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Hawthorn and Freo: the perfect grand final

23rd September, 2013
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23rd September, 2013
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Hawthorn were able to dodge a bullet and exorcise their mental demons in getting over nemeses Geelong in their third preliminary final in a row decided by less than a goal.

They were spooked again for large portions of this match, but were superb in the last quarter when it mattered, despite minimal contributions from their three most damaging forwards, Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli.

In the case of Franklin and Rioli, they can turn it on in patches and win games, but against the manic pressure of Fremantle, they would want to be switched on from the start.

It’s a momentous occasion for the Dockers. They have made a grand final in their 19th season. It’s been a long haul for this club, who for so long have been the laughing stock of the competition and also highly irrelevant.

Their recruiting at the start was terrible and it took until 1999 before they selected a future champion.

That was Matthew Pavlich, who gets the chance in game 291 to try and be a premiership player.

I don’t think anyone, except Hawks supporters, would begrudge him that honour if it goes Freo’s way on Saturday.

He will be very important, as usual, in Fremantle’s quest to win and his likely battle with Hawthorn full back Brian Lake is set to be a highlight.

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The Hawks also should be more than concerned about the Dockers’ small forwards Hayden Ballantyne, Michael Walters and Chris Mayne.

They have kicked more than 110 goals between them and if Hawthorn has a weakness, it’s a lack of quality small defenders to play that classic lock down role like Nick Smith of Sydney, Geelong’s Cam Guthrie and Tiger Stephen Morris.

Brent Guerra is better suited as a rebounding defender and was pivotal for the Hawks against the Cats with his beautiful foot skills, but too much space can’t be afforded to Walters and Ballantyne as they are potential match winners.

Taylor Duryea and Kyle Cheney could play defensively down back and one of them might be a suitable replacement for the injured Brendan Whitecross, although Shane Savage, Jed Anderson and Jon Simpkin will all be in the mix as well.

There’s also the big issue (emphasising big with a capital B) of giant Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands.

Sam Mitchell, who dominated the clearances for the Hawks in the preliminary final, will need to read Sandilands’ taps and palms as it’s going to be hard for David Hale and Max Bailey to win regularly against the competition’s tallest ruckman.

Talking of Mitchell, he has to be stopped, plain and simple! He had 38 disposals against the Cats and was supreme in the last quarter fightback.

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It was surprising Geelong coach Chris Scott didn’t tag him, as he was allowed to do as he liked in that final term.

Ross Lyon is all about defence and restriction, so there’s no way he will allow Mitchell to roam free like that.

However, Alistair Clarkson is also tactically astute and may consider putting Mitchell on the half back line, where he has played so much good footy this year.

Does Lyon decide to take Crowley out of the midfield and use him as a defensive half forward on Mitchell, if the former skipper doesn’t start in the middle? I think he has to.

Footy purists will no doubt be hoping that happens and should that eventuate, the Hawks need to protect their prolific midfielder by ensuring Crowley doesn’t get into Mitchell’s head or use the illegal tactics he has been accused of, especially early on.

The game has changed since the 1970s and 80s, with the introduction of cameras on the field everywhere, but this is the main event of the season. So doesn’t the win at all costs attitude have to apply and for the Hawks to avenge last year’s grand final loss, don’t they require Mitchell to have a major influence?

There are other likely fascinating match-ups, such as Fremantle’s best tall defenders, Luke McPharlin and Michael Johnson with the support of Zac Dawson, to take on Franklin, Roughead and Jack Gunston, who starred for the Hawks in the preliminary final.

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This grand final pits polar opposite playing styles, the attacking, pristine foot skills of Hwathorn against the Dockers’ manic pressure.

So there are endless possibilities, which is exactly what we want for the last match of a controversial season.

Friday night’s preliminary final will be hard to beat, but I have a feeling the grand final will give it a real run for its money!

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