Hawks First To Switch Off Mute Button

The Age

Monday April 16, 2007

Stephen Rielly

LIKE a car with a potato wedged into its exhaust pipe, Hawthorn and the Kangaroos played a game at Telstra Dome last night that screamed but for a long time allowed nothing out. It was football with the mute button on.

Then again, desperation without sufficient class is not known to produce beauty, and there was certainly serious intent in the encounter.

It was apparent very early that for the Kangaroos, a win would have to be fashioned from defence and a fanaticism easily found when it is understood that defeat will extinguish all hope, even in April.

The Kangaroos set themselves to attack the season early. The draw was, on paper at least, kind. In the first eight rounds they were offered up only two finalists from last year. With the heavyweights not due until mid-season, early points were imperative.

They appeared to play with this understanding uppermost in their minds. Two losses could not be followed by a third. Drew Petrie sat back loose before Mark Williams - the one forward of note on the ground - and everyone else went off to battle.

It worked to great effect, for a half. The Roos led by five goals to three at the main break.

The question was, therefore: what, when fatigue inevitably took its toll and effort alone could do no more, would be left to blunt the Hawks who always had Williams and the next most capable forward on the ground, Lance Franklin, to turn to?

The answer was probably as obvious as the deep disappointment and sense of foreboding that engulfed Arden Street the day Nathan Thompson's season ended before it even began - very little.

It was class up forward that ultimately told, for the teams could scarcely be separated otherwise. Each was in turn as hard, unflinching, occasionally cohesive and inept as the other. Roos coach Dean Laidley simply had no Williams.

Six second-half goals in a low-scoring game from Williams and Franklin went without similar reply from the Roos, who trailed by almost five goals with 15 minutes to play. They fought back to within 10 points with two minutes to play but, in the end, lost by 21 because the opposition attack was able to reward the industry of its teammates in midfield with a little more frequency.

It was there that the game played out, commonplace as it was to witness four, five and six tackles laid before the football would pop out.

The defences of both teams were sound, the trenches in midfield largely held and only rarely did any forward play with authority or menace. It was just that when any forward did, they happened to be wearing Hawthorn jumpers.

Put it this way: for Williams' four goals, the Roos' best reply was two last-quarter, time-on goals from ruckman David Hale. For Franklin's three majors, the Roos could only answer with two from Brent Harvey.

Hawthorn hardly cut loose last night and kicked 13 goals, the Roos did their best and came up with 10. And hope at Arden Street in 2007 was extinguished.

DETAILS

HAWTHORN

1.3 3.6 8.12 13.13 (91)

KANGAROOS

2.4 5.4 7.6 10.10 (70)

GOALS

Hawthorn: Williams 4, Franklin 3, Osborne 2, Roughead, Dixon, McGlynn, Mitchell.

Kangaroos: Harvey 2, Hale 2, Wells, Swallow, Petrie, Jones, Edwards, Campbell.

BEST

Hawthorn: Mitchell, Williams, McGlynn, Brown, Franklin, Birchall, Lewis.

Kangaroos: Wells, Harris, Harvey, Swallow, Green.

UMPIRES: Farmer, Margetts, Jeffery.