Future ‘brighter’ than lightning for classy Cats; ‘bias’ called out as Hawks gun ‘gets nothing’: 3-2-1
After renewing their rivalry in a blockbuster Easter Monday showdown marred by a lightning delay, Geelong toppled Hawthorn at the MCG, winning 10.10 (70) to 17.4 (106).
The Cats saluted 350-game premiership champion Tom Hawkins — who booted four goals — with a 36-point win, building on their impressive start to the season and moving to 3-0 on the season.
An A-List of Geelong stars from previous premierships attended the Geelong rooms after the 36-point triumph over Hawthorn to celebrate with Hawkins ans his family.
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Harry Taylor caught a 5.30am flight from Geraldton to Perth and then another to Melbourne to arrive in time for the celebration.
Gary Ablett Jnr, Corey Enright, Brad Ottens, Steve Johnson and Isaac Smith were among the past Geelong greats in the rooms after the win, while Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton ducked in for a quick chat with the milestone man as well.
Mark Blicavs, meanwhile, said the severe weather situation that led to players being sent from the field shortly before the final term felt bizarre initially.
But he said the coaching staff effectively treated the delay as they would the time leading into a game or when resuming after the half-time break.
“We were getting real time information every 10 minutes from Scotty and from our fitness guys, which was great,” Blicavs told foxsports.com.au
“There were people behind the scenes trying to find out the different scenarios but we just stayed calm, we had a rest and then warmed up together, but not too much.
“And then we got a five minute warning, which we treated like it was the start of the game, so we had the chance to have a chat and then get out there and start up again.
“It was amazing. That’s one of the heaviest downpours I have ever seen. But we got there and it was a lot of fun. We were able to really embrace it and it was a really good experience.”
Geelong coach Chris Scott praised the AFL for the information they provided to the clubs during the severe weather delay, saying it helped them to deal with the unusual situation.
“To their credit, the AFL actually communicated really well. We had the options in front of us really quickly and we knew that we were going to have enough time to warm up once we got going,” he said.
“So it was that balance between sort of staying warm and staying ready but also staying calm and not fearing the unknown. As I said, I thought the communication was really good, so we had a pretty clear line of sight on what was going to happen.”
THE 3-2-1 ...
3. YOUNG CATS FIRE ON EASTER MONDAY
When milestone man Tom Hawkins signed on for another year last October after protracted contract negotiations, he stressed his belief that 2023 was an aberration for the Cats, not the norm.
Geelong’s premiership defence went awry from the opening round when Collingwood ran over them at the MCG and, although the Cats strung together five wins in succession between Rounds 4 and 8, they struggled for continuity due to a string of injury woes.
Dual-Carji Greeves Medallist Cam Guthrie did not play after Round 6. New skipper Patrick Dangerfield had his issues. So, too, Jeremy Cameron. The durable Mark Blicavs missed the final month of the year. The Cats lost when Mitch Duncan was absent. The absence of Jack Henry early and late in the season also hurt them.
But Hawkins was adamant that with a smoother run, the Cats had the right combination of mature champions and promising young talent to be able to give 2024 a shake.
“The future looks bright from here in Geelong (and) I look forward to the young guys keeping me young and continuing to give my all to this club. My motivation, without question, is still there,” he said.
“I will continue as I was always taught, to try and leave this club in a better place than when I started. I’m really excited for the challenge that’s in front of the team and myself moving forward into the future.”
The second quarter against the Hawks aside, when the Cats struggled to defend against a rival prepared that moved the ball sideways before moving it forward quickly, they have been superb with wins over St Kilda, Adelaide and now Hawthorn.
As a result of their triumph on Easter Monday, they join the Giants and Fremantle as the only unbeaten teams after three matches in a highly-promising start to the season.
The Cats have won four of their last five matches against the Bulldogs – they dropped the most recent at GMHBA Stadium in Rd 24 last year after warehousing several players – who they play on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval, a ground they love playing at.
Then they face North Melbourne. Should their form hold, the Cats could be 5-0 and well on the way to another September appearance. And the Kittens are having an impact.
Tanner Bruhn, who is now in his fourth season, is among the young talent showing promise. Taking charge in the absence of skipper Patrick Dangerfield, Bruhn was dynamic in the first term when gathering 15 disposals in the first term.
“His first quarter is the best I have seen him play. His ability to get on the loose ball was first class,” Fox Footy analyst Jason Dunstall said.
Leigh Montagna said he was a “little bit of a slow burn for a first-round pick” but that he “thinks there is an exciting season ahead for Tanner Bruhn”.
Max Holmes, who would be a premiership player bar for tearing a hamstring in a preliminary final two years ago, adds plenty of zip. Jhye Clark was promising as well. Ollie Dempsey is also showing promise and Ollie Henry kicked a couple of excellent goals in the first quarter and another to settle the tide in the last term.
