Unofficial Preview Changes for Grand Final - West Coast v Hawthorn

[Schrodinger]

Hey guys,

Slightly OT however by a cruel twist of fate I have to spend GF day in Adelaide

Are there any Adelaide based fans here who could recommend the best place to catch the game? (apart from sitting in my hotel room, sad and lonely...) Maybe there is a pub where Eagles fans in Adelaide are planning on congregating?

cheers!

 

[The Hitman]

At Me I Life Football we just published a player-by-player form guide for both teams, and analysed the selection options for both teams. Obviously Hawthorn's is more complex than the Weagles'.

I did Hawthorn's grand final preview, and on the whole Gunston/Schoenmakers/Hartung/Insert Player Here situation, I guess I kinda sorta made the case for Hartung to go if Gunston comes up.

There’s always one team with selection dilemmas and a race against the clock in grand final week, and this year that burden falls squarely on the Hawthorn camp.

After Jack Gunston went down with either a high ankle sprain or knee injury against West Coast in the qualifying final (reports have alluded to both – it’s still a bit of a mystery and he had ice on both leaving the field two and a half weeks ago), there has been a maelstrom of speculation on how the Hawks will approach the grand final, and who’ll miss out if Gunston is fit.

There’s no doubt Gunston will be named tonight; the question is whether he’ll play. While Hawthorn’s leading goalkicker for 2015 has made a few token appearances on the training track, he hasn’t yet been pushed to anywhere near the type of activity needed to play in a grand final – at least publicly.

Let’s lets look at two scenarios: if Gunston plays and if he doesn’t.

The second scenario is easy. If Gunston pulls up lame, the Hawks are more than likely going to go into the grand final unchanged. It gets seriously interesting if the former Crow does run out on Saturday afternoon, with some unlucky Hawk facing the heartbreak of being dropped for the most important game of their life.

The two most obvious candidates for the chop would be Ryan Schoenmakers or Billy Hartung – neither of whom have played in a premiership for Hawthorn (though Schoenmakers played in Hawthorn’s 2012 grand final loss).

There seems to be a public consensus that Schoenmakers would be the most likely to make way, with coach Alastair Clarkson electing to make a simple like-for-like swap. But that doesn’t really reflect how Hawthorn set up their forward line throughout 2015, and particularly in that golden patch of the season between rounds 14 and 19 where they lost one game and knocked off Fremantle, Sydney away and West Coast away in impressive fashion.

In each of those six games, Schoenmakers played alongside Gunston up forward, while Jarryd Roughead joined them for the last four. When West Coast lost to Hawthorn at home in round 19, all three were present, though Luke Breust was the hero with three goals.

It might be Hartung, the pacy wingman from Dandenong, who has the most to fear by Gunston’s possible return. He missed the qualifying final but took Will Langford’s spot for the semi final win against Adelaide, though only saw action near the end of what was, at that stage, a dead rubber. Rinse and repeat for the preliminary final.

Height versus run – it’s your classic selection dilemma, and there’s no easy answer. West Coast’s short defence must tempt Clarkson to load up on tall forward options, but Hartung’s run could be a spark if it’s close and bodies are exhausted in the final stanza.

However you slice it, there’s going to be one sullen figure sitting in the stands on Saturday afternoon, wondering what might have been.

We also did a West Coast form guide too, but surely there's no controversial selection decisions to be made and you go in unchanged? Masten needed the prelim to blow out the cobwebs of injury to get right for the Big Dance, one would have thought.

 

[Jootube]

"Shuey is the most important player in the team"
Preview looks good from my end.

 

[Spoon_Man]

Anyone know if the parade is on tv?

On Foxtel at 9am (??) i think tomorrow... not sure about fta though

 

[Happy Mastenator]

I hope if Gunston plays Hurn walks over to him at the start and gives him a 'gentle' push to remind him he doesn't want to rumble with Hurn again. Beast

 

[WCEswift]

Hurn to line someone up off the square!

