Game Detail

Round: 2   Venue: M.C.G   Date: Mon, 9-04-2012 3:10 pm   Attendance: 69,231
Geelong	4.1.25	7.3.45	10.7.67	14.8.92	C:
Hawthorn	3.4.22	8.6.54	13.7.85	13.12.90	C:
	GE by 3	HW by 9	HW by 18	GE by 2

Weather

n/a        n/a

n/a      n/a      n/a

n/a        n/a

Match Report

One of the most intense rivalries in the modern game continued on Easter Monday, with Geelong and Hawthorn fighting out another classic encounter. Since the Hawks upset the Cats in the 2008 Grand Final, Geelong have managed to string together eight straight wins against their rival, six of those winning margins being under 10 points. This two-point triumph helped the Cats’ achieve their longest winning streak against the Hawks. While Geelong celebrated, Hawthorn was left wondering how they let another game against the Catters slip. Alastair Clarkson’s side had a number of chances to seal the four points, but they couldn’t quite finish off the plucky Cats. Cats forwards James Podsiadly and Tom Hawkins were crucial, especially Podsiadly late in the game. The Hawks held sway for the majority of the afternoon, taking a commanding 18-point lead into the final term after late third-quarter goals to Matt Suckling and Brendan Whitecross. Hawks star Lance Franklin was left ruing several missed opportunites, particularly a shot on goal late in the match where he decided to dribble the ball and it failed to make the distance. There are now questions surrounding Hawthorn’s ability to finish out important, tight matches, after their fadeout in the 2011 Preliminary Final. Clarkson was clearly frustrated post-match, hosing down speculation his side were flag favourites and saying that there was “daylight” between the Hawks and Geelong and Collingwood, even though they beat the Magpies a week earlier.                  


GOALS:

Geelong: Podsiadly 5, Hawkins 3, Johnson 3, Bartel 2, Smedts
Hawthorn: Lewis 3, Franklin 2, Rioli 2, Whitecross 2, Hale, Mitchell, Roughead, Suckling 



BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Geelong: Hawkins, Bartel, Selwood, Podsiadly, Corey, Christensen, Enright
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Rioli, Whitecross, Lewis, Franklin, Burgoyne

BEST - THE AGE
Geelong: Hawkins, Selwood, Podsiadly, Kelly, Christensen, Bartel, T Hunt
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Whitecross, Burgoyne, Lewis, Sewell, Guerra, Rioli


COACHES COMMENTS
Chris Scott (Gee): I wouldn't say I'm used to it (beating the Hawks). I'm not coping very well with the stress. But it's easier to handle when you finish up at the end of the day. I think we made a few coaching blues in the first half. In retrospect we would have started the game differently.

Alastair Clarkson(Haw): They'll continue to play the card that we won the most important one (2008), but at some point in time in these home-and-away games, we need to be winning these games, so we can show we've bridged the gap a little. You guys keep saying, 'Hawthorn are premiership favourites', but we know there's daylight between us and those sides.

Umpires: McBurney, Margetts, McInerney 



Player Stats