When the Gather Round fixture was announced, the final game seemed like it was going to be a bit lacklustre. Sure, the Hawks shocked Collingwood last season, but what were the chances of that happening again?
Apparently quite high.
Both sides have had a disappointing start to the year, but it still felt like this was going to be the game for Collingwood to gain some much-needed confidence. And after the first half, it looked like that was what it was going to be.
From the start the game was a tough battle; but the Pies were cleaner with their ball movement while the Hawks struggled to get past the Collingwood defenders. Yet the Pies had their own woes when it came to going inside the forward 50 and kept turning the ball over to the Hawks. It resulted in Mabior Chol getting the first shot on goal, but a miss saw the ball go straight back down the other end for the first one to the Pies thanks to Lachie Shultz. From there the Pies settled to slot three further goals for the term, with the usual names in Jordan De Goey and Josh Daicos racking up plenty of disposals. It took until the 24-minute mark for the Hawks to get a goal, and it seemed almost scripted that it came from a high free to Jack Ginnivan.
However, with both sides’ kicking efficiency below the AFL average the game was far from over. A quick Hawks clearance from the restart saw Max Ramsden kick his first goal in the AFL, and another not long after to Jai Newcombe saw the Hawks only six points behind. A back and forth arm-wrestle then ensued before the veteran Scott Pendlebury broke through with a snap goal. Collingwood’s experience helped them to stay calm as the defence were able to make the most of Hawthorn’s mistakes and punished them on the scoreboard. In just over 10 minutes of play the margin ballooned out to 38 points by half-time.
Even with Collingwood seemingly in control, Hawthorn refused to go away. It took only two minutes for them to get the first goal of the third, and they continued to chip away at the Pies’ defence and the margin throughout the term. The Pies were still getting plenty of the ball, but now it was Hawthorn’s defence that was holding steady as they refused any easy shots on goal. Still, it took the entire 30 minutes of effort for the Hawks and three big goals from Blake Hardwick for it to start feeling like there was a sneaky chance for a comeback.
Tom Mitchell, who’d been enjoying a day out against his former side, had a chance to draw first blood in the fourth, but a miss saw that honour go to Hardwick only moments later to see the equation reduced to a very gettable four goals in 17 minutes. When Ginnivan kicked another soon after, it whipped the fans into the frenzy and the game went up a notch. With nothing to lose, the Hawks raced the ball around the oval, throwing relentless pressure at the Collingwood defence. But the Pies were determined not to cave and marked kick after kick that came flying their way. A quiet Bobby Hill had a chance to relieve some of the pressure but another miss left the door wide open.
An unfortunate free saw Hawthorn come ever closer with another goal, and De Goey had the chance for an instant reply from the centre bounce but it was another kick that went wayward for only a behind. Sensing the time starting to get away from them the Hawks went for a Hail-Mary play which came off brilliantly to make it a four point game with four minutes remaining.
But close games are Collingwood’s speciality, and if they were nervous, they didn’t show it. The players knew exactly what to do as they locked down the play, took their time with kicks, and ran down the clock to break Hawthorn’s hearts.
The game that was expected to be a dud had ended up the bet game of the round, and even though Collingwood take home the points it feels far from a loss for Hawthorn. They now have to take another trip, this time up to the Gold Coast for another challenge against the improving Suns while Collingwood get to enjoy a week off at home before facing Port Adelaide at the MCG.
Talking Points
The Battle of the Daicos brothers
Nick has gotten plenty of love from the AFL world, especially having recently hit the 50 game milestone, but taking a closer look, there’s the argument to be made that the better brother in this game was actually Josh. He had plenty of critical moments early on when the game was up for grabs and had the most disposals at half-time with 22 to go with four score involvements. He finished the day with 30, four more than Nick, and was crucial in getting the ball away from the danger-zone and ran down some valuable time in the dying minutes. Either way, having trouble deciding which brother is better is a very nice problem for Collingwood and AFL fans to have.
The Ginnivan Factor
It seems like not even executive general manager, Laura Kane, can get Jack Ginnivan back in the umpires’ good books. When he was awarded a free in the first quarter it seemed like his woes might be over, but once again there were a few missed calls for the explosive forward and a very soft 50-metre penalty given against him to Brayden Maynard which ended in a Collingwood goal. The former Pie talked up a big game throughout the week, claiming he was ready to give grief to his former teammates and while he saw plenty of action it wasn’t until the last quarter when he had an impact, but boy was it an impact. His goal after getting a payback holding free from Maynard turned the comeback spark into a flame and he had no hesitation in getting in the Collingwood defenders faces. Love him or hate him, there’s no denying he has an x-factor that is exciting to watch.
The Missing 15%
Watching Hawthorn there’s not too much they’re doing wrong. And yet they are now stuck firmly at the bottom of the ladder at 0-4. Mabior Chol summed up Hawthorn’s woes with his game, throwing all he had to get to the ball but never seeming to get it to go where he wanted it to and ending the day with only seven disposals. With the competition closer than ever, being only 15% off the pace is more than enough to cost teams games. Yet, in the final term Hawthorn hit 100% and almost pulled off the miracle comeback. It’s the first time we’ve seen this full throttle Hawthorn this year, and if they want to make it back to being in finals contention they need to figure how to flick the switch and keep it firmly in on mode.
March to the Oval
It’s hard to take focus away from the Adelaide teams during Gather Round, given it’s their stomping ground and their fans are simply everywhere, but that didn’t stop the Magpie Army trying to claim Adelaide as their own. The march from the Footy Festival across the river to Adelaide Oval wasn’t long, but it was strong. Spurred on by a speech on stage from former coach Nathan Buckley (his call for fans to cheer Ginnivan rather than boo him went largely ignored as expected) the black and white flags were flying high and the chants were loud. As Gather Round grows fans will continue to keep finding their own ways to stamp their team’s authority over the weekend and this march was another fun addition to the growing spectacle.
The big question…are the Pies back?
The short answer is no. Well, not yet.
The Collingwood of last year would have had that game all stitched up by half-time and never would’ve allowed it to get as close as it did. That being said, they have made big steps in the right direction. Darcy Moore, Billy Frampton, and the rest of the defenders are returning to their usual reliable selves, while the midfield is returning to their run and gun game. There’s still a nervousness in the players, but the successful road trip sees them heading into their early bye at 2-3 and every chance of still making finals. It would be insanity to write-off this club just yet.
