Round 3 - Hawthorn v Adelaide

MCG Sunday 15 April 2012

And the (Brown and) Gold Logie goes to…

“Watch out!” people cried as Luke Breust ran onto a Buddy pass late in the final quarter , his arms outstretched, his eyes tracking the ball’s flight, and therefore not registering the fast approaching Brodie Martin who’d just run off Adelaide’s interchange bench to chase down the same ball. It was a good pass by Buddy – out in front of a running player who would presumably mark it and keep running goalward. Martin hadn’t been on the field when Buddy measured his kick, so he couldn’t have done any different. But everyone at the ground could foresee the impending collision once Martin appeared, everyone that is except Luke Breust. A collective gasp rose from the crowd followed by silence as Breust lay sprawled, unmoving on the ground after the sickening collision.

Despite a handsome nine goal win it was an awful ending to the match, slightly souring what had otherwise been an ideal day at the football.

A warm, sunny day, so hot in fact that I turned up daringly sans scarf. There was a respectable crowd, but not too big, so unlike the previous two matches we weren’t under pressure to arrive early to secure seats, and once ensconced we could spread out a bit. Wait time at the Blazer Bar was minimal, allowing easy quarter break beers. And the Hawks built up a nice gradual lead through each quarter. Perfect really.  Our only real concern was whether the late start would give Buddy time to get ready for the Logies later that night, where presumably he was nominated for most appearances by an individual promoting a new AFL season.

I think I’d been suffering a touch of blockbuster fatigue after Collingwood and Geelong in successive weeks. It was good to be at a relaxing game, for unlike the previous fortnight, we could go along anticipating, if not actually expecting victory. We never expect victory, not least of all against Adelaide who, like Geelong, have an unfortunate habit of beating Hawthorn, right from their famous first match in 91 when they joined the league and walloped us (though we did restore credibility by winning the flag that year), through to our last meeting in round one 2011. Then there was the 93 Elimination Final where we grabbed the lead for a time in the last quarter only to watch Nigel Smart grab it back for the Crows to win their first final; a scenario that was nearly repeated in the 2007 Elimination Final until Buddy slotted a magnificent goal right at the end to snatch victory, if I may revel in a happy past glory for a moment.

But with Mitchell and Burgoyne playing their 200^th game and Lewis his 150^th, there were plenty of past glories to revel in. No matter that Burgoyne had played nearly as many of his previous 199 games against Hawthorn as with them, we’ve appropriated his past glories as well.  The other big milestones of the weekend were the 350th anniversary of Dustin Fletcher's first game for Essendon and the 100th anniversary of the sailing of the Titanic - though I can't be sure which came first.

The difference between playing 200 games and 150 games became fairly apparent as the players milled in front of the banner: it pretty much comes down to a lifestyle choice – kids. There were so many kids out there I thought One Direction was about to perform.  Shaun Burgoyne had a couple of young number 9s in tow, while Mitchell was loaded up with his toddler in one arm and his recent twins in the other.  No wonder he barely touched the ball early, he was probably still suffering cramps in his arms from lugging kids through the banner. He should have put the toddler in a Baby Bjorn or wheeled the twins out in the big double stroller. Why not? Seeing all these kids first hand Jordan Lewis at least knows what’s ahead of him at some point during his next 50 games - kids (now is probably not the time to mention my man-crush on Jordan Lewis; it might come across as a bit creepy).

Speaking of Hawthorn babies, while delighted to hear that Luke Hodge’s wife is pregnant, I was troubled to learn that she’s due to give birth on Grand Final day. Grand Final Day! What is Hodgey thinking?  Last time Luke Hodge’s wife was due to give birth was a certain Friday night in 2008 when the Hawks were playing Geelong. With less than a goal in it and only a few minutes remaining we stormed forward and Luke Hodge recorded one of only a few kicks for the night, and one of only a few miskicks in his career, turning over the ball to Geelong who took it up the other end and scored. Now Hodgey - it’s quite conclusively documented that babies take about nine months to gestate and get born. So knowing this, and knowing that the Grand Final is at the end of September, the ninth moth of the year, don’t you think you owe it to us to just restrain yourself a little on New Year’s Eve? I mean there’s nothing wrong with consensual marital relations in mid February or early March, but not the first day of the New Year. I understand that those NYE parties at Clarko’s joint can get out of control, and I understand that your good wife might find you irresistible, but a bit of forward planning is surely not beyond our club captain.

But of course we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re not in the Grand Final yet – it’s only round 3 and we’re paying the Crows. On the face of it this was a comfortable, even impressive nine goal win against a highly rated opponent. So why was I ever so slightly ill at ease for the best part of the match? It wasn’t just that we’d blown a lead the week previous, but the Crows looked pretty good, they were winning in the middle, getting clean clearances, at times slicing through the Hawks backline, freeing up runners and slotting some good goals or isolating Tippett one-out on Schoenmakers.  They kept Mitchell quiet, Buddy couldn’t quite get into the match and Cyril was only playing a cameo role. Really, our four goal half time lead looked pretty flimsy.

Kurt Tippett  was marking well, but missed a couple of shots late in the second and early in the third that would have brought the Crows close. Gradually Gibson started to control the back line and when Schoenmaker outbustled Tippet to take a mark the pro-Hawks crowd roared to signal their support for our beleaguered backman. They weren’t ironic cheers, but cheers of support and encouragement. We love Schoenmakers – we just wish his name was more conducive to a funky moniker. What can you do with a name like ‘Schoenmaker’? 'The Shoe'? (we've already got 'Goo' and 'The Poo'). As for the player, every week he has to line up against an opposing giant where he gives away height, experience and most of the time, free kicks. If Clarko has a sense of humour he’ll start Schoenmakers on Dean Cox or Natanui next week.

The second half was better value, the Hawks began running clear and spreading nicely, moving the ball quickly, if not always cleanly. Buddy did some good work in the middle and kicked a trademark long bomb from the left hand flank, Rioli was one-out at full forward which worked well, and Breust, Whitecross, Lewis and Suckling were all playing well. As was Roughead, who played an excellent game.

In the final quarter a smart procession of goals - including one from milestone man Sammy Mitchell - stretched the lead out to a more relaxing margin and we could enjoy the remainder of the match doubt-free, until Breust’s collision that is. A pleasant low key day ended as it should – with a rendition of the song followed by a quick drink at Riverland on the way home. There we heard the happy news that North had beaten Geelong, though it might depend on how you interpret it: such a result could also mean that a) Geelong isn’t very good yet they still beat us, or b) we softened them up and then North got to reap the rewards.

Final scors: Hawthorn  21 14 140 d Adelaide 12 12 84

Buddy goal count - 3, total = 10


What we're asking - Where's The Poo?


What we loved - Sam Mitchell getting on the end of a nice pass in the goal square at the end of the match, but instead of running in to the open goal, going back to take a set shot so that we had a chance to offer a prolonged ovation.