Bruce McAvaney has watched a lot of footy over the years, and as one of the greatest rivalries in the AFL reignites tonight, the Channel Seven legend believes the Cats will prevail in what he is calling the “third chapter” in the historic battle between Hawthorn and Geelong.
“Geelong has to be the favourite. They’re on a long winning run. They’ve had the easier draw going into the finals, but I think the footy they played in the first week of the finals is as good as I’ve seen all year,” he told The Nightly.
It will be a battle between Hawthorn’s crop of fresh-faced, brash stars and the Cats’ young turks, as well as both sides’ experienced and accomplished veterans leading the way.
“It’s the next chapter in this incredible story between these two teams — with the 1989 grand final arguably the greatest of all time, and then the Hodge-Selwood era,” he said.
“I see this as maybe the third chapter in this incredible story that got going in ’89, then we had that long, long run over a decade ago. And now we go to the third.”