Top Four Battle

By Cody Lane

The top four battle has been intriguing all year, but never as much as now. As a Hawks supporter, I looked at this round as the round where the Hawkers could move into the top 2. In my opinion finishing top four is vital for us so that we get home finals. I think that we have a better chance of beating the likes of Sydney, Adelaide and West Coast at home rather than away. I feel that where we finish on the ladder will determine whether we can win the premiership or not. Then again, Collingwood are in the same position as us and Sydney, Adelaide and West Coast will want home finals, and that’s what makes this battle so exciting to see how it unfolds.

I look down the fixture and see games that could help Hawthorn’s quest to secure a top 2 finish and the all-important home finals. Collingwood take on North at Etihad, Adelaide take on Brisbane at the Gabba, West Coast take on Port at AAMI and Sydney take on the Dogs at Etihad. I had a huge feeling that some of the Hawks contenders could get knocked off.

The other battle is just to make it into the top 8 and there are games that should decide the outcome of that too. Geelong taking on St Kilda, Essendon locks horns against bitter rival Carlton and Fremantle face Richmond in Perth.

I watched all of these games with interest and saw some big upsets and some brilliant football from individuals and teams. On Friday night, I watched the Cats and the Saints battle against each other in yet another enthralling game. The Cats prevailed by 41 points. The team I so dearly hate are ripping and ready for the finals. The first big surprise of the round came when Carlton flogged the Dons (the other team I really hate and Hawthorn’s biggest rivals) by 96 points. Carlton ran all over the Bombers and kept their top 8 hopes alive and meanwhile crushed Essendon’s. I witnessed an interesting game between Freo and the Tigers with the Dockers finishing 22 point victors and I felt that they had control for most of the game. This result meant that Richmond were out of the finals race while Fremantle were surging home with meters to go.

This was it, I sat down and switched on the Foxtel to watch North battle the Pies and Brisbane meet Adelaide at the Gabba. I watched North play some magnificent footy. They were simply sublime with everything they did. I thought that the Collingwood midfield would be too good for the Roos, but North did enough to win by 30 points in a big upset, and they weren’t about to end there. Brisbane showed tremendous spirit to overcome an Adelaide side fighting for a top 2 finish as well. These two results really helped the Hawks who were too good for the Suns at the G and won by 64 points. This lined up a huge clash for my side against a Sydney side that are coming off an 82 point thumping over the Dogs.

Go The Hawkers!!

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