I’ve tried not to get caught up in the brown and gold wave, but far out… the current is starting to drag me along.
We’ve heard all the terms – Hok-Ball, Hollywood Hawks… a few that aren’t as catchy, but with runs like this, I always expect the stop to be sudden. About ten weeks ago, fellow Hawks supporters started talking about finals. I was a little reluctant to engage. There was a lot of water to flow under the bridge before the team got to that point. In my mind, they were a couple of years away and this year was when the kids really started to find their way.
And then the wins kept coming.
By Round 22, the Hawks were knocking on the door of the top eight. As Round 23 concluded, they’d stopped knocking and kicked the door in. And now, in the first week of finals, pitted against the “other” form team of the competition, this exuberant, bombastic, and bloody exciting group of players grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, gave me a shake and told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to stop being conservative and get on board the Brown and Gold Express, stopping all stations to the Premiership!
And so, with one foot on the platform and one foot on the train, I stand there watching this team of kids become men. I see an enthusiasm that you just cannot manufacture. And I see a belief that nurtures success. I saw that about 16 years ago, with the names Hodge, Mitchell, Roughead, and Franklin proelling the Hawks into contention.
The Hawks used the “Premiership Quarter” to put the necessary distance between them and the Dogs. After a first half that saw them edge in front, it was only the Hawks’ inaccuracy that kept the Dogs in the game. With 4.8 to 1.1 for the quarter, the Hawks owned the Dogs, controlled the footy, and took complete control of the game.
The Dogs gave a yelp early in the last quarter, as their main weapon fired a few shots, but it was too little, too late. The game was over, the Dogs were broken, and the Hawthorn Footy Club won their first final since they lifted the cup to complete their three-peat in 2015.
The Hawks now head to South Australia to take on the reeling Port Adelaide Power, and they might just owe those blokes one.
Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Big Questions, and deep dive into this game.
The remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It’s a good deal.
HB’s reviews are as in-depth as they come. They’re also for our members. He owns the place, y’know? This is one of those reviews, and he believes work such as this is worth a mere pittance per day. If you don’t, that’s fine. You’re welcome to join and keep reading if you do.
