Summary
Footy’s fixed! Or was it ever broken to begin with? After last night’s low scoring error strewn affair it was an end-to-end goalfest at Kardinia Park.
At half-time the game was in the balance with Hawthorn probably heading to the sheds in the ascendancy, but whatever Chris Scott said at the main break worked with the Cats flying out of the blocks in the third quarter and putting the Hawks to the sword in the fourth. It was a sweet night for Patrick Dangerfield in his 250th appearance but he was overshadowed by fellow superstar Joel Selwood, who dominated when it mattered most. Brandon Parfitt, Rhys Stanley, Gary Ablett, and plenty other in hoops also caught the eye.
Hawthorn will hope it was just a bit of ring rust for those last couple of quarters but their drop-off in intensity, particularly around stoppages, was alarming. They will welcome the return of Jaeger O’Meara to the engine room as soon as possible.
That’s all from me for tonight. Thanks for your company. We’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow. Cheerio!
Updated
Geelong 17.6 (108) beat Hawthorn 7.5 (47)
On that evidence, they may well be the greatest team of all, once again.
Q4: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 17.6 (108) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47) 13 of the top 14 possession-getters are in hoops, but so is the leading tackler, Parfitt, who has laid ten in a terrific all-round performance.
Q4: 4 mins remaining: Geelong 17.6 (108) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47) Rohan becomes Geelong’s tenth goal-kicker of the night. 10-2 v 1.1 since half-time. This doesn’t need to continue any longer.
Q4: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 16.6 (102) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47) Menegola the goaler after smart play form Hawkins in a contest in the goal-square.
It’s hard to pinpoint how significant Kardinia Park has proven in tonight’s shellacking, but it has to bode well for Geelong’s season that they are likely to play a stack more big games at their idiosyncratic home. Do they vault a rung or two in the flag favouritism stakes?
Q4: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 15.6 (96) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47) Rohan, reassuringly nimble, does well to pick off a Hawthorn rebound around halfway. Delighted to see the former Swan moving freely. Such a high quality footballer whose career has been hampered by injury.
He’s back in the action shortly afterwards, finding space on the half-forward flank, selflessly passing off the set shot to Miers who spanks home his third of the night.
Q4: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 14.6 (90) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47) Harry Taylor gets the hurry-up deep inside the left back pocket but he clears his lines in typically unassuming fashion on his 34th birthday. What a career he has enjoyed.
Speaking of hurrying up Harry. Turn this up to 11.
Q4: 14.30 mins remaining: Geelong 14.6 (90) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47) It took an age for Atkins to kick the first goal of the final quarter, but finally I have further reason to punish my blistered fingertips. It was a neat dribbled finish after an excellent contest from Stanley brought the ball to ground.
V/@AFL games where both lineups have had 3,000+ games prior experience
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) June 12, 2020
2003 SF - bris v adel
2011 GF - coll v geel
2016 R21 - haw v nth
2020 R02 - GEEL v HAW
@GeelongCats @HawthornFC #AFLCatsHawks
As you might imagine, the stats sheet now leans heavily one way. The Cats are dominating both disposals and disposal efficiency, and crucially clearances. Individually, all Geelong’s big guns fired in that third quarter.
3QT | Stat Leaders
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) June 12, 2020
Goals: 2 - Miers, Dahlhaus, Stanley, Ablett
Disposals: 22 - Selwood, 17 - Dangerfield, 16 - Stewart, Menegola#Danger250 #AFLCatsHawks
GOALS:
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) June 12, 2020
2 Gunston, 1 Breust, 1 Patton, 1 Burgoyne, 1 O'Brien, 1 Hanrahan
DISPOSALS:
17 Mitchell, 11 Worpel, 11 Wingard, 10 Sicily#AFLCatsHawks #Always
Late in the half Shaun Burgoyne drove Patrick Dangerfield into the turf and the veteran could be in a spot of bother.
Will Burgoyne get a week?
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 12, 2020
(watch #AFLCatsHawks on 7) pic.twitter.com/Fg5yS7m9gs
3QT: Geelong 13.6 (84) v Hawthorn 7.5 (47)
A match that was in the balance at half-time is now a procession for the Cats.
Q3: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 13.6 (84) v Hawthorn 7.4 (46) The TV guys are talking up Brandon Parfitt, who is having a terrific game for Geelong. He’s had 14 disposals, nine tackles, and plenty of eye-catching moments turning a stoppage into forward motion, a la the departed Tim Kelly.
