After four quarters of photo-finish footy, Hawthorn are in the AFL grand final – by a nose.
The Hawks will play either Fremantle or Sydney next weekend after turning around a seemingly hopeless position to beat Geelong by five points in a high-quality preliminary final at the MCG on Friday night.
The Cats led by 20 points at three-quarter time – the biggest lead of a game in which momentum swung throughout and both sides had periods of dominance.
But Hawthorn refused to give up and were rewarded for their desperation as the Cats ran out of petrol – the Hawks winning 14.18 (102) to 15.7 (97).
The nerves were frayed all the way to the wire; Geelong’s Travis Varcoe having a chance to level scores with 30 seconds left but his 30-metre shot faded just off target.
“We said to our players at three-quarter time ‘just because they’ve got their noses in front now, it doesn’t mean we can’t come back and have our moment in the sun’,” Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson said.
“It’s great reward for our players that they were able to really dig deep and fight hard and get ourselves a chance to play in another grand final.”
The 2008 premiers had lost 11 in a row over the past five years against Geelong until Friday night.
But they can now say they have bookended those defeats with wins in the two most important games – the 2008 grand final and an epic 2013 prelim.
Midfielder Sam Mitchell had 38 possessions and 11 clearances in a superb performance for the Hawks, while forward Jack Gunston booted four goals as fellow forwards Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Cyril Rioli had quiet nights.
Geelong midfielder Steve Johnson was his side’s best, with four goals and 32 touches.
Hawthorn are left with several injury concerns.
The worst is utility Brendan Whitecross, who badly injured his knee in the final term and is out of the grand final.
The highest profile is forward Lance Franklin, who hyperextended his elbow in a first quarter collision with teammate David Hale.
While he played on, Franklin was subdued and his injury status will be heavily scrutinised.
Hawks defender Brent Guerra (corked thigh) and small forward Paul Puopolo (ankle) will also need to prove their fitness.
