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The curse is broken, but the Hawthorn-Geelong rivalry continues

Roar Guru
15th April, 2014
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Roar Guru
15th April, 2014
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1656 Reads

One of the AFL’s most celebrated rivalries continues when the league’s only two undefeated teams, Geelong and Hawthorn, go head-to-head in a potential grand final preview on Easter Monday.

The Hawks’ hot start to their premiership defence has gone to script. The club won their first four matches by an average of 52 points, flexing their muscle with a 99-point thrashing of the Suns on the Gold Coast last week. Hawks fans could not have asked for a better start to not only their premiership defence but also life after Lance Franklin, who is currently struggling for form at the Sydney Swans.

The Hawks will face the first acid test of their premiership defence when they take on the Cats this weekend. It would have been a rematch of last year’s grand final, if not been for Fremantle’s stunning victory at the Cattery last September.

It was the Dockers’ shock victory over Geelong which sent Chris Scott’s men to the Hawks’ half of the finals draw, ruining the dream grand final between two AFL powerhouses. The Hawks would have had to end the so-called ‘Kennett Curse’ losing streak against Geelong in the biggest match of the year.

After Hawthorn denied Geelong consecutive premierships in 2008, former President Jeff Kennett claimed that the Cats “lacked the mentality to beat Hawthorn” and that “they’ve beaten them when it matters”.

His comments, along with a vow from Paul Chapman that the Cats “should never lose to Hawthorn again”, conspired against the Hawks as the Cats would defeat them 11 times in a row between Round 1 in 2009 and Round 15 last year.

Cats fans entered the 2013 preliminary final confident that they could continue their dominance against the Hawks, and that their odd-year dynasty could continue after having won flags in 2007, 2009 and 2011.

The Cats were without Chapman though after the 2009 Norm Smith Medallist was suspended for a high bump on Port Adelaide’s Robbie Gray in the semi-final. It cost the Cats not only their dominance against the Hawks, but what would have been their fifth grand final in seven years.

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Still, the Cats led by 20 points at three-quarter-time and looked set to continue their streak until the Hawks rallied in a tense final quarter to take the lead by six points with a minute remaining. Geelong’s Travis Varcoe missed a running shot on goal in the final 30 seconds that would have sent the match into extra time.

Geelong didn’t completely dominate Hawthorn throughout that 11-match winning stretch – most matches were very close, with the only blowout coming when the Cats took out the the 2011 qualifying final by 31 points.

Tom Hawkins kicked a post-siren goal in round 19, 2012, when the Cats went from one end to the other with 40 seconds remaining on the clock to once again sink Hawk hearts.

But the rivalry goes back to the 1989 Grand Final, regarded as one of the greatest AFL deciders of all time.

The Hawks had finished on top of the ladder and were the defending premiers, while the Cats were appearing in their first Grand Final since 1967 and going for their first flag since 1963.

The Cats made a huge statement early when Mark Yeates ran straight into Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton, setting the tone for a grand final classic. Brereton’s injury was one of a few suffered by the Hawks that day, but it looked like they would cruise to their eighth VFL flag when they led by 36 points at three-quarter-time, the scores reading Hawthorn 18.13 (121) to Geelong 13.7 (85).

But the Cats, led by Gary Ablett’s nine-goal performance, rallied in the final quarter to reduce the injury-hit Hawks’ lead to just six points with less than a minute to play. The Cats would ultimately fall short of their first premiership since 1963, but Ablett was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for his role in the Cats’ final-quarter surge.

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This marked only the second time in which the best player in the Grand Final came from the losing side, with subsequent Norm Smith Medallists in losing teams including Nathan Buckley (2002) and Chris Judd (2005).

The rivalry between the Cats and the Hawks is now one of the most celebrated in the AFL. Both sides are undefeated to start season 2014, but by Monday night one team will suffer their first defeat of the season, barring an unlikely draw.

It remains unclear who will start as outright favourite, with the Hawks holding top spot on percentage and the Cats having started 4-0 for the fifth time in the past seven seasons.

The Hawks have history against them entering this MCG showdown. Although they have beaten Geelong in two of their three recent finals meetings at the MCG, they have not beaten the Cats in a regular season match at the ground since Round 7, 2002, and not during the regular season since Round 4, 2007 (in York Park in Launceston).

It is difficult to predict a winner with confidence, though if you’re a Geelong supporter you can stake some claim to optimism given your team’s recent dominance.

Whoever wins this match may also assume premiership favouritism, a tag which the Hawks have long held since the start of the year.

Bring it on.

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