Miers has just snapped his second goal.
Q3: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 12.6 (78) v Hawthorn 7.4 (46) Hawthorn get one back. Geelong get a bit cute in possession and you can’t do that with Burgoyne around. Silk feeds Wingard who enables O’Brien to have a pop from 45m out and he makes no mistake.
Q3: 4 mins remaining: Geelong 12.6 (78) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) You won’t see a better through-ball all season than that which Ablett has just delivered to Dangerfield. Sprinting full speed, caressing it 40m, into the space for his forward to run onto, inches over the head of the despairing Hawk. Sumptuous touch. Danger hits the post. That was a work of art from the little maestro.
Q3: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 12.5 (77) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Dangerfield has another chance to mark his 250th with a goal after smashing the hapless Smith in a tackle on the 50m arc. And he gets it! Belting a sweet set shot that makes the distance with plenty to spare. What a quarter from Geelong.
In game 2️⃣5️⃣0️⃣, @dangerfield35 makes it five in a row for @GeelongCats 🚀#ColesGoals | #AFLCatsHawks pic.twitter.com/PUljmkXvnZ
— AFL (@AFL) June 12, 2020
Updated
Q3: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 11.5 (71) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Rohan’s back out, which is good, but he still looks a little proppy.
Q3: 8 mins remaining: Geelong 11.5 (71) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) 18=2 inside-50s for the Cats since Patton’s goal late in the second quarter.
Q3: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 11.5 (71) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Where’s Oprah? YOU GET A GOAL! AND YOU! AND YOU! Menegola gets his name in the book, smartly marking a Bews bomb inside 50 before executing a textbook set shot from near enough 50m. That’s five in a row for Geelong, four this quarter alone. They have dominated clearances after half-time and they seem to have pushed up their defensive line much higher, squeezing the play when Hawthorn take possession and sending the ball back with interest.
Q3: 11 mins remaining: Geelong 10.5 (65) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Duncan dribbles through yet another Geelong goal after relentless pressure from the Cats.
Dangerfield has had a couple of important possessions early in this quarter, as have Ablett and Selwood, which will cheer up Chris Scott. However, Gary Rohan went down very awkwardly in an innocuous contest, twisting his leg as he slipped. Poor guy has already had a career’s worth of injuries, let’s hope he can run this one off.
Q3: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 9.5 (59) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Guess what? That’s right, another goal. Selwood batters a clearance, Menegola does well at ground level on the arc, Miers executes a tidy finish on the run.
Q3: 14 mins remaining: Geelong 8.5 (53) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) It’s not as if they had to wait long for the drought to end. Ablett does superbly on the left flank and he picks out a socially distanced Stanley at the top of the goal-square and the big Cat pummels home his second of the night. No idea where Hawthorn’s defence had gone to.
Q3: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 7.5 (47) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) I jest, but Geelong did nearly kick a goal near enough from the centre bounce. As it happens they only advance their score by one point with Ratugolea snapping a wobbler off balance deep in the right forward pocket after the Cats pinned the Sherrin inside Hawthorn’s defensive 50.
Ok, the second-half is imminent.
Goal! just kidding. Force of habit.
Stats-wise, there’s not much separating things on a team level, aside from the 13-6 free-kick count in Geelong’s favour. Those numbers will not help any researchers studying the impact of crowds on umpires favouring home teams.
Individually, Hawthorn are doing a great job of wrapping up Dangerfield in his 250th.
HT | Stat Leaders
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) June 12, 2020
Goals: 2 Dahlhaus, 2 Ablett, Atkins, Stanley, Selwood
Disposals: 14 - Selwood, 13 - Stewart, 9 - Parfitt, Menegola, Stanley, Ablett#Danger250 #AFLCatsHawks
GOALS:
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) June 12, 2020
2 Gunston, 1 Breust, 1 Burgoyne, 1 Patton, 1 Hanrahan
DISPOSALS:
13 Mitchell, 10 Worpel, 8 Morrison, 8 Smith, 8 Hanrahan#AFLCatsHawks #Always
You win the blog for the Electric Six clip. In more staid circles Kenny Loggins is where Paddy is at.https://t.co/o8Osy6zrhn
— Mystère_Cygne (@Mystere_Cygne) June 12, 2020
HT: Geelong 7.4 (46) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40)
Well, what a half that was. Geelong are currently edging the end-to-end mayhem, but Hawthorn looked the better side for most of that second quarter. Time for a breather.
