Australian Football

Match Report

Hawthorn is one step away from a place in a third consecutive Grand Final after it broke away from Geelong in the second half of Friday night's Qualifying Final at the MCG in front of 74,753 fans. Scores were level at the long break after a see-sawing first half but the Hawks proved just that bit better than the Cats in the third and final terms to run out winners by six goals and earn a direct passage to the Preliminary Final.

The match got off to a tight and tense start, with both teams applying immense pressure on the opposition. The net result after the first five minutes of the match was a behind to each side but Geelong skipper broke the deadlock with a magnificent running goal soon after to give the Cats a six-point lead. After another Hawk point, the Cats extended that lead to 11 when Jimmy Bartel marked 45 metres out and kicked truly. Hawthorn finally got its first when Jarryd Rough grabbed a loose ball from a ruck contest a snapped a goal just before the clock ticked into time on. Jordan Lewis marked and goaled three minutes later to give the Hawks a two-point lead and Paul Puopolo made that lead eight when he also marked and converted from 40 metres out. A rushed behind made it a nine-point break Hawthorn's way at the first change.

Luke Hodge opened the scoring in the second term with a behind for the Hawks at the five-minute mark but Geelong controlled the next nine minutes of play, with a goal each to Bartel and Selwood along with a couple of behinds making it a four-point ball game in the Cats' favour at the 14-minute mark. Isaac Smith wrested the lead back for Hawthorn at the 15-minute mark and Puopolo extend that to eight with his second two minutes later. Jack Gunston then kicked his first and it looked as if Hawthorn was about to take control as they took a 14-point buffer into time on. But Geelong then had a second nine-minute period of dominance, again adding 2.2, with a goal each to Jordan Murdoch and Josh Walker. At half time, the two sides were locked together on 6.5.41.

The game continued to hang in the balance until half way through the third quarter. David Hale goaled for Hawthorn but Selwood and Tom Hawkins responded for the Cats before Luke Hodge marked and goaled to make the difference one point Hawthorn's way at the 16-minute mark. From that point, the Hawks gradually got on top. Jack Gunston made it seven points with a long bomb at the 18-minute mark and 13 points with a mark and goal four minutes later and Hawthorn took a 14-point lead into the last change of ends.

Geelong needed the first goal of then final term to give itself a chance but it was Hawthorn's Luke Breust who snared it with a bouncing goal after three minutes, making the difference 20 points. Mark Blicavs reduced that to 14 with a mark and goal at the 10-minute mark but that was as close as the Cats would get. The Hawks kicked four of the last five goals, two of those two Jordan Lewis, and won by a comfortable 36 points to earn week 2 of the finals series off.

Leading the way for the Hawks were Sam Mitchell (36 disposals, five marks), Brian Lake - who did a fine defensive job on Tom Hawkins - and Jack Gunston (three goals and seven marks), while Geelong's best included Selwood (31 touches and three goals), Jimmy Bartel (20 possessions, six tackles) and Matthew Stokes (28 possessions and seven tackles).

The Hawks will now have a week off and face the winner of next weekend's Fremantle-Port Adelaide match at the MCG on Saturday week. The Cats will have to do it the hard way if they are going to make this year's Grand Final, firstly defeating North Melbourne next Friday night and the Swans in Sydney a week later.

GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston, Lewis 3; Puopolo, Roughead 2; Smith, Hale, Hodge, Breust, Langford
Geelong: Selwood 3; Bartel 2; Murdoch, Walker, Hawkins, Blicavs, Johnson

BEST - SPORTAL.COM.AU
Hawthorn: Lake, Mitchell, Gunston, Smith, Hill
Geelong: Selwood, Bartel, Taylor, McIntosh, Enright

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Gunston, Hill, Smith, Lake, Birchall, Burgoyne, Puopolo
Geelong: Selwood, Bartel, Stokes, Varcoe, Horlin-Smith, Guthrie

INJURIES
Hawthorn: Nil
Geelong: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Hawthorn: Brad Sewell replaced by Jonathan Simpkin in the final quarter
Geelong: Hamish McIntosh replaced by Jackson Thurlow in the final quarter

UMPIRES: Nicholls, Chamberlain, Pannell 

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Cometti, Leigh Matthews, Tom Harley, Wayne Carey, Matthew Richardson