Robbo: Cats got lucky in thrilling game of last man standing
Goals were rare and highlights rarer as master tacticians Chris Scott and Alastair Clarkson gave us a dose of yesterday’s football, Mark Robinson writes.
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A snoozefest in the first half became a slog in the second half, and by the end it was last man standing.
The Cats were wobbling and the Hawks were surging and for the second consecutive week, the Cats were barely in front when the final siren sounded.
Lucky? Maybe, but they have the “W” beside their name.
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It’s a labour intensive venture the way they go about it, Geelong. Same for the Hawks.
Dare we say it, after three rounds of creative, exciting and instinctive football embracing the new rules, two wily and tactical-based coaches — Chris Scott and Alastair Clarkson — gave us a dose of yesterday’s football.
Like, numbers back, at times a wicked flood, then win the ball and try to dissect your way through the opposition.
The Hawks tried it with speed, the Cats with care and composure.
It meant goals were rare and highlights rarer.
Who was to blame? Geelong and their slow play or Hawthorn and their unsuccessful long bombs inside 50m?
That style certainly played into Geelong’s hands as they were able to win the ball back, too easily at times, and then reignite their kick, mark, kick, mark slow play.
They were brave, the Hawks. Chockers with character and attitude.
As boring as it was in the first half — the Hawks kicked just three goals in the first half — there’s a case study to consider.
Would you rather be a developing North Melbourne and try to attack and lose by 100-plus points and have the football world cave in on you, or be a developing Hawthorn and emphasise defence and stay with a premiership contender for most of four quarters?
The Hawks are a better team than North Melbourne, by far, but defence-based North Melbourne surely at this stage is better than an offence-based North Melbourne.
On Monday, the Hawks were willing but not able.
They need a key forward who can take a mark.
They had 44 inside 50s and took five marks. The Cats had 53 inside 50s and took 10 marks.
It was 40-23 at the half to the Cats and 63-37 at the final break.
The Haws kicked four goals to Geelong’s one goal in the final 30 minutes and while the Cats will be ecstatic with the win, time will tell if the Geelong game style — which isn’t new — will win out in this so-called “fastest is best” season.
They haven’t kicked 100 points in three games this year, while the Young Bloods from Sydney have kicked 125, 121 and 117 points across their three games.
Scott probably would like faster ball movement, but the Hawks didn’t allow it on Monday.
The Hawks had numbers back and typically Clarkson and Scott had numbers at the contest.
But the more the game became chaotic, it seemed the better the Hawks liked it
If the Cats lost yesterday, for sure there would be a more in-depth discussion on their game style, notwithstanding the absence of Patrick Dangerfield (suspended) and Jeremy Cameron (hamstring).
Cam Guthrie was best afield, his calmness amid the fury throughout was a major reason why the Cats prevailed, and Mark O’Connor’s claim to be the league’s latest bona fide tagger took another step yesterday.
He kept Tom Mitchell to 24 possessions. Two weeks earlier, Mitchell had that many in a half against Essendon.
O’Connor has been one significant move from the Cats this season.
Mark Blicavs started in defence yesterday, Tom Atkins was huge again at the death as a defender, and regular defender Jack Henry kicked two goals in the third quarter.
Close games are mostly always decided by moment of brilliance and brittleness.
In the third quarter, the Hawks unravelled for two minutes.
Sam Frost gave away a free kick to Joel Selwood behind play and near the 50m arc.
Selwood passed to Tom Hawkins, but Hawks defender Kyle Hartigan swiped Hawkins from behind, collecting his head, and the mark became a 50m penalty and a goal.
It was a telling goal in a five-point result.
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