the most scrutinised free kick given in finals history,<\/a> which saw him pinged holding the ball and Hugh McCluggage kick the match-winning goal in the final minute of the game. After such a promising lead into September, was really, really quiet with just three disposals in the first half \u2014 though one of those was a nice goal assist. Was also on the wrong end of a \ufeffvery dubious free kick against which saw Kai Lohmann bag his third from long-range, in what was otherwise an alright quarter. Football is a cruel game. 3<\/p>\n5. NICK WATSON<\/p>\n
WHO ELSE? Seriously. The 170cm superstar snagged Hawthorn\u2019s first two goals of the contest and looked primed for a mauling of Ryan Lester. Went 26 minutes without a kick in the second term, before popping up with an excellent goal crumbing from a boundary throw-in just 14 seconds before half time. \u201cHe\u2019d been put to sleep for much of this quarter \u2026 but he was always going to have the final say!\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon said. Snuck home his fourth halfway through the third after a Darcy Wilmot high tackle went his way, and FLUSHED home his fifth from the arc midway through the final quarter. Made it half a dozen not long after with the pinnacle of small forward craft. We don\u2019t give double digits score to players almost ever \u2014 let alone in a losing team… but we do now. 10<\/p>\n
Nick Watson did everything to get the Hawks over the line.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
6. JAMES SICILY<\/p>\n
Gave off a goal assist in the opening quarter. Was swung onto a wing and kicked his second major of the year just 42 seconds after the first break, before exclaiming his defensive qualities with a gutsy mark back with the flight in defence later that term. Was forced to be versatile and delivered big time as a leader. Took a HUGE intercept mark with 100 seconds to play deep inside defensive 50, bumping up his score despite the final result. 8<\/p>\n
‘No team deserved to lose tonight’ | 11:09<\/p>\n
8. DYLAN MOORE<\/p>\n
Had nine disposals and lifted in the second quarter, using the Sherrin well in both halves of the ground. After two disposals in the first five minutes of the third term, didn\u2019t touch it again for a full stanza. Made his next kick count though, sliding home a ball from 50 out to give his Hawks hope of a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback. Just missed a snapping set shot minutes later which would\u2019ve sent shockwaves through the Lions\u2019 coaches box. 6<\/p>\n
9. CONNOR MACDONALD<\/p>\n
Looked oh so threatening in the first term, getting in dangerous positions through the corridor in Hawthorn\u2019s attacking half. Didn\u2019t get a kick in the third term like a few other teammates, but came to life again in the final quarter to play a major part in their stunning comeback. Did it when it truly mattered, but did have inconsistent patches throughout. 6<\/p>\n
10. KARL AMON<\/p>\n
Took a gutsy mark running back with the flight in the second term after a quiet-ish opening 30 minutes. Got outbodied by Kai Lohmann on the goal line in the third term, with Lohmann\u2019s ensuing snap giving the Lions back the lead for the first time since the 28-minute mark of the opening quarter. 4<\/p>\n
12. WILL DAY<\/p>\n
Copped the brutal Josh Dunkley tag, and was held to just two disposals at quarter time. It didn\u2019t stop his tackling pressure though, laying multiple tackles that prevented the Lions from bursting forward at pace. Epitomised this with a crunching tackle on Dayne Zorko just before quarter time after a misdirected Lions kick. Ultimately not his night. 4<\/p>\n
15. BLAKE HARDWICK<\/p>\n
By not much fault of his own, got caught out by a quick centre clearance that saw his direct opponent Charlie Cameron get an early upper hand. His luck didn\u2019t get much better early in the second stanza, with a knuckleball inside 50 deceiving him and ending up in Cameron\u2019s arms again \u2014 another goal. Another where it wasn\u2019t his night. 4<\/p>\n
16. MASSIMO D\u2019AMBROSIO<\/p>\n
Led the match for intercepts at half time with seven recoveries, and used the ball beautifully when he got it going the other way. Clumsily turned over a handball deep in defensive 50 that very nearly cost a goal five minutes before the main break. Missed a very gettable set shot early in the second half. His intercept-heavy game continued in the third term with a crucial mark on the southern wing. Finished with a game-high nine intercepts and a disposal efficiency of 86.4%. 7<\/p>\n
Nick Watson’s late wizardry | 00:34<\/p>\n
17. LLOYD MEEK<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t find as much of the footy early as his direct opponent Darcy Fort, but comfortably beat the two-time premiership Lion and his new teammate Sam Draper at stoppage in the first half \u2014 earning 24 hitouts to their 18 combined at the main break. Hard to criticise, but none of the rucks had a huge say on the game. 6<\/p>\n