Q2: 1 min remaining: Geelong 7.4 (46) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Oooooh. Geelong almost extended their lead, Ablett again feasting off Ratugolea’s crumbs, but a Hawthorn smother arrived in the nick of time just as the son of a gun pulled the trigger.
Q2: 2.30 mins remaining: Geelong 7.3 (45) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Another goal. No real idea what happened, busy typing the goal that was only just scored down the other end, after the goal scored down the other end etc etc... Dahlhaus got it. Cats back on top. This game.
Q2: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 6.3 (39) v Hawthorn 6.4 (40) Geelong’s lead doesn’t last long. Sicily makes the most of a late bump from Dahlhaus and Patton nails the downfield free-kick from 45m out. There was a lot of Hawkins from the big Hawk in the way that goal faded left-to right into the Players Stand .
Q2: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 6.3 (39) v Hawthorn 5.4 (34) Geelong’s dangermen (geddit?) have had minimal impact this quarter with Ablett, Selwood and Dangerfield all well marshalled. Until now. GAJ, front and square, 25m out, crumbs, swivels, snaps, goals. Cats back in the lead.
Two goals for Gaz before half-time. Aging like a fine wine 🍷
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 12, 2020
(watch #AFLCatsHawks on 7) pic.twitter.com/3J40YAW8kg
Updated
Q2: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 5.3 (33) v Hawthorn 5.4 (34) More pressure from the Hawks, egged on by Clarko coaching from the bench, but Henderson is pinged for running too far, ending a certain score. As part of that passage Ceglar laid a massive shepherd on a poor winded Cat defender.
Q2: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 5.3 (33) v Hawthorn 5.4 (34) Hawthorn should be in front but Gunston couldn’t capitalise on the run from the left forward pocket after a superb run-down tackle from the ageless Burgoyne. Then Wingard fails to split the big sticks on the burst after a sloppy Geelong turnover. This is very much on Hawthorn’s terms now, and they have the lead for the first time tonight.
When it comes to tackling, age is just a number for @ShaunBurgoyne9 👊@MonsterEnergy | #AFLCatsHawks pic.twitter.com/slxUAr9uSr
— AFL (@AFL) June 12, 2020
Updated
Q2: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 5.3 (33) v Hawthorn 5.3 (33) Breust shakes off that earlier error, slotting a set shot to level the scores. Where have we seen that before? Three in a row now for Hawthorn who are starting to control open play, slowing the action down, and picking their way through.
Q2: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 5.3 (33) v Hawthorn 4.3 (27) Breust misses a snap across his body from 30m out when he probably should have done better. Hawthorn did well to keep the ball alive as the game settles down somewhat. As with last night, it’s still an absurdly hot footy, but a couple of stoppages have talked the franticometer down a notch.
Q2: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 5.3 (33) v Hawthorn 4.2 (26) Decent couple of minutes of possession for the Cats but delivery inside-50 has been found wanting, first by Taylor, then by Duncan. However, the latter is let off the hook somewhat by his target Hawkins earning a free for a push in his massive broad back. His set shot from a fair way out goes off hands for a point.
Q2: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 5.2 (32) v Hawthorn 4.2 (26) Any danger the frantic start would be tempered by some magnetic boards is allayed in seconds when Puopolo shows neat hands to create room for Shiels to wallop one from miles out towards an untended goal-square but a despairing Stewart is back in time to force a behind.
A live blog with open comments two nights in succession? It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ...
Tonight I’m finding the crowd track a little intrusive on 7; and the crowd would have brought the house down with Gary’s goal from outside 50 metres.
Some stats for you, confirming Joel Selwood is having a blinder.
QT | Stat Leaders
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) June 12, 2020
Goals: Atkins, Dahlhaus, Stanley, Selwood, Ablett
Disposals: 10 - Selwood, 6 - Parfitt, 5 - Dangerfield, Stanley#Danger250 #AFLCatsHawks
GOALS:
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) June 12, 2020
2 Gunston, 1 Burgoyne, 1 Hanrahan
DISPOSALS:
5 Mitchell, 5 McEvoy, 5 Ceglar, 4 Worpel, 4 Frawley#AFLCatsHawks #Always
QT: Geelong 5.2 (32) v Hawthorn 4.1 (25)
Scoring crisis, what scoring crisis? NINE GOALS in the opening quarter at Kardinia Park. Geelong lead by seven. Breathless stuff.
