The AFL preliminary finals are done and dusted for another year, and once again it is the Sydney Swans and the Hawthorn Hawks that will face off on the last day in September to decide who will claim the 2014 AFL Premiership.
FINAL SCORE
Sydney 19.22 (136)
North Melbourne 9.11 (65)
Sydney
The Swans are in pole position for the premiership after a smashing win over North on Friday night. They started off a little slowly but once they got going, North simply couldn’t find any answer for their manic pressure – they dominated the game all night.
Lance Franklin more than earned his paycheck for the week, dominating North’s Scott Thompson to kick five goals and record four goal-assists. Kurt Tippet kicked four, Adam Goodes and Luke Parker added three each.
Sam Reid is the only injury concern for the Swans out of the match, after the big man jarred his knee late in the game. Early indication is that he’ll be available to play, but there’s no guarantee.
With a comfortable win where they were never really tested, the Swans had the ideal preparation for the Grand Final. They should have plenty left in the tank after an easy victory.
The Swans are in grand form going into the final match of the year, and will probably be narrow favourites to win it all.
North Melbourne
It’s a disappointing end to the year for the Kangaroos whose season was cut short in no uncertain manner by the Sydney Swans on Friday night, falling well short by 71-points.
While North started the match well they weren’t able to put scores on the board, and quickly lost their confidence. From late in the first term till the end of the game, their midfield simply wasn’t able to match it with that of Sydney’s.
They wound up with 20 scoring shots to Sydney’s 41. To put in perspective, even if North had kicked a goal with every scoring shot, they still would have fallen short of the Swans by 16 points.
North can look forward to 2015 with some excitement, however. They had a number of key players in Andrew Swallow, Jack Ziebell and Daniel Wells struggle with injury this year, and were missing important defenders Lachie Hansen and Jamie MacMillan in this match.
Get those players back to full fitness and they’ll be poised to make a big splash in 2015. Unfortunately for them though, the 2014 dream is over.
FINAL SCORE
Hawthorn 15.7 (97)
Port Adelaide 13.16 (94)
Hawthorn
The Hawks narrowly avoided a last-term scare, recording their fourth consecutive Preliminary final to be decided by less than a goal.
They were comfortably up with ten minutes to go but perhaps put the cue in the rack a little and let Port get a run on, with the Power nearly snatching a last gasp victory.
However, in the end it doesn’t matter how they get there, because they’re there – the Hawks are into the Grand Final, and they’re a red hot chance to take win their first set of back-to-back flags since ’88-’89.
While the Sydney Swans, their Grand Final opponents, have arguably had the less strenuous route to the final, and will probably enter as the favourites, the Hawks won’t be far off in the betting odds.
However, there is one big concern for the Hawks heading into the game. Key ball-winner Jordan Lewis may miss the decided after a knock to his knee during the game saw him subbed off at three quarter time.
Lewis missing would be a blow to the Hawks chances, but it would not be game over for them by a long chance. We’re set for a huge Grand Final.
Port Adelaide
It was an absolute heartbreaker for the Power who miss out on a Grand Final berth by a single kick, after coming back from more than four goals down in the final minutes.
The Hawks were the better team for most of the day but Port Adelaide looked a serious chance to snatch an unlikely win, kicking the last four goals of the game, two of them coming from Angus Monfries.
Andrew Moore had a set shot from a very difficult angle with less than two minutes to go that would have put the Power in front, but kicked it across the face of goal.
As difficult as it is after such a close contest, the Power must now turn their attention to the 2015 season.
There is already talk that Patrick Ryder, who yesterday walked out on Essendon, is considering a move to the club, which would be a huge boost to their premiership chances.
This is the last we’ll see of Port Adelaide in 2014 – but given the talent and youth of their list, there’s no doubt we’ll be seeing plenty more of them late in September for years to come.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Swans by 50+
Michael huston
Guest
Well I think Hawthorn don't like Sydney because we wanted to recruit the best player in the competition, who happened to actually approach Sydney first.
Momentbymoment
Guest
Trust me - there will be a lot of Hawks whinging. It seems to be their way. I have no idea why.
Michael huston
Guest
I really hope I don't start hearing excuses about Hawthorns harder route etc. They just weren't that great in the prelim and put the cue in the rack too early. Nevertheless, we all know they're just as good as Sydney when they're at their best, but Sydney do look the better team at this stage. That will suit the Hawks though. They're rarely underdogs, especially in big finals, so they'll relish that role and come out extra hard. Like I said, it will come down to match-ups. Whether Grundy can hold Roughead. Whether Richards can hold Hale. Whether Smith can hold Bruest. Whether Gibson can hold Tippett. Whether Lake can hold Franklin. Whether Cunningham can hold Smith or Lewis or Mitchell. Whether Langford can hold Kennedy or Hannebery or Parker or Jack. Anyone who confidently makes a prediction is crazy. It will come down to the team that is better on the day. Not who has the fittest list or the easiest preparation or the shorter break. This was the grand final that season 2014 deserved to have. They're both tremendous teams that play brilliant football, wonderful to watch, incredibly skillful, incredibly tough, and both are very fair. I know a lot of the talk will be about Buddy vs the Hawks and COLA and yidda yadda, but at the end of the day, every time these two teams meet, it's just all about the footy. There isn't Stevie J and Crowley tearing each others jumpers apart or Harvey starting fights with opponents. Hopefully they'll both stay true to form and put on a football masterclass. They've been the two best teams this year by a country mile and something tells me it's going to be an all-time great grand final. Too tough to even give a prediction, but I hope the Bloods do us and themselves proud and win the flag. They sure as hell deserve it.