The Roar
The Roar

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Hawks win a pre-season thriller on the siren

Expert
17th February, 2017
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Tasmania's Hawthorn experiment must end. (AAP Image/Rob Blakers)
Expert
17th February, 2017
16
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Isaac Smith, eat your heart out – little-known Hawthorn rookie Kade Stewart has kicked a goal on the stroke of the final siren to defeat Geelong in a Friday night JLT Community Series match in Launceston.

It was a match that tossed and turned like only a meeting between these two great rivals can, with both sides enjoying periods of dominance before a thrilling finish.

The Hawks controlled the first half kicking eleven goals to four, but seemed to take the third quarter off as a tea break – Geelong booted the first seven goals of the second half and had made up a 41-point half-time deficit and then some by the final change.

The two sides then traded goals in the final term before Stewart got his chance in the final moments of the match and sunk a set shot to win the game.

Stewart was probably the most impressive of Hawthorn’s unsung heroes with two goals and 14 disposals, but they also saw an excellent effort from Jaeger O’Meara.

O’Meara played only the first half of the match before sitting out the second as a planned precaution, having a solid impact in that time with 12 disposals and five tackles.

Tyrone Vickery spent most of his time in the ruck and finished with 10 touches and seven hit-outs, but didn’t trouble the scoreboard.

New captain Jarryd Roughead had a nice moment booting a goal in the early part of the game, but otherwise wasn’t overly prominent.

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The most impressive of the new faces on the night was undoubtedly Zach Tuohy for Geelong – best on ground showcasing his speed and skills across 33 dispoals.

Of course, he was rivalled for that title by a great haul of four goals from Aaron Black, three of them coming in the Cats’ third-quarter turnaround.

The Cats would also have been happy to see some good moments from draftees Tom Stewart, Jack Henry, Brandan Parfitt and Zach Guthrie.

Jackson Thurlow made a successful return from an ACL injury he suffered in last year’s pre-season, but it wasn’t all good news for Geelong, with Cam Guthrie and Lachie Henderson sitting out the second half with minor concerns.

In the end it was the Hawks, writing another chapter in this engaging rivalry.

Final score
Hawthorn Hawks 0.15.8.98
Geelong Cats 1.13.7.94

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