18. MABIOR CHOL<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t dispose of the ball in the first 20 minutes, but had a great effort 65 metres from Brisbane\u2019s goal in the first quarter, intercepting a threatening switch kick from Dayne Zorko to force a ball-up. From there though, it was a horror show despite competing in several marking contests. His only stat across the second and third quarter was a free kick against, as he dealt with a rolled ankle. Came out from the shadows with a great set shot from distance halfway through the final term to keep Hawthorn\u2019s pulse beating. 2<\/p>\n
19. JACK GUNSTON<\/p>\n
Had his first disposal in the 20th minute, and didn\u2019t have to wait much longer before snaring a major with a strong mark from a one-on-one contest. With his snap, became just the 24th player in AFL history to kick 50 or more V\/AFL finals goals. Finished his second shot on goal for the evening exquisitely not long after quarter time to give the Hawks an 11-point lead. Kicked his third 10 minutes later, and left Darcy Gardiner with no answers. Led out of full-forward beautifully all evening when he was given the chance. Actually incredible what he\u2019s doing at 34 years of age as a key forward. Gets the highest of eights for another five-goal haul. 8<\/p>\n
‘Gee, he’s lucky’ Lohmann converts free | 00:33<\/p>\n
23. JOSH WEDDLE<\/p>\n
Needed to be busy early on, and was. Continued to build his way into the contest, before putting an exclamation point on his first half with a set shot snap that sailed through the big sticks. Didn\u2019t have an absolute mountain of touches, but similarly to Connor Macdonald, put himself in really dangerous positions. Just one disposal in the last quarter when the game was on the line hurts his score after a very strong start. 5<\/p>\n
Weddle celebrates his second quarter goal with teammate Will Day.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
24. JOSH BATTLE<\/p>\n
Had a third quarter that drastically tanks his overall score. Well and truly had his way with Logan Morris in the first half, keeping the All-Australian to just three disposals at the main break. From there though, things went pear-shaped. Surprisingly responsible for Kai Lohmann most of the third quarter, the two-time premiership Lion went ballistic to kick three third-term goals \u2014 and truthfully, he should\u2019ve had four. Went back to Morris at the start of the last, and had another two kicked on him. 4<\/p>\n
25. JOSH WARD<\/p>\n
My WORD did the 23-year-old redeem himself in a big, big way from last year\u2019s identical fixture. Collected the first clearance of the evening, and it directly resulted in a Nick Watson goal after just 44 seconds. No player on the ground had a busier first 20 minutes, and he looked clean doing it for the most part. Led the match for contested possessions comfortably with 16 \u2014 the second-most ever in his career. An absolute beast at clearance too (11 total), particularly in the final quarter amid the Hawks\u2019 final surge. An incredibly spirited performance. Four goal assists takes him to a rare nine. 9<\/p>\n
28. CAM MACKENZIE<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t dispose of the ball overly well in the first half for his nine disposals, but was there or thereabouts. Finished with 15 disposals and four clearances. 5<\/p>\n
‘If he gets suspended that’s a joke’ | 01:22<\/p>\n
33. JACK GINNIVAN<\/p>\n
Had the difficult task of nullifying Dayne Zorko off Brisbane\u2019s half back, and probably pipped him at the main break \u2014 holding him to nine disposals. The veteran Lion saw more of the ball in the third term when his side got hot, which hurts his score a little. 5<\/p>\n
37. TOM BARRASS<\/p>\n
Took a courageous intercept mark running backwards inside the first seven minutes of the match. Found himself Sam Mitchell\u2019s saviour on the last line of defence multiple times before the main break, but probably saw Eric Hipwood one too many shots on goal in the first half for his liking. Gave up front position to Hipwood halfway through the third term from a centre clearance and paid dearly for it, with the 29-year-old Lion kicking his second. Took an epic intercept mark in the final three minutes that unfortunately went in vain. 5<\/p>\n
40. MAX BEATTIE<\/p>\n
The only Hawk without a possession at quarter time, although only played half of the first term. Had two handballs and a tackle in the second stanza, but the mid-season draftee was evidently getting less playing time than his 22 teammates. Finished with 43% time on ground. 3<\/p>\n
42. BAILEY MACDONALD<\/p>\n
Was outstanding on Kai Lohmann during the first half, before cruelly being penalised in a spoil for accidental high contact \u2014 giving the Lions forward his first goal of the game. \u201cHe\u2019s got a big role, being responsible for Lohmann \u2026 a big job,\u201d Melbourne great Garry Lyon told Fox Footy during the first quarter. Was on the bench and off Lohmann for most of his white-hot third term, so can\u2019t be judged against the Lion there. Wasn\u2019t sighted much, but absolutely did his job. 7<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hawks have suffered preliminary final heartbreak for the second year straight, and in the most dramatic way…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-898148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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