Another edition of footy’s great rivalry between Hawthorn and Geelong headlines Easter Monday at the MCG.
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HT: ANOTHER EASTER MONDAY EPIC IN THE WORKS
We might just have another Hawks-Cats classic on our hands.
After some dreadful footy this weekend, the frenetic second term of the hotly anticipated clash was a joy to watch – and perhaps the best quarter of the season to date.
The ball pinged from end-to-end and momentum see-sawed between the two sides, the Cats getting out of jail late in the term and slotting two goals in the last minute – including an after-the-siren finish from Shannon Neale – to take a nine-point lead into halftime.
The Cats burst out of the blocks at the start of the quarter with three goals in six minutes, but the Hawks hit back with three goals of their own.
After a quiet first quarter, Nick Watson produced some magic with two goals and a goal assist, the highlight a cracking finish at speed on his non-preferred left in the pocket.
Jack Gunston has also given the Cats defence headaches and should have more than two goals to his name.
Inclusion Jack Bowes (two goals), Ollie Henry (two goals, two goal assists) and Oli Wiltshire and have given the Cats plenty of spark up forward, while Bailey Smith (20 disposals and 64 SuperCoach points) is on for another monster possession tally.
QT: HAWKS GET JUMP EARLY
Hawthorn dominated the first term but was unable to put it on the scoreboard, keeping Geelong in the contest with an eight-point lead at quarter-time.
The footy was in the Hawthorn’s forward half for 70 per cent of the first 17 minutes, and they had seven of the first eight clearances.
However, the Cats were able to make the Hawks pay down the other end as the Hawks missed gettable chances – most notably Mabior Chol’s shocking shank out on the full.
Ginni Easter Monday goal
Hawthorn’s transition out of the back-half has been electric and if it weren’t for Tom Stewart’s heroics, the Cats would be in a lot more trouble.
Bailey Smith and Josh Ward (both 12 disposals) have found plenty of the Sherrin but Nick Watson (two disposals) has been well held by Cats stopper Oisin Mullin so far.
Hawks debutants Jack Dalton (four disposals) and Flynn Perez (two disposals, four tackles) – who was split open by a high Brad Close tackle – have shown some good signs early.
PRE-GAME: CATS IN BUTTERS RACE
Geelong chief executive Steve Hocking says the Cats are among the clubs in the Zak Butters race, conceding that the current player movement market may force a change to their frugal list management philosophy.
Butters is the most in-demand free agent in the competition with the Port Adelaide stand-in captain coming out of contract at the end of the season.
Asked on the odds of Butters playing at Geelong next year, Hocking told 3AW: “I’m not a betting man, and we don’t often talk about our list management. But happy to acknowledge we are one of a host of clubs that would have some interest in a player of that level.
“As you would across a number of players that would be available.”
Hocking said times have changed since the salary sacrifices that were adopted under former Geelong chief executive Brian Cook, a foundation of their success during the 21st century.
“I am fortunate enough to be around when the likes of Neale Balme and Brian Cook were part of it, we used to sit down with the likes of Tom Harley, Cameron Ling and Corey Enright often,” Hocking said.
“And that baton has been passed on.
“We don’t just go ‘Okay, someone might be available to us, let’s now talk about that person’, we are talking all the time.
“We have been notoriously discerning as far as what our spend is.
“But the market has changed so we have to recognise that as well… But for us we look after the people we have on our list currently.”
Bailey Smith is an example of that, with the Cats star in talks to have his salary increased across his deal after an All-Australian campaign last season.
Hocking said this stemmed from mutual conversations between the Cats and Smith’s management group.
“There has been some commentary around potentially Bailey getting an uplift, that’s an example of what we do. He’s front and centre of it, but there are other players who have gained uplifts over the past couple of years too,” Hocking said.
Originally published as AFL round 4 Hawthorn v Geelong: Live updates, scores and news from Easter Monday