Round 4 – Hawthorn v Geelong: A Great Behind

 

 

Round 4

Hawthorn v Geelong
3.15 pm, 6 April 2026 (Easter Monday)
Melbourne Cricket Ground

 

The last game of the Easter weekend wasn’t shaping up to be a terrific one, given the couple of shockers that preceded it.  I know that Collingwood isn’t going well when the Pie supporting husband starts saying at half time that “it’s only a game”.  Pies were walloped by 54 points, and we sat through the entire misery.

Then Eagles v Swans.  As my father used to say, the Wooragee seconds could have made a better fist of this match (than the Eagles).  The Swans fell over the line with 128 points to spare.  During the second quarter the Eagles kicked their second goal and the commentator suggested they were on their way back.  Yes, I thought; to the way back as by that stage they were nearly 50 points behind!  I even felt sorry for Isaac Heeney:  he can’t do it on his own.

And the game between Melbourne and Gold Coast should have garnered more support at the MCG from Melbourne supporters.  A measly 24,000 showed up for that match.

We were driving down the Hume Highway on Easter Monday and were about an hour away from our destination in Victoria when the Hawks v Cats game commenced.  We could tell immediately that there were more than 24,000 at the ‘G because we could barely hear the commentators on the wireless.

As an aside, the ABC commentary is brilliant, but it still sticks in my craw that we can’t find one woman to join the commentary team at each match.  All good and noble blokes, but there are plenty of women out there (half the population!) who are just as capable.  Rant over.

Our pre-match analysis in the township of Holbrook had Gunston kicking more than we could estimate, while Ginnivan and Watson would each kick four.  We were confident of our predictions when Gunston kicked the first goal and Ginnivan the second.

Chol seemed to be having trouble finding the goals, but the ever-reliable Mitch Lewis enabled us to saunter into the second quarter with a slight lead over a team that always seems to get the better of Hawthorn.

We arrived at our destination and raced in to turn on the television.  The Cats decided things were serious and kicked three goals on the trot before Chol found the goal posts and slotted one in for the Hawks.  Should I unpack the car during the ad breaks or just sit tight?  Gunston kicked another goal and behind before the Wizard joined the party.

Disappointingly, the Hawks went into the change rooms at half time a couple of goals down, so I decided to unpack the car while the Auskick kids had a fine time on a glorious day in the sporting capital of Australia.  Hopefully, a positive attitude would bring the Hawks a premiership quarter to remember.  I should make special mention of Ned Reeves at this point as he is a workhorse in the ruck.  All up he had 28 hit outs.

Quarter 3 saw the Cats benefiting from their accuracy in front of goal.  It was a seesaw game with under a goal in it at three quarter time.  Ginnivan – well below our four goals predicted – kicked truly just after the siren which was a great fillip for the Hawks.

Because I didn’t see the first quarter, I don’t know whether Sicily had his traditional long sleeved guernsey on, but in the last quarter he was sleeveless.  He was off with an injury within two minutes of the last quarter starting – possibly it was getting cool out there!

Geelong’s evergreens of Cameron, Ollie Henry and Blicavs kicked three goals before the Hawks bothered the scoreboard in the last term.  Watson and Chol stepped up but the Hawks still looked like facing defeat.  The noise was extraordinary and the effort from both sides immense.

Just when you want Chol to kick three on the trot he, well, doesn’t.  As one of my relatives said in the debrief, it was the best and worst of Chol all in one game!

For those who haven’t see the last five minutes of the match, I strongly urge you to have a look.  The Cats were in front by six, thanks to Shannon Neale’s fourth goal.  With a minute and a half to go Mitch Lewis was able to snap a goal.  Scores even.

Back to the centre when the Hawks won the centre bounce.  It was down their end and pretty crowded as the Cats tried to prevent anything crossing the goal line.  Ultimately, Gunston rushed through a behind with 40 seconds of play to go.  My husband didn’t think the Hawks had scored as the Cats played on immediately.  This caused me to give him a refresher course on how the players don’t have to wait for the goal umpire to stow the flags before the kick out.

It was enough.  It was exhausting just being a spectator a couple of hundred kilometres away.  And it was a mighty effort by both teams to bring it down to the wire.  It was anyone’s game and the Hawks were lucky!

 

 

HAWTHORN                      3.3          7.5          10.9       13.14 (92)
GEELONG                            2.1          9.2          10.5       14.7 (91)

GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 3, Watson 3, Chol 2, Ginnivan 2, Lewis 2, Weddle
Geelong: Neale 4, O. Henry 3, Bowes 2, Martin, Wilshire, Dempsey, Cameron, Blicavs

MY BEST
Hawthorn: Impey, Reeves, Gunston, Ginnivan, Watson, Lewis
Geelong: Cameron, O. Henry, Smith, Neale, Blicavs

CROWD: 84,712 at the MCG

 

 

Read more reports of Round 4 matches across the Easter weekend HERE.

 

Read more from Anne Cahill Lambert HERE.

 

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