Round 9 – Hawthorn V Melbourne

Liam Chambers

After last week’s intense battle against Gold Coast, on paper the Hawks game seemed like a slightly energetic practice session.

Hawthorn coped well defensively for the first ten minutes, with Melbourne only able to score five minor points despite being inside 50 nine times. Eventually though, something had to give, and Charlie Spargo found himself just inside the 50m arc where he marked a Christian Petracca kick. His set shot had the legs, and the Dees had their first goal.

Tracca was also involved in Melbourne’s second when he managed to get a boot to the ball while being pulled back in a tackle. Harrison Petty just managed to take the mark after a low running lunge. He converted to notch up his hat trick for the season.

Having pushed hard all quarter, it was a case of the dam wall breaking when a minute later Jack Viney snapped the Demons’ third from a stoppage 20m from goal. Max Gawn got in on the act when he grabbed the ball out of the ruck and snapped it cleanly. Having held the Hawks to one point, Melbourne finished the term with a second Harrison Petty goal when he kicked another 30m shot; this time after the siren.

After a dominant first quarter, the Dees struggled to break through Hawthorns’ defence early in the second term. Finally Tom Sparrow was able to launch from 45m to score the opener.
The Hawks had a few attempts at goal but with no success. It wasn’t until Mitch Lewis took a mark 25m in front that Hawthorn got their first major.

It was a case of one ruck to another when Max Gawn’s kick from 50m was marked by Brodie Grundy just outside the square. He converted to increase Melbourne’s advantage to thirty eight points.

It was beginning to look like a more even contest with Hawthorn starting to take to take the game on with more conviction. Then Jacob van Rooyen took a mark and kicked from 25m out to notch up the Dees’ eight goal.

It was looking grim for the Hawks as they trailed by forty five points. The players, however, looked regenerated as they ran onto the ground at the start of the second half. Within twenty seconds of the centre bounce, Luke Breust had marked the ball 20m from goal. He didn’t miss with his set shot, giving the Hawks fans something to cheer about. Two minutes later, they had a second reason for optimism when young gun Cameron MacKenzie snapped his goal for Hawthorn.

The Hawks had suddenly found their mojo and were throwing everything at the Demons. Josh Weddle even felt confident enough to go back and kick after he marked right on the 50m line. Another first goal for a young Hawk and Melbourne was left slightly shaken by the remarkable turnaround in events.

Just when the home fans were daring to dream that a major upset was in the offing, they were brought abruptly back down to earth by Clayton Oliver’s kick along the ground that crossed over the line and steadied the ship.

Ed Langdon does a lot of running but has only kicked one goal this season. He doubled his tally when his set shot from the 50m arc comfortably sailed through. With the scoreline drifting back towards the half time margin, Melbourne were beginning to regain control of the match.

Then Lloyd Meek took a mark 25m in front. There was nothing meek about his set shot kick though and Hawthorn continued their third quarter goal fest. They also continued to win the centre bounce clearances, building on their momentum by taking on the Dees at their own game. That pressure again paid off when Sam Butler was awarded a free kick right in front of goal.

The Hawks now had back to back goals and five for the quarter, reducing the gap to twenty eight points.

After the bounce, Melbourne looked determined to regain the ascendancy and ran hard at Hawthorn. They were repelled initially but then Petracca launched from the 50m line. His shot dropped short but was marked by Kysaiah Pickett just shy of the behind line. Kozzie played on and kicked the ball high into the stands.

Hawthorn had a couple of opportunities to claw back more goals but only managed to kick minor scores.

The Dees also had their chances but couldn’t make them pay. At the end of the term, they were up by thirty five points. For all of Hawthorn’s dominance, Melbourne had only conceded ten points. The final quarter however was going to be interesting. Could the Hawks maintain their momentum, or would they run out of steam?

An unfortunate turnover in the first minute allowed Jai Newcombe to kick from 50m with no one home for Melbourne. The ball bounced across the line and the margin was back to an interesting twenty nine points. Considering that Hawthorn had only kicked one point in the first quarter, they had actually been competitive for the next two terms; especially so in the third.

However it seems all things must come to an end and the turning point was Trent Rivers’ bullet from the 50m line. It went high through the uprights and effectively put paid to any lingering ambitions the Hawks may have harboured.

By his standards, Bailey Fritsch has been having a couple of ordinary weeks. Nevertheless his 50m set shot to the right of goal was classic Fritsch. When Charlie Spargo gets an opportunity, he usually takes full advantage and his mark and set shot from 45m was no exception.

The Dees were pulling away at a rate of knots and there was little that Hawthorn could do about it. With two minutes to go Fritsch got a second when he snapped form 25m in front. His two goals for the term would have been a nice confidence boost for the talented forward. We will need him to be in top form when we visit Port Adelaide in round 10.

The Power are scarily good at the moment, and we will need to be at our very best to take home the goods. It’s no exaggeration to say it will be our biggest test since Brisbane at the Gabba.

Go the Mighty Dees!!!