Where do you even start with another classic between the Hawks and the Cats.
The end?
Yeah, the end is a pretty good place to commence.
It has been 17 long years since Jimmy Bartel slotted a point to hand the Cats a one-point victory over the Hawks in the early days of the Kennett Curse.
Jack Gunston wasn’t even in the league at that point – that’s how long ago it was! However, the footage airs as part of every Geelong versus Hawthorn highlight package from an era when these two clubs just went at each other at the top of the AFL tree. It is ingrained in the memories.
Times may have changed, and Gunston may have made his way from Adelaide to Hawthorn, away to Brisbane and back again, but his point is now a highlight that will slot in alongside the Bartel kick that handed the Cats the lead.
This time, it was the Hawks getting over the line in a frantic, pulsating last quarter in front of over 84,000 rabid supporters at the MCG.
The game had a bit of everything, with stars firing, misfiring, and looking for their own redemption arcs to be played out.
Mabior Chol missed two shots that may have sunk the Cats, before Shannon Neale snagged his fourth of the game to wrest the lead away. Then it was Mitch Lewis soaring to clunk a big grab inside 50 and level the scores before the Hawks surged again. In that moment, that chaotic wonder we call Aussie Rules, Jack Gunston hacked the footy into the post to see the Hawks inch in front.
It would be enough.
And we all exhaled.
So, so, so much to get through in this one as we dive deep into the best game of the season thus far. Let’s get into the Good, Bad, and Ugly of the Hawks and Cats on Easter Monday.
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