Q1: 1 mins remaining: Geelong 5.2 (32) v Hawthorn 4.1 (25) ... and Gunston’s got another! This is wild. Nine goals in no time. Another centre clearance goal in the blink of an eye - Ceglar to O’Brien to Gunston to scoreboard.
Q1: 1.45 mins remaining: Geelong 5.2 (32) v Hawthorn 3.1 (19) From the centre bounce Hawthorn scoot down the other end where Stewart is pinged for holding Gunston and the sharpshooting Hawk makes no mistake from 25m out on a 45 degree angle.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!
Q1: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 5.2 (32) v Hawthorn 2.1 (13) Joel Selwood has been immense this quarter and he drills through Geelong’s fifth after earning the umpire’s favour during a marking contest 20m out against two Hawthorn defenders. The Cats are doing superbly at keeping the ball alive when it gets inside 50, Rohan the latest to turn a half-chance into something more for his skipper.
Q1: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 4.2 (26) v Hawthorn 2.1 (13) GAJ has just roosted a set shot from 52m that deserved more than canned cheers. Burgoyne & Ablett showing age is no obstacle.
Gaz from 50. Still got it 🚀
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 12, 2020
(watch #AFLCatsHawks on 7) pic.twitter.com/0SLIcV9GNK
Updated
Q1: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 3.2 (20) v Hawthorn 2.1 (13) A further point apiece courtesy of two more goal-square melees. Geelong were never favourites to make it more than one point but Hawthorn will be disappointed Patton didn’t capitalise on his side’s latest sortie.
Q1: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 3.1 (19) v Hawthorn 2.0 (12) And despite Geelong’s dominance Hawthorn are back to just seven points behind after Burgoyne prevails in a goal-square scramble, volleying the ball through with the benefit of a video umpire review. This is a goal-a-minute shootout!
Q1: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 3.1 (19) v Hawthorn 1.0 (6) It should be another Geelong goal but after earning a set shot 40m out with little angle to contend with Dangerfield missed to the right, delaying the 250th game celebrations for the time being. The opportunity was the product of more good work from Parfitt, who is another eye-catching performer in these early exchanges.
Q1: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 3.0 (18) v Hawthorn 1.0 (6) C’mon guys, give me chance to type! Hawthorn are on the board after good work from Scully and Smith ends with Hanrahan feeding off the scraps in the goal-square.
Q1: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 3.0 (18) v Hawthorn 0.0 (0) This is a blitzkrieg from the Cats! Two more dangerous inside-50s precede a third that is taken unopposed by Atkins. He kicks truly from 30m pretty straight.
Rhys Stanley has started this game on fire, dominating in the middle, delivering a couple of dangerous inside-50s and banging a goal of his own. Not bad considering he became a new dad just a couple of days ago.
Q1: 12 mins remaining: Geelong 2.0 (12) v Hawthorn 0.0 (0) The Cats have started brightly with Selwood imposing himself at the breakdown but a couple of promising passages have failed to progress with poor kicks from midfield to attack. The waves of possession do tell though. After Guthrie receives a free-kick on halfway Ablett shows his class with a beautiful cross from the right touchline straight onto the head of Stanley who makes no mistake from 30m out straight in front. Fast start from the home team.
Blink and you'll miss it 🙈
— AFL (@AFL) June 12, 2020
It's the perfect start for @GeelongCats 🏎#AFLCatsHawks pic.twitter.com/Cp0FmYYFuV
Updated
Q1: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 1.0 (6) v Hawthorn 0.0 (0) Blimey! That didn’t take long. Stanley won the opening bounce, then worked well in tight with Selwood to get the Cats moving forward. A long bomb inside 50 ended up going to ground where Parfitt delivered superbly for Dahlhaus to kick the opening goal. Hopefully a sign of things to come after last night’s low-scoring affair.
Peeeeeeeeeep!!!!!
Underway in Geelong!
Players, coaches and umpires are now taking a knee.
"There is no place for racism in our society." 💛 pic.twitter.com/yvCP3jlkrU
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) June 12, 2020
Updated
Four minutes to the opening bounce, which means *checks notes* Shane Warne narrating one of those overblown self-congratulatory montages that plague Australian sports broadcasting.
