Brent Guerra and Liam Shiels of the Hawks attempt to smother the kick of Nick Salter of Port during the AFL Round 18 match between Port Adelaide Power and the Hawthorn Hawks at AAMI Stadium. The Slattery Media Group
As pleasing as 2008 would have been for Hawthorn and its fans, 2009 will be just as frustrating. The Round 18 loss to Port Adelaide has severely dented its finals chances and with St Kilda and Adelaide as its next two opponents all looks lost for the defending premiers.
The season just never got out of first gear for the Hawks. Not once has it been able to string three wins together and 2009 will be viewed as a lost opportunity. The club will be desperate to bounce back in 2010.
Carlton back in finals
On the other side of the coin, Carlton appears all but assured of seeing September action.
With an eight point lead over ninth place as well as a healthy percentage, the Blues only have to win one game from their final four to seal its place in the finals. It is important for the Blues to do better over the final four weeks of the season to try and avoid a difficult trip to Brisbane or Adelaide.
Top two squeak by
Round 18 saw a one point win to St Kilda and a two point win to Geelong. As the Saints continue through the season undefeated, the pressure on them to do so is increasing. If they can get by Hawthorn, Essendon and North, they should have no trouble with Melbourne in Round 22 – as if you go on recent evidence – the Demons won’t be busting their gut to win.
Magpies flying high
Could the Magpies be the outsider capable of upsetting the Geelong – St Kilda quinella?
It has been playing good football of late and does have the know-how to go deep into September. With the Buckley – Malthouse partnership now taken care of, the Magpies have no distractions to deal with other than the task at hand.
In its final four matches, it has Adelaide away and Richmond, Sydney and the Bulldogs in Melbourne. Many Magpies will still be licking the wounds of 2001 and 2002. This would be the perfect way to heal them.
Simpson hangs up the boots
The AFL is poorer for the retirement of Adam Simpson. The last remaining member of the 1996 Premiership side is one of the good guys and will be missed.
Over his 306 match career, he displayed all the courage, tenacity and valor that was associated with some of his more big name team-mates. 2009 wasn’t an easy year for the Kangaroos; the Chicken Video scandal made life very difficult for the Kangaroos and for Simpson in particular.
No one deserved the out of proportion vitriol it generated. That combined with all of the speculation over Dean Laidley didn’t make life easy for Simpson and wasn’t the farewell year he deserved.
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