Tuesday morning. Nothing looks like wiping the smile from my face. Not the kids refusing to get out of bed to get ready for school after a fantastic holiday, not the blocked drain in the kitchen, not the chocolate ground into the couch. Nup! Nothing!
The Cats have reached the top of the ladder and we have banished the great foe, Hawthorn, to the bottom. There are 16 teams between us. I can’t remember that happening before.But how?
I would never speak for Hawthorn fans (no-one can say it the way they do anyway) but for us Catters this is the great rivalry, not just of the past decade, but of modern times. The Hawks have been a team of champions and a champion team with a coach who has it all. For all his strengths – planner, mentor, teacher, communicator, strategist, leader – Alastair Clarkson sits in my mind as one of the more combative characters I’ve seen in sport. It’s a key part of his success. His teams fight. He has led his charges to four premierships while we have three, the decider being one that we thought was ours (which was essentially our problem in that 2008 Grand Final). We have had the better of them in home and away matches but to get away with so many successive victories in tight matches is the subject of papers at statisticians’ conferences.
So even though the Hawks are 0-3, as young Theo and I are sitting in the train, surrounded by quietly pensive Hawks supporters, I am thinking that Hawthorn pride and their deep well of belief will ensure they bounce back this afternoon. Add to that Geelong’s good fortune to be 3-0 after falling in against North and the Dees and it felt like one of those games.
But the Cats are on early. It’s not the usual suspects of Selwood and Dangerfield (who has butter fingers for a while and then gets a knock on his hip and stays down for a few minutes), it’s Henderson and Mackie holding the fort in the backline and Duncan and Motlop and Touhy instigating the run, and Hawkins and young Cockatoo with presence. We’re smashing them. The Hawks fans around us are quiet. The whole game is played in our front half but we add point after point. We’ve seen this before. The couple times the Hawks go forward they find the goals. Out of nothing, Gunston jags one across his body, from deep in the pocket. Then from the other pocket Puopolo threads one through. All we need is for Cyril to bob up. His contribution, save for a few brilliant tackles, is surprisingly insignificant.
We’re solid again in the second quarter but Ruggles gets Koschitzke-ed with a classic shirt front from Josh Gibson. We seem to be winning the contests but we don’t have the score to show it, although at 2.11, if it were even 6.5 we’d be almost home. We add three to end a quarter in which Hawthorn have kicked just six behinds. The Hawks fans are quieter.
Theo and I wander up to the MCC Library – one of my favourite Melbourne places – and say hi to librarian David Studham, who gives Theo the famous library ‘fact sheet’ (always worth a look and you can see them all here). Theo likes the quiz.
Back in our seats and the Hawks fans have been rejuvenated by their half-time sup and expecting better. Which they get for a while although the game always has the feeling that, if the Cats can break free, they could kick away. They win enough and take a few grabs up forward so Harry Taylor is sent back to help Lachie Henderson who has been the general all day. But the pressure is on Hawthorn, with the Cats forcing hurried disposals and then sweeping the footy away with pace that surprises even some of us Geelong fans. Our spread is excellent and by quarter’s end we’re comfortably five goals up.
The Cats lift in the last quarter. Big Zac Smith, who has been serviceable, gets on top in the middle. Selwood and Dangerfield turn it on and the Cats have runners streaming forward. It starts with a controversial deliberate rushed behind free kick against Gibson and then young Parson snaps truly. The Cats are now full of running. Motlop steadies after a couple of bounces and slots a nice running goal. Theo notices that that happens at the 11 minute mark. We kick goals – to Murdoch off the ground and Thurlow - at the 12 and 13 minute marks. “I wonder if we can kick a goal every minute,” Theo says. The Hawks fans are sombre.
We nearly can! I tell him to enjoy what’s happening because he won’t see it very often. The Hawks drop off, their spirit broken. It really is a rare day. An un-Hawthorn day. Everything is going our way – even a series of umpiring decisions. More goals to Hawkins, Menzel and Menegola and we’ve racked up 11 straight for the term. Not many Hawks fans have watched to the end.
Theo sings the song jubilantly. Even though he is still to learn the history, he feels it is a special day.
I’m not going to say too much, hubris being what it is and all. But it was great to see some of the youngsters – Parsons (despite his indiscretion for which he was reported), Parfitt and especially Cockatoo who has the explosive physicality which allows him to break open the play.
In a season where the formlines are yet to intersect to show us much, you can only keep winning. Especially by 86 points against your greatest rival.
It won’t just be a smiley Tuesday, it will be a smiley week.
John Harms is a writer and publisher. Theo Harms plays for Fitzroy Under 10-S.
HAWTHORN 2.0 2.6 4.10 6.12 (48)
GEELONG 2.7 5.12 9.14 20.14 (134)
GOALS
Hawthorn: Gunston 2, Sicily 2, Puopolo, Smith
Geelong: Hawkins 4, Motlop 3, Menzel 3, Duncan 2, Parsons 2, Cockatoo, Henderson, Stewart, Murdoch, Thurlow, Menegola
BEST
Hawthorn: Sicily, Mitchell, Hodge, Burton.
Geelong: Henderson, Motlop, Duncan, Tuohy, Selwood, Menzel.
INJURIES
Hawthorn: Gibson (cut head)
Geelong: Ruggles (concussion), Dangerfield (corked hip)
Reports: Menegola for rough conduct on Hodge. Parsons for rough conduct on Hodge.
My Votes: 3. Henderson (G); 2. Motlop (G); 1. Duncan (G)