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The 2008 Grand Final
produced the biggest MCG crowd for over 20 years, but the best team of
the year did not win the premiership the pennant was justifiably won
on Saturday afternoon by Hawthorn with a margin of 26 points the best
team on the day.
Sportal's Paul Gough identified all the reasons why Geelong were
hot favourites to take their second-straight AFL Cup they had just one
loss all season and 42 wins in their past 44 matches including last
year's record-breaking 119-point win over Port Adelaide.
Geelong's season-long dominance counted for nothing as the Cats' dream
of back-to-back flags for the first time since 1952 evaporated at the
hands of an inspired Hawthorn.
The Hawks were magnificently led by vice-captain Luke Hodge, the
man who was splitting blood during quarter-time of last week's
preliminary final win over St Kilda, yet showed his courage by leading
from the front to win the Norm Smith Medal for best afield.
It was the first time more than 100,000 had attended any AFL match since
the 1986 grand final one of four Hawks premierships in that decade
and they were treated to the biggest upset in a grand final since 1958
when Collingwood ended Melbourne's dream of four premierships in a row.
But make no mistake the Hawks inspired by a frenzied MCG crowd which
was clearly behind the underdogs deserved their first premiership
since 1991 and considering they played most of the second half with just
20 fit players, this also deserves to be ranked as one of the bravest
premiership wins in recent AFL history.
While the Cats also lost skipper Tom Harley to concussion late in
the second term, the Hawks were without their most experienced defender
Trent Croad, whose injured left foot flared again early in the second
quarter, and pacy wingman Clinton Young, who suffered an ankle
injury early in the third term.
But with former skipper Shane Crawford providing the inspiration,
the Hawks shrugged off those losses to steamroll the Cats in the second
half with 10 goals to five on a warm day when it really should have been
the Hawks that were wilting due to the fact they had one less fit player
on the bench.
For 34-year-old Crawford the result was simply a fairytale as he finally
tasted premiership success in his 305th AFL game the longest wait of
any player in the game's history.
Crawford had come into the match as the only Hawthorn player on the
club's top 17 on its all-time games played list without a flag but the
1999 Brownlow Medalist can now deservedly take his place among the
club's greats such as Michael Tuck, Leigh Matthews, Don
Scott, Dermott Brereton and Robert Dipierdomenico as a
premiership winner.
The win Hawthorn's 10th premiership in just 47 years but their first
in 17 years continues the club's incredible hold over Geelong in
finals with the Cats still not having beaten the Hawks in September
since the 1963 grand final.
But on Saturday it was more like the Hawks' famous 1989 grand final
success over the Cats with the match getting off to an electrifying
start when both teams booted five goals in one of the best first
quarters in recent grand final history.
However, it was in the second quarter when the Cats threw away the
premiership and equally when the Hawks began to believe that they might
just be capable of pulling off a miracle.
The Cats, who had star midfielders Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood,
Corey Enright and Joel Corey rack up at least 10
possessions in the first term alone, continued to win the bulk of the
ball in the second quarter but simply could not capitalise on their
dominance.
Much-vaunted centre half forward Cameron Mooney was one of the
worst offenders and his miss on the edge of the goalsquare right on the
half-time siren left the Cats trailing by three points at half-time.
This was despite Geelong having enjoyed 35 more possessions to
half-time, 12 more forward entries and having had 18 scoring shots to
just 11 for the Hawks.
In contrast the Hawks took every opportunity that came their way despite
star spearhead Lance Franklin struggling to escape the close
attention of the Cats champion Matthew Scarlett.
And when Mooney hit the post again in the first minute of the third term
you sensed it was just not going to be the Cats' day as their forward
line was offering little with Tom Lonergan and Travis Varcoe
two of four changes to the club's premiership team of the previous
year struggling to get into the game.
Just as Adelaide took full advantage of North Melbourne's inaccuracy in
1998 after the Roos had dominated the first half, so it would be on
Saturday as the Hawks and their thousands of passionate fans were sent
into dreamland in a magnificent third quarter that has added another
chapter into this remarkable club's history of triumphs in September.
After Ablett, easily Geelong's best player, goaled at the six-minute
mark to regain the lead for the Cats after a run of 1.11 since
quarter-time the Hawks took control once Franklin booted his first
goal at the eight-minute mark to regain the lead.
It was then that Hodge lifted the Hawks with a sensational goal on the
run from 55 metres. Enter Stuart Dew.
The 29-year-old, the only Hawks player with previous grand final
experience having won with Port in 2004, showed why his new club lured
him out of a short-lived retirement at the start of this season by then
booting two goals and setting up another for small forward Mark
Williams as the Hawks slammed on four straight goals to open up a
29-point lead.
Not even two late goals just before the last change to Darren Milburn
and Steve Johnson which reduced the margin to 17 points at the
last change could halt the Hawks' momentum.
The final quarter was unbelievably tense as the crowd almost sensed an
inevitable Geelong comeback but instead it was the Hawks that got the
all-important first goal when Franklin booted his second after playing
on after marking 50 metres out at the 12-minute mark.
And when skipper Sam Mitchell otherwise well-beaten by
Cameron Ling goaled two minutes later at the 14-minute mark, the
Hawks were 27 points up and one of the biggest upset wins in grand final
history was all but complete. |
|
2008 GRAND FINAL |
| Geelong v
Hawthorn |
Saturday,
September 27, 2008
MCG, 2.30pm AEST; crowd: 100,012
Conditions: Excellent
Weather: 24.0C at 3.08pm, mostly sunny; early evening change
expected |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| GEE |
5.3-33 (1) |
6.12-48 |
9.18-72 |
11.23-89 |
| HAW |
5.2-32 |
8.3-51 (3) |
14.5-89 (17) |
18.7-115 (26) |
Goals:
Hawthorn: Mark Williams 3, Stuart Dew 2, Lance Franklin 2, Cyril
Rioli 2, Jarryd Roughead 2, Chance Bateman, Campbell Brown, Xavier
Ellis, Luke Hodge, Rick Ladson, Sam Mitchell, Clinton Young. Geelong:
Gary Ablett 2, Tom Lonergan 2, Cameron Mooney 2, Max Rooke 2, Paul
Chapman, Steve Johnson, Darren Milburn.
Best: Hawthorn: Luke Hodge, Shane Crawford, Xavier Ellis, Sewell,
Stuart Dew, Brent Guerra, Cyril Rioli. Geelong: Gary Ablett, Joel
Selwood, Cameron Ling, Steve Johnson, Corey Enright, Matthew Scarlett.
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Scott McLaren, Michael Vozzo.
Norm Smith Medal: Luke Hodge (Hawthorn). |
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