In case any of you Hawkers missed this from a few days ago, here’s Jonathan Horn paying tribute to Australian Football Hall of Fame inductee John Kennedy Sr.
John Kennedy was a hard, hard man. He wasn’t there to be anyone’s best friend. He certainly wasn’t there to lose. He took a dim view of bandages, stretchers and injuries above the neck. It was a brutal era. Viewed through today’s lens, football in the 1960s and 70s was insane. There were some terrifying individuals running around, and many of them were playing for Hawthorn.
We know Hawthorn are in white shorts (to go with their brown and gold stripes) and Geelong are in blue shorts (to accompany their blue and white hoops) because both teams are out in the middle of Kardinia Park, soaking up the pre-bounce flatmosphere.
We missed you, footy! GO HAWKS. 💛💛💛 #AFLCatsHawks #Always pic.twitter.com/qlgtx5qWgX
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) June 12, 2020
Updated
Eddie McGuire has just commented - correctly - on Hawthorn wearing white shorts, not brown, introducing a smidgen of avoidable colour clash with Geelong. But still, he is Collingwood’s president, a man employed to engage in an endless battle about kit colours... the brass neck of it! It would be funny if it wasn’t so predictable.
Updated
Yep, right on the money with Collingwood, although they barely resemble the hated teams of yesteryear.
I think Hawthorn might be fairly hated as they've been so successful over the last 50 years. Also they're from the 'toffee' part of melbourne.
Regardless the game should be good, there's a big rivalry between the two teams that began in 2008 that has seen almost every game they've played decided by less than two goals.
Go Hawks!
As with last night, teams are warming up in plain black t-shirts in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests.
'It's not blacks versus whites - it's everyone versus racism.' ✊ #GeelongStrong pic.twitter.com/JAzccXrNoY
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) June 12, 2020
Back to last night’s action, Jonathan Horn was not impressed with the spectacle, even though the return of footy of any quality warmed his cockles.
Let’s not tiptoe around this – Thursday night’s Collingwood-Richmond clash was a fully-fledged stinker. The skills were dire. The reigning premiers did not turn up until the second quarter. Brian Taylor was as objectionable as ever. And the atmosphere was decidedly weird. But it was something. It was a beginning. It beat watching Nordic noir on Netflix. With the world on its ass, it was a welcome distraction. It was good to have you back, old friend.
Some more news, with confirmation the AFL’s coffers will remain more Scrooge McDuck than Marie Kondo would approve of after the league extended its broadcast rights deal until the end of 2024.
“We will need to be disciplined and focused as a football community on how we continue to live within our means over the coming years. Our football community still faces significant financial challenges over the coming years,” said CEO Gil McLachlan. “We must remain vigilant on balancing investment in the next generation of participants and players while maintaining discipline on costs.”
In other footy news, Héritier Lumumba continues to stand his ground in his battle with Collingwood, refusing to be drawn into mediation until the club acknowledges publicly the racism he suffered during his time at the Magpies. Coach Nathan Buckley has indicated he is keen to smooth things over with Lumumba but the retired defender is not interested in a happy families PR stunt, tweeting: “Because I have been discredited publicly. I don’t want a private handshake. I want justice for how I was treated. That includes correcting public denials about my account of the racism & isolation I faced.”
1. Interesting that Collingwood is now shifting its narrative to claim that they are trying to 'reach out' to me. Let me very clear: I have no intention of sitting down with anyone until they publicly acknowledge some fundamental facts.https://t.co/RLPfGD6w6N
— Lumumba (@iamlumumba) June 12, 2020
#Dangerfield250
Jon Ralph is reporting on Fox Footy that two Melbourne Demons have been suspended under the Covid-19 protocols for taking an Uber to a house party. Charlie Spargo will miss two weeks, Kysaiah Pickett will miss one.
Conditions tonight will be similar to last night at the G: chilly and still with the dew increasingly a factor as the game wears on.
Hawthorn XXII
Alastair Clarkson has made just one change to the side that surprised Brisbane in round one with Blake Hardwick recovering from a pec injury in time to replace Jaeger O’Meara, the star onballer missing with a minor forehead fracture.
