O.K......i've looked at the thread on the main board about 'who would you like to win' and it seems to be a situation where maybe a 60-40 split of neutral fans would like the Hawks to win. Well, here are 30 years of reasons that i would so much like those tables to be turned.
First of all, my first memories of the VFL supporting the Cats was in 1977, a season where Hawthorn inflicted a whopping 107 point win over us. Indeed, Geelong has suffered very few 100 point losses in that span, Hawthorn have been a side to inflict three (1977, 1986 and 1990). Only Collingwood in 2006 and Sydney in 1998 have done so in that period.
Since 1977, Hawthorn have won 38 of the 56 games played against Geelong. They have been the one big bogey side in that time, our record against almost all others now is close to 50-50 at worst, except Brisbane Lions.
Hawthorn have also won an amazing number of close games over us, indeed about 13 instances of a win by say 12 points or less, from that late 1978 game where Gary Malarkey just about spiked the ball into the crowd from a John Hendrie kick, which was awarded a goal to give the Hawks a two point win, to the 1987 last round, where Dunstall kicked the last two goals to deny our place in the finals by 3 points, to the 1988 pre-season final also by 3 points, to 1989, with the comeback game and the Grand Final, by 8 and 6 points respectively.
Lets also not forget that Leigh Matthew's incident where Bruns headbutted 'Lethal's elbow' in 1985, which also started a run of 10 successive Hawk wins until Geelong broke the drought in 1991, the day Gary Ablett Sr announced his return from retirement.
The 1991 2nd semi, where a miracle snap by Jarman got the Hawks in front, and Poole's long shot from 55 was touched on the line, a heartbreaking and finals defining two point defeat. To the litany of frustrating narrow losses at Skilled in the mid-late 90's where by then a poor performing Hawthorn would 'get up' for the game against our Cats who always seemed then to drop 'one of those games they would usually lose'. Four times in five years we lost by 6 points or less to those infernal Hawks.
The mere fact that after a massive, and phenominal 8 flags in 20 years (1971 to 1991), the Hawks somehow find themselves fending off merger talk, and having tin-rattling to save a club, which had success that we as Cats could only dream about. Can any Cat fan in their wildest dreams think that if we had won 8 flags in 20 years, just five short years later we would have our hands out? I cannot work that out!!
The 2000 elimination final, where Crawford jaw-jacked young David Spriggs late in the game when he kicked a goal as a result of a soft 50 against the 1st year Cat, rubbing more salt into our wounds. To the fact that in the short-lived period when sides winning fewer than five games were allowed a priority pick before anyone else saw the draft. This saw Hawthorn bottom out at the right time to pick the two best young K.P.P's in the draft for years, in Roughead and Franklin. Besides Reiwoldt and Pavlich, hardly any other tall K.P.P's drafted from the mid 90's has done anything like these two, especially after just four years. Kudos for the Hawks development, but their timing was impeccable. Pity it wasn't 2003 when they could have got say Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia! Huge difference there!
And now, as Geelong has assembled a magnificent team, devoid of any priority picks, fortified really only by Ottens from outside as a recruit, and a magnificent team in Costa, Cook and Bomber Thompson, who despite difficulties, had the strength, belief and vision to produce what we see now. Geelong stands on the verge of a chance to go back to back, and also stands son the verge of producing statistically the equal best season on record. The leadership of our player group, the focus, the sheer winningness of our side is unprecedented in our history. No side has ever gone 42/44...ever. This win, over a side that has given me, and most likely any Cat fan of Generation X vintage, heartache and constant pain, would be the sweetest victory of all. I am confident that the Cats, our magnificent Cats, will do what it takes, take every chance, and leave no stone unturned for the chance to make football history.
Let us all hope and pray, that our mighty season will be rewarded with victory next Saturday, and that our Cats can be heralded as the 'Greatest team of all'!! A win in the Grand Final, will expunge these 30 years of demons that have haunted me as a fan in my lifetime of following Geelong.
