Friday first AFL Finals Week 3 match is between Hawthorn Hawks and Geelong Cats with the game to be played at MCG. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:50 local time with home team Geelong Cats currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Hawthorn Hawks and Geelong Cats.

WHERE AND WHEN: MCG, 7:50pm AEST, Friday 20 September

Opening odds comparison:

Hawthorn Hawks	1.45	1.38	1.41	1.38	1.45	1.40
Geelong Cats	2.80	3.05	3.00	3.05	2.80	2.85

Preview:

After a long and tough year of AFL, the 2013 season has been reduced to just four teams. By the end of Saturday night there will be only two teams remaining, and after the finals series we’ve had so far, all four teams are in with a chance. In the first game this weekend, the Hawthorn Hawks take on the Geelong Cats, Friday 7.50pm at the MCG. The Hawks will be favourites to win here, having finished the regular season in top spot and keen to go one better than last year.

The Hawks haven’t been able to beat the Cats since the 2008 Grand Final, however, and that was a fair few years ago. Geelong finished the season in second position just behind Hawthorn, but will have to do without the rest that the Hawks enjoyed last weekend. The Cats are also missing some key players for this encounter, including long-time Hawthorn beaters Paul Chapman and Corey Enright. In contrast, the Hawks will see the return of their stars Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli.

There are a number of key match-ups to look forward to during this clash, including Lance Franklin vs Tom Lonergan. Hawthorn will need their star to break out for this one, with Franklin having been unusually quiet against the Cats during the last two seasons. Tom Hawkins vs Brian Lake will also be a top battle, and Cyril Rioli will also have an important role to play. While Rioli could prove crucial in this game, it has to be remembered that he hasn’t played in nearly four weeks.

All in all, the Hawks should have enough to finally overcome the Cats this Friday night, although it wont be easy. It’s much easier to overcome history than recent form, and the Cats are coming off a pretty patchy performance against Port Adelaide last weekend. No matter who wins here, however, the winning side will most likely take the status of favourite into the Grand Final against either Fremantle or Sydney.

Teams:

Hawthorn Hawks:
B:B Stratton B Lake B Guerra
HB: S Burgoyne J Gibson G Birchall
C: I Smith S Mitchell J Hill
HF: L Breust L Franklin J Gunston
F: P Puopolo J Roughead C Rioli
FOLL: D Hale B Sewell L Hodge
I/C: J Lewis M Bailey B Whitecross L Shiels
EMG: M Spangher J Anderson K Cheney
IN: L Franklin C Rioli
OUT: M Spangher (omitted) J Anderson (omitted)

Geelong Cats:
B:J Rivers T Lonergan J Hunt
HB: A Mackie, H Taylor J Bartel
C: J Kelly J Selwood M Stokes
HF: A Christensen N Vardy S Motlop
F: J Podsiadly T Hawkins J Caddy
FOLL: M Blicavs M Duncan S Johnson
I/C: J Corey C Guthrie J Murdoch T Varcoe
EMG: T Hunt S Kersten T West
IN: Caddy, Murdoch
OUT: Chapman (suspended), T Hunt (omitted)

Hawthorn will lose again: Scarlett

Geelong’s triple-premiership backman Matthew Scarlett says the Cats will beat Hawthorn for the 12th successive time in Friday night’s AFL preliminary final because the Hawks will struggle to handle the pressure.

Hawthorn haven’t defeated Geelong since the 2008 grand final.

But they appear well placed to do so at the MCG on Friday night, boosted by a week’s rest and a good run of form including eight wins in their past nine games.

“There’s going to be a huge amount of pressure and I think Geelong will be able to handle that pressure a bit better than Hawthorn and they’ve proved over the past few years that they enjoy playing the Hawks and they’ll definitely be up for it,” Scarlett said on SEN radio on Thursday.

“No doubt, Hawthorn are playing better football and are in better form than Geelong but I don’t think it really counts for much on Friday night.

“The hard part with having that week off is you’re not really sure how to prepare.

“I think at Geelong a couple of times, we might have trained a little bit too hard and a couple of times we might not have done enough, so you’re not really sure if you’ve prepared really well.”

The six-time All-Australian, who retired after the 2012 season and now plays in the Geelong Football League, says Cats defender Tom Lonergan will continue his dominance over Hawthorn’s key forward Lance Franklin.

“Geelong’s defenders have played really well on ‘Buddy’ Franklin with Lonergan and Harry Taylor on (Jarryd) Roughead, have done the job on those boys, so if they can do that again Friday night and stop their forwards, I think the Cats should win,” Scarlett said.

“Tommy Lonergan’s had his (Franklin’s) measure.”