B: Sam Frost, James Frawley, Ben McEvoy
HB: Ben Stratton, James Sicily, Blake Hardwick
C: Ricky Henderson, Tom Mitchell, Isaac Smith
HF: Luke Breust, Tim O’Brien, Chad Wingard
F: Paul Puopolo, Jon Patton, Shaun Burgoyne
R: Jon Ceglar, James Worpel, Liam Shiels
INT: Harry Morrison, Tom Scully, Jack Gunston, Oliver Hanrahan
Geelong XXII
Chris Scott has made three tweaks to his 22 after an opening round defeat to GWS. In come Jed Bews, Rhys Stanley and Brandan Parfitt, in place of Darcy Fort, Zach Guthrie and Jordan Clark.
Geelong are still waiting to see Jack Steven suit up following his high-profile trade but the former Saint, Josh Jenkins and Jake Kolodjashnij should all be fit for selection in a week or two, leaving Nakia Cockatoo the only long-term concern.
Tonight is a milestone for Patrick Dangerfield with the Brownlow Medalist racking up his 250th first grade appearance.
B: Harry Taylor, Mark Blicavs, Jack Henry
HB: Mark O’Connor, Tom Stewart, Zach Tuohy
C: Sam Menegola, Joel Selwood (C), Brandan Parfitt
HF: Luke Dahlhaus, Gryan Miers, Tom Atkins
F: Gary Rohan, Tom Hawkins, Esava Ratugolea
R: Rhys Stanley, Patrick Dangerfield, Quinton Narkle
INT: Gary Ablett, Jed Bews, Mitch Duncan, Cameron Guthrie
You, casually: How was lockdown?
Me, eyeballs bulging: FINE, IT’S BEEN FINE. I HAVEN’T BEEN SUBJECTED TO TOO MUCH KID’S TV, FAILING AT HOME-SCHOOLING MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD.
Comments are open below the line too. This is normally a fraught experience during a liveblog but the AFL community on here are a reassuringly nice bunch. (Now don’t make me regret saying that...)
Preamble
Wahey! Footy, two nights in a row! We are being spoiled.
After last night’s nail-biting, breathless and error-strewn return to action at the MCG, we’re off down the highway to Kardinia Park for the resumption of the most entertaining rivalry in the modern game. Geelong v Hawthorn is underway from 7.50pm and I’ll be here to make sure you have a rough idea what’s happening down at the Cattery.
Matches between this pair tend to be close, highlighted by that astonishing period around the turn of the decade when contests of incredible skill invariably ended within a kick. Both clubs have descended somewhat from those lofty heights, but neither have plummeted far, and Chris Scott and Alastair Clarkson will consider their premiership windows open in this most unpredictable of seasons.
This is ordinarily a rivalry that draws a bumper crowd to the MCG, but with fans still locked out Geelong have lobbied successfully for the Hawks to make the journey to GHMBA Stadium for the first time since 2006. Not only that, but there is an expectation that other heavyweights will make rare visits to Victoria’s Surf Coast later in the season, in a major boost to the Cats’ flag hopes. Few teams in history have enjoyed home ground advantage like Geelong in the past decade or so (42-8 win-loss record in previous 50 matches), and their familiarity with the dimensions (the Kardinia Park oval is the third-longest but also the narrowest in the league) should give them a notable advantage.
Let me know what you think of that, as well as some other tasty morsels, like Patrick Dangerfield’s place in the game on the night of his 250th appearance, Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett pandering to #SokkahTwitter by advocating for relegation from the AFL, or how tonight could be the last time modern greats Shaun Burgoyne (37), Gary Ablett (36) and Harry Taylor (34 today!) all compete for the same Sherrin.
Get in touch by Twitter @JPHowcroft or send emails to jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
Wish you were here. 😢#Danger250 #AFLCatsHawks pic.twitter.com/Ww95pTiKTp
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) June 12, 2020
Updated
My thinking, Harry, is that the two experiences are complementary, and very different. Being there live is all about two things for mine - the atmosphere, and watching the broader game in terms of the respective coach's decisions and responses/reactions to one another.
Watching it on tv, on the other hand, actually gives you a better impression of what's going on in the close-in contest, most of the time, than being at the ground does, for two reasons:
1. the size of the ground (the biggest area of any commonly played type of football in the world) means that spectators are, most of the time, a LONG way away from the immediate contest; and
2. the cameramen who've learned to follow the ball in aussie rules are probably the most skilled live ball sports cameramen in the world.