Despite a sluggish start, Hawthorn have sealed second spot on the ladder with a commanding 65-point win over an injury depleted Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
Another impressive performance by Jordan Lewis (33 disposals) and a rock-solid Josh Gibson were among an array of standout contributors that helped the Hawks work their way back into the match early and post a sizeable 8.8 (56) to 18.13 (121) victory.
With a bevy of youngsters replacing many of the injured regulars in Collingwood’s lineup, they looked almost unrecognisable. But they started the contest defying their youthful inexperience, kicking the first of the night courtesy of one of their young inclusions in the form of debutant Corey Gault.
And their momentum carried on from there, keeping up with Hawthorn for most of the first quarter.
But their stranglehold soon faded as Hawthorn finally kicked back to life. The Collingwood defensive dam-wall well a truly shattered with the Hawks booting seven of the next nine goals to head into half time with a handy 26 point lead.
Collingwood continued to struggle in the third as they lacked answers to the Hawks’ dominance across the ground, with Jack Gunston (five goals) and Jarryd Roughead (four goals) combining to help pile on more goals.
The final term didn’t get any prettier for the Pies and they would have been counting down the minutes until the end of their season, with Hawthorn kicking the first three goals in as many minutes.
The retiring Luke Ball went out in style, collecting a modest 21 disposals and was one of the few reasons to cheer for Collingwood fans. Steele Sidebottom (36 disposals, one goal) and Scott Pendlebury (28 disposals) were the only other shining lights.
Brian Lake was subbed out of the match midway through the third term for precautionary reasons, with whispers abound it was in relation to a hip injury, but the Hawks were adamant there weren’t any immediate concerns over his fitness.
Tonight’s loss slams the door shut on any faint hope Collingwood had of stumbling into the finals, and draws the curtain on what has been a disappointing season. It also marks the first time in eight years they have missed a finals appearance.
As for Hawthorn, they lock in second spot and shift their focus towards a blockbuster matchup against Geelong in the first week of the finals.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
It is time that the tribunal became more simplistic, closed defence loopholes, and became representative of the game that it is trying to serve.
Scott Pendlebury is five disposals away from becoming the first VFL/AFL player to reach 10,000 disposals - not that Kane seems overly impressed!
A little over 12 months ago, Collingwood demolished Port Adelaide on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the MCG in the first of many, many…
Geelong coach Chris Scott has hit out at the AFL Tribunal's decision to clear Charlie Cameron for his dangerous tackle on Jake Lever, saying…
Collingwood premiership defender Nathan Murphy has been forced into a premature and immediate AFL retirement through concussion to prioritise a "full and healthy life"…
