RUN TOO LATE
HARD-RUNNING defender Cam Guthrie just seems low on confidence. Guthrie only had 13 possessions against the Hawks and made a couple of mistakes that stood out. He was not alone, but his recent form is just at odds with what he is capable of. Two years ago, he finished fourth in the club’s best-and-fairest — even to the point of leading it at the halfway mark of the season before being overtaken by Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood and Corey Enright. But last year he finished 17th and this year he has struggled to return to his best. The serious ankle injury in Round 3 is obviously playing a part and the Cats will be hoping there is an upswing in form soon. “WE’RE just so pleased, particularly for our younger players,” Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said after Saturday’s win. “If ever we get the chance, whether that’s somewhere at the end of this year or next year or beyond, these are the type of games you love to play in. “So that was a dress rehearsal for what might come. When that comes we’re not really sure because we’re still building as a club. “I think we saw that today where we had patches where we played really well and others where we lowered our colours. “But it’s a trademark of Geelong to come with a surge late in the game.” CHRIS Scott admitted the result made it harder for his side to make the finals, but added there is as lot to play out before the top eight is decided. “I’ve probably done the ladder predictor 500 times, but it doesn’t matter — our responsibility is to make sure that we play as well as we possibly can this week and next week,” Scott said. “That’s what I would have been saying if we had won this one. If we qualify for the (finals) tournament at the end of the year the ladder positions might be irrelevant, especially when it comes to fifth playing eighth. Our priority has just got to be to play as well as we can … we’re in OK form but I’m confident we play a lot better.” THERE were umpiring incidents we’re sure to see a few more times this week. The first was the non-paid rushed behind in the first quarter when David Rodan clearly signalled a behind after Hawthorn stepped the ball over the Geelong goal line, but play was allowed to continue. Late in the match, Geelong was denied an obvious 50m penalty that could have given them a late chance at victory when Hawthorn midfielder Tom Mitchell kicked the ball away at the final centre bounce of the game after Mark Blicavs had been awarded a free kick. “It staggers me that we are paying the ones for the 10m protection zone willy nilly — umpires will just pluck that out — yet they’re so reluctant to pay these,” commentator Kane Cornes said on the AFL website. “Look, Mitchell has got time there, he’s heard the whistle, he looks at the umpire. It’s not your free kick, he hacks it forward and there’s no 50m penalty. It’s one of the strangest decisions I’ve seen this year. It’s what the 50m penalty is there for.” Cornes also said Gary Ablett gave “a complete dive” early in the game.