 

[fpm84]

Anyone know if the parade is on tv?

11.50am - 2pm EST tomorrow on Fox Footy.

 

[FatPizza]

Hurn to line someone up off the square!

But Chick will be in the crowd...

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Best of luck guys.

Hoping it's a great game and the umps don't influence it.

 

[eagles rule]

Someone get a preview up now please .

 

[lmach]

I'm becoming more confident each day. I think we're primed. We will have our strongest side for the year and already smashed Hawthorn three weeks ago without Priddis and Masten, albeit on a different ground. We've also had the weeks break coming up against one of the oldest sides in the comp. We match up well on Hawthorn and we'll have a huge advantage in the ruck that we didn't get against North Melbourne.

I'm not expecting a win, but I think it's a 50/50 game and if we're within a couple of goals at the last change then we're a massive chance. Hawthorn are a champion team though that I respect greatly and this will be the hardest test our team has faced.

 

[Smithdogmaddog]

Hey guys,

Slightly OT however by a cruel twist of fate I have to spend GF day in Adelaide

Are there any Adelaide based fans here who could recommend the best place to catch the game? (apart from sitting in my hotel room, sad and lonely...) Maybe there is a pub where Eagles fans in Adelaide are planning on congregating?

cheers!

Go to sportys i think it's called at the arkabar just outside the cbd, best sports bar in Adelaide by a country mile.

 

[Spoon_Man]

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Shit reporting, no Brophy for the sprint?

 

[Spoon_Man]

Always loved this guy #standbyjobe

 

[THE411]

Always loved this guy #standbyjobe

Such a brave tip.

 

[Belltower]

Yes that's right play those players who are under a cloud in the GF.

That worked out oh so well last time.

As this week progresses I am feeling more and more confidnent. The weather, injury clouds, the inevitable 'evil empire' articles (can you smell the fear?) it just feels so primed for an Eagles win.

All year the Eagles have had to hold back for fear of injury or running out of gas later in the year. This is the only game where we can truely give 100% and not hold back.

Come on Eagles show that QF game again, show that Richmond game again, take the game on like there is no tomorrow, because there isn't and go down in history.

Especially Nic Nat. No holding back big fella.

 

[Happy Mastenator]

I'm very scared of, and respect Hawthorn for what they've done. But, 4th grand final in 4 years, going the long way through the finals, warm weather, and set to line up one of the oldest grand final teams of all time has me thinking if we can stick with them we could pull away in the second half...

 

[Spoon_Man]

Such a brave tip.

Yeah i loved the way he went about it..

 

[kaiserchief13]

Always loved this guy #standbyjobe

Is only doing that because he doesn't want to get booed next time in WA

 

[spudmaster]

Are there any Adelaide based fans here who could recommend the best place to catch the game?

Any other state

 

[Prem87]

I'm very scared of, and respect Hawthorn for what they've done. But, 4th grand final in 4 years, going the long way through the finals, warm weather, and set to line up one of the oldest grand final teams of all time has me thinking if we can stick with them we could pull away in the second half...

Yeah we just need to be within 2-3 goals come half time. I reckon we the legs to run them off their feet - not only because they'll be going in with one more tall than us, but that they looked off their feet against Freo in the last.

 

[Brave Sir Robin]

Yeah we just need to be within 2-3 goals come half time. I reckon we the legs to run them off their feet - not only because they'll be going in with one more tall than us, but that they looked off their feet against Freo in the last.

And Freo looked completely dead too. God I am Big Kevving for this.

 

[Doughboy]

We have a Hawks supporter in our office and of course plenty of Eagles supporters.

There was a bet made...

The supporter of the losing team has to dress up like a ballerina and sing the winners song

Going to be epic

 

[LordHaart]

We have a Hawks supporter in our office and of course plenty of Eagles supporters.

There was a bet made...

The supporter of the losing team has to dress up like a ballerina and sing the winners song

Going to be epic

Guess you're going to have to post footage of that no matter what happens.