Young ruckman Toby Conway showed promising signs in his second game, prompting Fox Footy experts Leigh Montagna and David King to ponder whether they should back the 20-year-old in.
“He looks good, doesn’t he? He took a big grab. Kicked a goal. He is doing all sorts of things,” Dunstall said.
2. MILESTONE MAN’S EASTER MONDAY SHOW
Speaking of Hawkins, the old marvel was excellent again in attack on Easter Monday, particularly early on as Geelong put their old rivals to the sword in the first term.
His opening goal for the match was one Geelong fans will have seen regularly throughout a career that began against Carlton back in 2007.
The 35-year-old led into the forward pocket and was pinged on the chest by a beautiful pass from a good friend in Mitch Duncan.
From a difficult angle, he produced a typical Hawkins kick – the shot started on the left-hand goal post and faded late to split the middle.
Hawkins, who is on target to pass Joel Selwood’s all-time games record at Geelong of 356 matches at some stage in May should his fitness hold, drew level with Jack Riewoldt on the all-time goal kicking list with the effort.
He added another late in the term from the square and then a third as Geelong re-established their dominance after half-time when out marking Sam Frost.
Hawkins then received a gift from Jeremy Cameron, despite it being the left-footer’s birthday, to allow him to kick his fourth goal from the top of the square.
Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall said the beauty of Hawkins is that he is a multi-faceted forward who is outstanding on the lead, in one-on-one marking contests but also in his ability to bring teammates into the action.
“He is terrific on the lead for a bloke who is so big. He has also had a couple of assists. He is just a wonderful player to have at the top end of your ground,” Dunstall said on Fox Footy.
How much longer will Hawkins go on?
Geelong coach Chris Scott said he loved having Hawkins around the club and it is by no means certain that this will be his last year should he continue to provide a focal point in attack for the Cats.
1. HAWKS SCARE NOT ENOUGH AS ‘BIAS’ EXPOSED
Hawthorn is on the back foot but there is a relatively simple solution for Sam Mitchell as he looks to turn the season around. Fix their slow starts and bottle their second terms.
As poor as the Hawks have been in the opening quarters over the past fortnight, they have been able to turn the match their way for a period after settling into their rhythm.
They outscored Geelong by five goals to one to continue a trend this season, with their ability to spread the Cats and then penetrate inside their forward 50m arc impressive.
They also dominated the stoppages for periods in the second and last terms.
While Toby Conway showed promise for Geelong, Lloyd Meek had the upper hand in the middle in the battle of the emerging ruckman.
Karl Amon, Conor Nash and James Worpel provided drive through the middle and there were some encouraging signs in attack as well.
While Luke Breust had a nightmare in the first term when making a mistake that will go viral this week, Cameron Mackenzie showed great poise and creativity when kicking a couple of goals.
Mabior Chol, too, played his best game for the Hawks so far when kicking two second term goals – he finished with three – while Mitch Lewis was able to kick a goal after a strong chest mark.
“It is great that we have a contest on our hands because it looked pretty sick at quarter-time. It was better in the second half from Mabior,” Dunstall said.
The slow starts, meanwhile, are not the only concern for Hawthorn. The Hawks might want to give the AFL umpiring department a call to ask whether new recruit Jack Ginnivan is blacklisted according to Fox Footy analyst David King.
The premiership Magpie, who has now played three games for Hawthorn, was relatively quiet until kicking the opening goal of the last term.
But nor was he given any favours, King said at half-time.
“There’s been 11 high tackles paid today and just by sheer coincidence, the two (incidents) that Jack is in, it is a no-call,” King said.
“He’s gone from 21 (free kicks received) in 2022 to four last year to one so far this year. They have two sets of rules. It is as simple as that. The guy with the long sleeves gets nothing.”
King was not alone in noticing it, with Hawthorn great Luke Hodge another to note that Ginnivan received no favours from the men wearing lime green shirts on Easter Monday.
Former Collingwood captain and coach Tony Shaw and ex-Richmond and Collingwood forward Brian Taylor also condemned the perceived bias against the small forward.
“There is just this (bias) against Jack Ginnivan at the moment. He was just held behind the ball (and didn’t receive a free kick),” Shaw said on 3AW.
MATCH RECAP
There are no late changes. Today’s subs are Harry Morrison (Hawthorn) and Jack Bowes (Geelong).
Tyson Stengle kicked a terrific banana goal to open the scoring at the MCG after a crafty goal assist from Gryan Miers.
The rainy weather appears to have halted, thankfully, allowing for a free-flowing opening to this Easter Monday contest.
Geelong superstar Jeremy Cameron appeared to roll his right ankle landing from a marking contest.
