Australian Football

Match Report

Final round games between a club with much to play for and another with nothing to gain can often produce mismatches that see a finals contender thrashing an also-ran. A couple of clear cases in point were on display on Saturday as Geelong and Sydney, both vying for the minor premiership, put Melbourne and Richmond to the sword by margins of beyond 100 points. So when Hawthorn, needing to win to secure a place in the top four and a double chance, took on Collingwood, with nothing more than pride the play for, the possibility of the Hawks blowing the Magpies out of the water loomed large.

But Collingwood and neutral fans need not have worried. The two sides produced one of the most thrilling contests of the year, Both sides looked likely winners at various stages but the Hawks looked to have finally taken the points when they led by three goals midway through the final term. But Collingwood came again and seemed to have sewn up the match when an Adam Treloar snapshot put the Pies ahead by a goal.

Enter Hawk ruckman Jack Fitzpatrick, playing his first game for the club after several seasons as nothing more than a bit player at Melbourne. The lanky Fitzpatrick grabbed a loose ball at the ensuing centre bounce after Treloar's goals, and his long bomb from inside the centre square sailed through, levelling the scores again. Soon after Paul Puoplo sneaked a grubbing kick through for a behind, and the siren sounded soon after to give the Hawks a memorable one-point victory, one which not only gave them a place in the top four but also condemned Adelaide to a cut-throat Elimination Final and the Western Bulldogs to an Elimination Final on the other side of the country rather than the local confines of the MCG.

Fitzpatrick actually featured in the match's earliest stage, kicking the first score, a behind after he marked at the two-minute mark. Jarryd Blair goaled for Collingwood soon after but Fitzpatrick was back in action soon after, kicking more accurately and give Hawthorn its first goal after seven minutes. The Pies scored the next two via Ben Crocker and Jordan de Goey before Luke Breust kicked Hawthorn's second at the 22-minute mark. That cut Collingwood's lead to five points but a second goal to de Goey saw the Pies 10 points clear at the first break.

Both sides went goal for goal in the first 12 minutes of the second term with goals to Collingwood's Levi Greenwood and Jesse White answered respectively by Hawks Jack Gunston and Puopolo. Breust broke the run to make it two in a row for Hawthorn at the 14-minute mark and cut the lead to three points but the two sides then resumed the goal-for-goal sequence until Tyson Goldsack made it two in a row for the Magpies just before half time to give them an 11-point buffer at the long break. 

The reigning premiers looked like rising to the challenge in the third quarter, and early goals to Breust and Cyril Rioli saw the Hawks grab the lead for the first time since early in the first term, but Brodie Grundy returned Collingwood to a six-point lead with his first goal after 11 minutes. Billy Hartung levelled the scores with a major soon after but the Pies edged ahead once more when Travis Coke marked strongly and kicked truly after 18 minutes. From there, though, it was all Hawthorn for the remainder of the quarter, goals to Rioli, Shaun Burgoyne and Jordan Lewis seeing the Hawks to a 12-point lead going into the final term.

At three-quarter time there was a strong belief among those at the game that Hawthorn had seen off Collingwood's challenge and would go on to record a comfortable win but majors to Greenwood and White within the first seven minutes of the final term levelled the score and put those thoughts on hold. They returned when James Sicily, Hartung and Burgoyne kicked consecutive goals to put the Hawks 18 points clear but the Magpies kicked the next four in a row, culminating in Adam Treloar's, setting the scene for Jack Fitzpatrick's heroics and Puopolo's last-minute behind which ultimately gave Hawthorn a win and a finals double chance by the narrowest of margins.

Burgoyne's nine marks, seven tackles and two goals made him one of Hawthorn's best, while Treloar (36 touches, two goals) was a standout for Collingwood.

The win will see the Hawks take on Geelong in a Qualifying Final on Friday week, a mouthwatering prospect for all footy fans. The winner will get a week off while the loser will take on he winner of the West Coast v Western Bulldogs match played the night before. 

For Collingwood, the season finished on somewhat of a high note, despite the heartbreaking loss, with the Magpies reassured that their best football makes them capable of mixing it with the leagues elite. Nevertheless, a 9-13 win-loss record is a disappointment and nothing less than a finals appearance in 2017 will likely be tolerated by Collingwood fans, players, board or coach.

GOALS
Hawthorn: Breust, Rioli 3; Hartung, Burgoyne, Fitzpatrick 2; Gunston, Puopolo, Hodge, Lewis, Sicily
Collingwood: Crocker 3; De Goey, White, Greenwood, Blair, Treloar, Cloke 2; Goldsack, Grundy

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Rioli, Burgoyne, Breust, Birchell, Lewis, Hodge
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Sidebottom, Treloar, Grundy, Crocker, Phillips

BEST - THE AGE
Hawthorn: Burgoyne, Mitchell, Rioli, Breust, Lewis, Whitecross, Hodge
Collingwood: Treloar, Pendlebury, Grundy, Howe, Sidebottom, Greenwood, De Goey

INJURIES
Hawthorn: McEvoy (back soreness, replaced in selected side by Pittonet)
Collingwood: Aish (hamstring)

UMPIRES: Farmer, Bannister, Chamberlain

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network

COMMENTATORS: Dennis Cometti, Hamish McLachlan, Leigh Matthews, Chris Judd