Another Monday, another classic
IT wasn’t easy.
But when are wins over Hawthorn easy? They always come at a price. Always.
A depleted Geelong had to withstand a late Hawthorn charge at the MCG yesterday, holding on to claim a 23-point victory in its Easter Monday blockbuster.
The Cats had led by 36 points when Patrick Dangerfield kicked the first goal of the final term, and even the most optimistic Hawks fans would have felt the match was over.
But how many times do we have to say it? The only thing you can expect in a match between these two sides is the unexpected.
And with Brandan Parfitt (quad) out of the game after halftime and Esava Ratugolea nursing a corked calf, Hawthorn found its legs and mounted a comeback as the Cats went into their shell in a nervous final quarter.
Jaeger O’Meara kicked the first and then Ben McEvoy kicked Hawthorn’s second to get the margin to within four goals.
When Ricky Henderson snapped truly after getting a free kick on the boundary, the margin was closer than three goals. Game on.
But a young Cats side held its nerve — which it has already done a handful of times this year.
Tom Hawkins’ goal 23 minutes into the final term took the margin back to 23 points with five minutes remaining. It gave Geelong a matchwinning buffer.
There was so much to like about Geelong’s performance despite the late scare.
Joel Selwood, Dangerfield and Tim Kelly all responded in the best way possible after having their colours lowered in the loss to GWS last week.
Selwood was significant in the second half.
Moving from the wing back to his customary role in the middle of the ground after Parfitt’s injury, Selwood finished with 32 touches. A staggering 19 of those came after the main break.
Dangerfield had 28 — 18 after halftime — and kicked two goals. Kelly finished with 29 touches after having just nine against the Giants.
Geelong’s forward line fired despite Hawkins and Ratugolea having little impact on the game. Hawkins managed just one major, while Ratugolea had just six touches in a match limited by his calf niggle.
Gary Ablett took the game by the scruff of the neck with three goals. His purple patch in the second term, where he took a screamer in the goalsquare and kicked two goals in two minutes, is exactly why he has found a more permanent role up forward.
And it was another Gary Rohan-type performance from Gary Rohan. He had 12 touches and kicked four goals.
The talk last season was about how Geelong’s “bottom six” was letting it down.
Look at Geelong’s bottom six yesterday.
Injured Parfitt and Ratugolea aside, not one Cat had less than 10 possessions.
Mark O’Connor was superb, shutting down a lethal Hawk in Luke Breust. Jordan Clark and Jack Henry both did their jobs in defence.
Cam Guthrie came into the side and showed lots of dash with 22 touches and eight tackles before running out of puff.
Gryan Miers held his own as did Tom Atkins. Those kinds of players would be seen as in Geelong’s “bottom six”, but it is almost disrespectful to say so given how well they’re playing at the moment.
Coach Chris Scott may not have been raving about the overall performance in his post-match press conference.
But you will always take four points against the Hawks and run.
And with Zach Tuohy and Charlie Constable still to come in, Geelong is ideally placed with just one loss after five rounds. The push for perfection can wait for another week.