Tell them all
Oh please tell them it isn't fair
To take away my only dream
Paul Anka
At Hawthorn, some numbers are more equal than others.
Think 3, 5, 9 … perhaps now 15 … 23 and 24.
When you have the honour of wearing one of these Hawthorn royalty numbers, expectations are high. Matthews, Crimmins, Crawford, Hodge, Brereton, Knights – the names all cast long shadows.
I believe a case can also be put forward for No. 26 to be added to the list. Think the incomparable Peter Hudson. Rodney `Rocket' Eade. And now Liam `Pup' Shiels.
Shiels received his nickname as, on arrival at the club in 2008, his frosted blond tips reminded new teammates of former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke.
By season 2009, Shiels had been given guernsey number 26 – recognition he was a person and player of quality, touted as a future captain. But Liam Shiels is the type to put club before the individual. So when asked to become a run-with player, a minder, a stopper of the opposition’s best, he did so without hesitation.
Team glory comes first.
This has, no doubt, curtailed individual development and recognition of his skills and performance – a member of the chorus rather than a lead part.
In any 2014 Grand Final tipping competition, how many picked him to kick the first goal? Lucky he missed.
So quietly, with a minimum of fanfare or fuss, Liam Shiels went about gathering games of football, and gathering premiership medallions.
On Sunday 21 July 2019, his games numbered 200. Premierships numbered three - so far. Well done `Pup'.
Accompanying me to the MCG that day was my youngest child Alexis - chip lover.
This has been a strange year for the Hawthorn Football Club – transitional, but in what way? Better or worse than last year when we made the top four only to tumble out of the finals in straight sets?
The handful of games we won by around a goal in 2018 have all gone against us this year. So we have found ourselves positioned in the teens on the ladder rather than looking to Finals.
Everyone at Hawthorn is committed to bringing home more silverware come September. That is the Hawthorn way, that is what we demand.
From coach downward everyone’s contribution, now and into the future, is measured against the goal of bringing the next premiership. Everything must build toward that. It is our one dream, it is our only dream, it is The Dream.
Wins against Collingwood and Fremantle, our first back-to-back wins this year, had many of us reaching for the AFL Ladder Predictor.
Is it still possible – mathematically - that we could somehow make the September action? A couple of losses by teams above us in this topsy turvy season mean that 11 wins may be enough to get us there and, if we hit some form, then you never know – The Dream may just become reality.
But a loss and it is likely to be all be over.
So who stood in our way, who had the power to dash any hope of The Dream coming true? Our greatest modern rival, the Cats. Readers of my contributions to Balcony Banter over the years will know of my huge respect for the team from Corio Bay - my local team since we moved to Wallington, on the Bellarine Peninsula.
I loathe the red and black, but will always have grudging admiration for the blue and white hoops. Having gone to most of the games during `The Curse' I know full well how these two magnificent teams can put on a show and how Geelong has the uncanny ability to rise up and extinguish our joy.
It wouldn’t be fair to take away Pup’s, and our, only dream….would it? I gave us about the same chance of success as I did in the 2008 Grand Final – 1 in 3.
Daniel Howe, a late recall to the team with the withdrawal of Grant Birchall, has taken Pup’s place as our primary stopper. I therefore grinned to myself when I saw the match ups at the first bounce had Pup standing toe to toe with the Cat colossus that is Patrick Dangerfield.
I hope many at the ground saw Danger shake Pup’s hand as they moved into position and prepared for battle – the man has class.
First goal to Geelong as they get out the back for an easy one. Oh dear, say it is not going to be like this all day. We answer, but G. Ablett then drills one from beyond 50. Cat fans are ready and drown out any disrespectful boos that emerge from our cheer squad behind the goals.
The ball then finds its way to 20 metres out from our goal and, with a delightful ruck tap `Big Boy' McEvoy - what a year he is having - deftly places it into the hands of the 200 gamer who snaps a goal. He repeats the feat later in the game courtesy of a Mitchell Lewis ruck win.
