Hawthorn v Collingwood

Term one down. Two more to go. That’s how long I have left for school in my life. It feels just like a couple of weeks ago that I started Year 12, although the floods in Northern Victoria disrupted that for a week and a bit with all schools in the district closed. A nice little half time breather for the term, and now we get two weeks before our next ‘match’. I’ve been shocked by the massive lift in the workload from Year 11 to Year 12, but the perks along the way have been highly pleasurable.

With footy final back, I entered the final day of the term full of excitement, optimism and full of chatter about the Richmond v Carlton clash the night before. It was the talk of the Year 12 room. Yarran’s goal. Kreuzer’s work ethic. Cotchin’s class. The buzz was surrounding the annual Staff v Year 12 Students Netball match though. I made my Netball debut as a Wing Defence, and managed to clean up the new female P.E. teacher. Hanging up my bib though, I realised it wasn’t the sport for me as we lost to the teachers 20-13, and they rubbed salt into the wounds with a victory announcement over the PA system at school. Easter eggs were thrown all around the room in the last period of the day (English), and it was open slather; you took what you could catch.

Getting home and relaxing on the laptop, I adjusted to what my life would be for the next 23 weeks. Going home from school on a Friday, and waiting for the footy. Can’t get any better than that! The hours ticked down slowly, and finally, it was time. Switching on my new widescreen TV, I took in the full picture of a bright MCG, packed to the rafters and buzzing with electric atmosphere. The Hawks looked steely, they looked annoyed still from that final. And so they should be. Collingwood were blooding three new players, and three youngsters with barely 10 games between them. A big mistake in my books. The umpire laid the ball into the turf, and the season had truly begun.

The pace was frenetic from the get-go. The ball drifted from both forward lines, but the Magpies looked incredibly dangerous early. Grant Birchall roosted through the first goal from a one-step-bang kick from outside 50, and this was followed by a string of Collingwood behinds. Travis Cloke missed a sitter, Chris Dawes missed the unmissable, and Darren Jolly failed to convert a straightforward shot. Finally, Heath Shaw threaded the middle, with a running goal in the pocket. A quick reply from Shane Savage before Jarryd Blair followed up from his centre clearance to kick his first of the season, giving the Pies a lead of a goal at quarter time, thanks to their six extra behinds.

The roar from the MCG when Cyril Rioli spears the ball onto the chest of Buddy Franklin is electric, so imagine the sound they made when he flew for a huge mark to start the second quarter. A quick pass to Guerra, and then a long bomb to Brendan Whitecross saw the Hawks level the scores. Dane Swan responded with a goal on the run from outside 50, and Cloke defeated Ryan Schoenmakers, not for the first time, to goal. The Pies led by 11, and they looked surprisingly dangerous considering their outs. Franklin and Jolly traded goals, before Rioli and former Lion Broc McCauley kicked majors to give Hawthorn back the lead. Two goals in a minute to Alex Fasolo was met with a flurry of majors to the Hawks, with Franklin, Isaac Smith and Jordan Lewis all damaging the Pies late in the quarter as the Hawks took a 15 point lead into half time. Dangerous and ominous, two words to describe Hawthorn.

Scott Pendlebury will win the Brownlow this year. It’s as simple as that. He just finds the ball continuously, and can do what he likes with it. He demonstrated this in the third quarter, racking up possessions with ease and floating forward to kick two goals. Lewis booted a brilliant goal from outside the boundary, and this was followed by a 65m goal from Shaun Burgoyne. Whitecross snapped his second, before Cloke and debutant Jackson Paine replied for the Pies, cutting the margin to two goals. Hawk recruit Jack Gunston entered the fray as the substitute and had an immediate impact, feeding Buddy his third goal, before Blair kicked his second to cut the margin to six at three quarter time.

Franklin went back in time, back to the Preliminary Final last year, when he kicked ‘that’ goal from the forward pocket. Exact same spot, he danced around Ben Reid before splitting the middle with his fourth major of the night, sending the crowd into raptures. The Pies replied though, hitting the lead after goals to Jolly, Blair and Dale Thomas after Cloke skulked the ball around the goalpost before giving it off to the newly-shaved number 13. The Pies led by five points, and the money was on them to go on with the win. The Hawks had other ideas. Savage kicked his second on the run from outside 50 after Rioli released him with a timely handpass, Isaac Smith split the middle from 30m, Gunston found an opening in the goals from outside of the boundary line after a free kick, and then Buddy booted his fifth after some great play from end-to-end. Michael Osborne, who’s time must nearly be up, finished it off with a goal after Franklin handpassed it into his path, and the Hawks had blown the lead out to 29 points. The Pies were gone. And the Hawks arrived on the scene. Beware, the other 17 AFL clubs.

Hawthorn 2.1—10.6—14.10—20.17.137

Collingwood 2.7—7.9—12.16—16.19.115

Goalkickers

Hawthorn-Franklin 5, Lewis 2, Savage 2, Whitecross 2, Rioli 2, Smith 2, McCauley, Birchall, Osborne, Gunston, Burgoyne

Collingwood-Blair 3, Fasolo 2, Cloke 2, Thomas 2, Jolly 2, Pendlebury 2, Swan, Shaw, Paine

Best

Hawthorn-Franklin, Mitchell, Birchall, Rioli, McCauley, Lewis, Whitecross, Sewell, Schoenmakers

Collingwood-Pendlebury, Jolly, Thomas, Ball, Swan, Blair

Crowd

78,464 at the MCG

Votes

3: Scott Pendlebury (COLL)

2: Lance Franklin (HAW)

1: Sam Mitchell (HAW)

About Josh Barnstable

21 year old North Melbourne supporter from country Victoria. Currently living in Melbourne studying a Bachelor of Sports Media. Dreams of becoming a sports journalist and broadcaster.

Comments

  1. Josh Barnstable says

    Just call me Speed.

  2. Naw!! Joshy i used to play WA!!!
    Bet you made me proud on the wing witya attacking :)

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