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There weren't many who were expecting a close match against the Tigers on Sunday, but it happened, and the Hawks nearly brought upon their own downfall with an appalling 14.22 (106) to 15.4 (94). The Tigers kicking straight to stay with the Hawks for the whole match and threatened for the lead close to the death. The Tigers trailed by as little as 5 points mid way through the final term. The Hawks were their own worst enemy with their spate of poor kicking in front of goal which started no less than 2 minutes in with Roughead missing an easy shot less than 10 meters from goal. No one was spared, and Buddy Franklin would be excused for having flashbacks to his 2007 match against the bulldogs for his 1 goal 7. His one goal came from an unselfish Cyril Rioli who handballed over the top of the Richmond defense to a lonesome Franklin in the goal square.
Roughhead, who missed his first shot on goal minutes into the match reprieved himself by finishing the game with 5 goals 3 behinds. Cyril Rioli deserves a rising star nomination for his performance which included a franklin-like goal from the pocket which helped to lift the Hawks when they were under immense self imposed pressure. Michael Osborne played very well with 2 goals straight and 26 disposals. Ben McGlynn had a poor game, along with most other forwards, and might make way for Tim Boyle against the Magpies on Saturday, provided he is fit. In the end it was the midfielders who proved the difference in the end with exceptional performances from Hodge, Mitchell and Crawford who had 31,28 and 25 disposals respectively. I think the less said about this game the better, but I think the Hawks will bounce back and find form against the Magpies on Saturday. It was a testament to the team that they could still pull off a win when it would be hard for them to have a collectively worse game. Lets hope the Haws can sort out their demons this week at training.
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Match Reviews 
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