First of all, my first memories of the VFL supporting the Cats was in 1977, a season where Hawthorn inflicted a whopping 107 point win over us. Indeed, Geelong has suffered very few 100 point losses in that span, Hawthorn have been a side to inflict three (1977, 1986 and 1990). Only Collingwood in 2006 and Sydney in 1998 have done so in that period.
Since 1977, Hawthorn have won 38 of the 56 games played against Geelong. They have been the one big bogey side in that time, our record against almost all others now is close to 50-50 at worst, except Brisbane Lions.
Hawthorn have also won an amazing number of close games over us, indeed about 13 instances of a win by say 12 points or less, from that late 1978 game where Gary Malarkey just about spiked the ball into the crowd from a John Hendrie kick, which was awarded a goal to give the Hawks a two point win, to the 1987 last round, where Dunstall kicked the last two goals to deny our place in the finals by 3 points, to the 1988 pre-season final also by 3 points, to 1989, with the comeback game and the Grand Final, by 8 and 6 points respectively.
Lets also not forget that Leigh Matthew's incident where Bruns headbutted 'Lethal's elbow' in 1985, which also started a run of 10 successive Hawk wins until Geelong broke the drought in 1991, the day Gary Ablett Sr announced his return from retirement.
The 1991 2nd semi, where a miracle snap by Jarman got the Hawks in front, and Poole's long shot from 55 was touched on the line, a heartbreaking and finals defining two point defeat. To the litany of frustrating narrow losses at Skilled in the mid-late 90's where by then a poor performing Hawthorn would 'get up' for the game against our Cats who always seemed then to drop 'one of those games they would usually lose'. Four times in five years we lost by 6 points or less to those infernal Hawks.
The mere fact that after a massive, and phenominal 8 flags in 20 years (1971 to 1991), the Hawks somehow find themselves fending off merger talk, and having tin-rattling to save a club, which had success that we as Cats could only dream about. Can any Cat fan in their wildest dreams think that if we had won 8 flags in 20 years, just five short years later we would have our hands out? I cannot work that out!!
The 2000 elimination final, where Crawford jaw-jacked young David Spriggs late in the game when he kicked a goal as a result of a soft 50 against the 1st year Cat, rubbing more salt into our wounds. To the fact that in the short-lived period when sides winning fewer than five games were allowed a priority pick before anyone else saw the draft. This saw Hawthorn bottom out at the right time to pick the two best young K.P.P's in the draft for years, in Roughead and Franklin. Besides Reiwoldt and Pavlich, hardly any other tall K.P.P's drafted from the mid 90's has done anything like these two, especially after just four years. Kudos for the Hawks development, but their timing was impeccable. Pity it wasn't 2003 when they could have got say Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia! Huge difference there!
And now, as Geelong has assembled a magnificent team, devoid of any priority picks, fortified really only by Ottens from outside as a recruit, and a magnificent team in Costa, Cook and Bomber Thompson, who despite difficulties, had the strength, belief and vision to produce what we see now. Geelong stands on the verge of a chance to go back to back, and also stands son the verge of producing statistically the equal best season on record. The leadership of our player group, the focus, the sheer winningness of our side is unprecedented in our history. No side has ever gone 42/44...ever. This win, over a side that has given me, and most likely any Cat fan of Generation X vintage, heartache and constant pain, would be the sweetest victory of all. I am confident that the Cats, our magnificent Cats, will do what it takes, take every chance, and leave no stone unturned for the chance to make football history.
Let us all hope and pray, that our mighty season will be rewarded with victory next Saturday, and that our Cats can be heralded as the 'Greatest team of all'!! A win in the Grand Final, will expunge these 30 years of demons that have haunted me as a fan in my lifetime of following Geelong.
) but i understand, in a small way, the pain in which you speak about. Also a victory for me will be double as sweet because i have a mate who goes for the hawks & has been talking it up how they will "DESTROY" us come GF day.