While on the subject, Lewis (recruited in the draft after both namesake Hawks champions were moved on - how freaky is that?) continues to grow as a footballer and he gained a Rising Star nomination for his three goals in this game.
Three goals also to Tim O’Brien, the red-haired South Australian who FINALLY started to clunk marks at the top of his mighty leap. Ollie Hanrahan, with only a handful of games, makes up for a bad miss by snapping a goal. Young blokes these, all showing something. Contributing to the transition. Dreaming.
The game pauses early in the second quarter as Jarman Impey goes off after a nasty fall and hyperextension of his right knee. Immediate pain is followed by Impey getting to his feet and trying to walk off.
“That is what it was like when I did my PCL, Piggle – hurts a lot and then the pain goes away. I think he is in trouble”. Alexis nods and eats another chip. Scans later confirm the worst for our No.4 - such rotten luck.
We have the better of the quarter but are profligate, kicking 3.9, fluffing several easy set shots.
Traditional coffee at half-time with Vic, Andrew and Vic’s mate Theo has us worried. Yes, we are on top. But how many times have we seen them come back at us? We needed to make the most of our ascendancy, but we didn’t. How did we miss so many shots?
All agree that we will lose, but we make our way back to our seats happy in the knowledge we have played at least a good half of footy (my how expectations have plummeted this year).
The Cats do rally, but are possibly even more wasteful than were we.
Ratugolea, who looks like he would be equally comfortable wearing No.8 for Fiji, misses. Alexis looks up at me and asks “Did he miss Daddy? I did my thing and made him miss!” Alexis believes that by uttering an incantation to herself with closed eyes she can, by force of will and pre-pubescent magic, cause opposition players to miss shots at goal. All up Alexis (aka Harriette Potter) caused five Cats bloopers for the quarter, including one from a set shot 15 metres out following a rare mistake from Silk.
At the final break the margin had only been reduced by four points.
And so we are into the final quarter. Hawkins goals. “Can we go Daddy? I don’t want to see us lose”. Ordinarily I am not opposed to leaving early, as the awfulness of defeat and hearing another club’s theme song after the siren causes me to plunge into despair. But we are still two goals up and have not yet been over-run…as must happen. They will come at us, surely.
Timmy O’Brien sooooooooars for a huge grab and goal and we are back out to 18 points. Big Boy, as he did against the Pies, lifts in the last and pulls in several very, very important marks.
But Dangerfield gets it about 40m out from his goal, breaks one tackle, then another, and is about to roll onto his right boot. “Here we go” I think to myself. From nowhere Dan Howe swoops, and in a tackle reminiscent of `Stratts' on Danger in the closing moments of the 2012 Preliminary Final, the Sherrin pops out and falls to ground.
“BAAAAALLLLL….YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSS,” rises from the throats of the gathered Hawks fans.
Poppy, sporting a beard that makes him look like a 19th century French Impressionist, pops the ball over to Mitch Lewis, who strolls in to put us four goals up.
Siren. I jump from my seat and bellow to the heavens. Finally I can relax and enjoy.
The Cats never came.
We drive back home to Wallington, via Geelong, with our brown and gold scarves hanging out the windows. I wish the drive would never end.
For at least another week, we can dare to dream.
Grant Fraser is an avid Hawthorn supporter who cannot believe his good luck at having experienced two sets of “glory years” in the one lifetime.
GEELONG 2.2 4.5 7.10 8.13 (61)
HAWTHORN 4.1 7.10 10.11 12.13 (85)
GOALS
Geelong: Hawkins 2, Clark, Ablett, Kelly, Duncan, Rohan, Dahlhaus
Hawthorn: O'Brien 3, Lewis 3, Gunston 2, Shiels 2, Hanrahan, Worpel
Official crowd:53,636 at the MCG