no great teams for hawthorn to beat this year. It is really one of the more forgettable years in a long time. No offence to hawthorn, you can only beat the team you play but the last two flags have been more memorable for how boring the games were than for the games themselves. The fact last year freo was still in the game having kicked 1.6 to half time say's everything. Hopefully someone can step up to challenge them next year as footy is getting pretty boring with the gaps in talent.
 
Sep 17, 2004
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This is more a blight on hawthorns ability to win the flag. The reality is that their were no great teams for hawthorn to beat this year. It is really one of the more forgettable years in a long time. No offence to hawthorn, you can only beat the team you play but the last two flags have been more memorable for how boring the games were than for the games themselves. The fact last year freo was still in the game having kicked 1.6 to half time say's everything. Hopefully someone can step up to challenge them next year as footy is getting pretty boring with the gaps in talent.

This is a pisstake right?

Beating Sydney this year (the team we fell to in the 2012 GF) was the redemption Geelong never got. Beside the whole b2b thing that the Cats squibbed in 2008 and 2010
 
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