The Match started out as physical as one would expect. Hodge held his armsa bove his head and invited an inspection from the Geelong backline, and got one. It wasn't physical in the way of fights or intimidation, rather it was supperb pressure on the ball carrier which saw the hawks head out to a three goal lead halfway through the first quarter. A series of questionable umpiring decisions brought Geelong back into the game with the reigning premiers taking a 1 point lead at the first short break. 

 

Geelong came out firing in the second quarter and completely dominated the clearances and midfield, the backline held it together as well as they could, with Croad leaving the field to take no further part in the game, and forcing Geelong to score 1 goal 9 for the term, the Hawks put on 3 goals 2.

 

After a spray from coach Clarkson at the long break the midfield sprang into life. The increased pressure resulted in more free kicks going Geelong's way, but not all of them were undeserved. It has the desired effect though. The Hawks slammed the ball deep into the forward fifty and found the unual target of Dew and company who helped the Hawks pile on 6 goals for the term. Buddy Franklin was well held by Scarlett, but the ball was rarely kicked to him in a 1 on 1 contest so perhaps Scarletts stats were better on paper then in reality. The Cats responded with two very quick goals, inside a minute, to reduce the 3/4 margin to 3 goals. 

 

The last quarter was solid. Nothing outlandish from either team, just strong, at the ball aggression from both sides. The Hawks could taste the premiership cup and lifted on the warm September day and looked to finish with more in reserve then the Cats outfit. The Hawks put another 4 goals on the board in the term and with 5 minutes to it wasn't a question of who was going to win the premiership, but rather who was going to win the Norm Smith medal. That honour went to makeshift defender Luke Hodge. 

 

You could talk for hours about the game yesterday, but only one thing matter. The Hawks have won their 10th premiership Cup after waiting a long and painful 17 years. Well done to all the players and the coaching staff for a sensational year. Let's hope we don't need to wait 17 more for our next!

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