It’s early stages, but the Hawks are moving the ball at a faster pace after being criticised for a circumspect approach against Melbourne, with Cam Mackenzie nabbing Hawthorn’s first major.
In his 350th game, Tom Hawkins slotted an absolute beauty from a tough set-shot angle.
Shortly after, Brad Close snapped Geelong’s third of the first quarter, making it a 12-point game halfway through the period.
Hawkins narrowly missed an opportunity to dob his second goal of the quarter, before Ollie Henry capitalised on a long set shot after corralling James Sicily in a tackle.
A Luke Breust snap at goal that bounced through was touched off the boot, keeping the Hawks trailing by 18 points.
Soon after, Breust squandered a chance at a sure goal, which led to a Jeremy Cameron snapping goal just moments later.
Ollie Henry and Hawkins added two more for Geelong, with Brad Scott’s men booking a commanding 36-point quarter-time advantage.
“It’s been an avalanche,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy at quarter-time. “It’s fun times if you’re playing in the Geelong forward line.”
Dunstall added the Hawks were “their own worst enemy” in the opening stanza, wasting opportunities to reduce the deficit.
Brave transition from Hawthorn led to a Connor Macdonald goal to begin the second term on the right foot.
A booming Jeremy Cameron goal from outside 50 restored Geelong’s 36-point lead just minutes later.
More ambitious ball movement from the Hawks resulted in their second goal of the quarter through Cam Mackenzie — who has two himself.
After an initial onslaught, Hawthorn seems to have weathered the Geelong storm a little, though it remains a 30-point game.
Young Geelong star Max Holmes received some medical attention for a right leg concern.
A chase-down tackle and subsequent set shot goal by Mabior Chol shortened Geelong’s lead to 23 points late in the half, before a terrific mark and goal by Mitch Lewis reduced it further to just 17 points.
Chol added a second goal to really get his Hawks back in the game.
“We’ve got a contest on our hands,” Dunstall said on Fox Footy at half-time.
“All of a sudden, (the Hawks have) won a bit of the footy, and it’s changed the complexion of the game.”
Hawthorn is neck-and-neck with Geelong in inside-50s and leads the clearance count 22-15 at half-time. They’ve possessed the ball just as much as the Cats and have outmarked them 61-46, showcasing the evenness in the numbers.
At half-time, Fox Footy’s David King lamented the lack of free-kick favouritism for Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan.
“There’s been 11 high tackles paid today and just by sheer coincidence, the two that Jack’s in, it’s a no-call,” King told the Fox Footy panel.
“He’s gone from 21 (free kicks paid) in 2022 to four last year to one so far this year. They have two sets of rules, it’s as simple as that. The guy with the long sleeves gets nothing.”
A quick Chol goal (his third) to start the third term brought the Hawks back to within just four points, before Geelong youngster Toby Conway restored a 10-point Cats lead.
Then, goals by Tyson Stengle and Ollie Henry pushed Geelong’s advantage back out to 22 points, before another onslaught by the team in hoops had the Hawks reeling once again.
After coming to within four points early in the third, the Cats asserted their authority, extending their lead back out to an equal-game-high 36 points at the third stanza wound to a close.
Geelong star Tom Stewart was assessed for a potential concussion following a marking contest with Chol.
The Cats held a 36-point advantage at three-quarter-time after a dominant quarter that saw Scott’s men dominate at the contest — they were +9 in contested possessions and +5 in tackles.
Right as the final term was set to commence, the umpires signalled a game delay for lightning as rain continued to bucket down at the MCG.
Fox Footy journalist Jon Ralph reported there is “no prospect that this game is cancelled”, with the AFL fully expecting the lightning to clear and the game to commence imminently.
Hawthorn forward Mitch Lewis succumbed to injury and won’t take part in the resumption of play.
“Mitch Lewis will not resume this game,” Ralph told Fox Footy, citing a hamstring concern for the burgeoning forward.
When play finally resumed — 46 minutes later — to begin the fourth quarter, the Hawks were quickest to adapt, kicking the first goal of the term through Ginnivan.
After Ginnivan’s goal, though, the Hawks missed their next few opportunities, kicking four behinds.
However, Nick ‘The Wizard’ Watson finally capitalised for the brown and gold, snapping a skidding goal to reduce the deficit back to 20 points.
The promise was short-lived, however, as Ollie Henry goaled for Geelong to push its lead back out to 26 points.
Tom Hawkins slotted another goal after a charitable Jeremy Cameron handballed it to the 350-gamer just outside the goalsquare. 32-point game.
The final minutes of the game were mellow, as both sides no doubt were aiming at avoiding injury at all costs.
In the end, the Cats claimed a 36-point victory.
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