There is not much left to be said about the tragic death of Phil Walsh so instead of repeating the thoughts and words of others I will get straight into the match.
The game itself started pretty scrappy, which set the tone for much of the night. Collingwood had marks not paid at both ends of the ground in the opening minutes but it only cost them a shot at goal to Cloke, which in the context of this game wasn’t much. After a prolonged period of attacking pressure from the Pies, Hawthorn almost kicked the first goal of the game when the much-maligned Schoenmakers fought hard to win the ball in the middle of the ground. In little time the ball went from Hill to Puopolo to Gunston who marked inside 50 but missed his shot for goal.
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Eyeing second spot on the ladder, you would think West Coast would be coming into this game pretty confident, but like many tipsters, I had my doubts about them. They still seem considerably less comfortable away from home (unlike Joe Hockey) and they were coming up against a Tiger team in good form.
A lot of the media focus during the week had been on the Tigers’ forward line which, in their last game, had ripped through the Dockers' defence like a Liberal government gutting public education. How the depleted Eagles defence would hold up and whether or not Jeremey McGovern would even play were important subplots leading into the game. Well there was certainly plenty of hype around this game. Journalists (and channel 7 in particular) were eager to tell us how much they were looking forward to the Grand Final rematch. But hang on, the Grand Final was an embarrassing thrashing that appeared to highlight a massive gulf between the two sides and most people (except for Hawthorn supporters, most of whom are still classed as people) stopped watching after half time.
What’s so exciting about a rematch of that game really? I personally struggle with the notion that the Swans’ players would be extra motivated to play better this time. Seriously, for professional athletes, the chance to win a premiership wasn’t enough for them to try hard last year? Hmmm. You could argue Hawthorn perhaps had less motivation, but anyone coached by the very impressive Competitive Clarkson (who seems to be unfairly targeted and picked on by fans, junior football umpires, interchange stewards and the walls of coaching boxes) knows they always turn up to play. It looked like a beautiful day for football with a few interesting sub plots. Steve Johnson was an odd sight in the fluoro substitute’s vest. Being the day after ANZAC Day, no doubt many an observer (and maybe Steve Motlop) would have been nursing a hangover. The other consequence of the ANZAC Day was that everyone in the AFL was trying to make as many tenuous connections between AFL footy and the Australian Defence Force.
Jack Ziebel was yet again coming back from a concussion and fittingly he was in to lay a strong tackle at the opening bounce. The roos were the first to get the ball forward, but there early thrusts were well dealt with by a Geelong defence that won more important contests than Flloyd Mayweather in the first quarter. |
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