Be in the right place at the right time.

Geelong had far more opportunities but wasted the ball inside their 50. Some of their conversion attempts and decisions in front of the sticks were almost comical. 7.22 or whatever they kicked after quarter time was the biggest factor on the result.
Hawthorn know they were lucky to still be in the game at half time and made Geelong pay for their inaccuracy.

Getting the yips in front of goal happens to every team and unfortunately for Geelong, they got theirs in the grand final.
IMO Geelong are still the benchmark.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Footballl in modern times changes every few years and the premier has a different style, which in turn everyone tries to copy.

Brisbane had the elite midfield and a couple of power forwards, Sydney had the shut down, flooding game, West Coast based on an elite midfield all prepared to work as one unit to free up their superstar (now our superstar), Geelong are high posession, handball happy, player running behind for a handball receive and now Hawthorn have the cluster and a lot of zones.

Watching the game yesterday from the second last row on the top deck of the Southern Stand has its advantages. You can watch the sets ups and at a lot of contests both teams had players behind the ball. Hawthorn had 4-5 players set up 30m from the contest in a line across the ground so if Geelong won the ball and kicked forward they had the area covered and if they won the ball themselves they'd go backwards where they knew they had numbers.

I think the key is that by the time you emulate their style football changes again and someone has countered that style.

I don't want us to copy Hawthorn or Geelong and emulate their styles. I want Ratts and the rest of the coaching staff to come up with something that will beat Hawthorns zones, something different, something innovative and based on our own strengths.

We don't have a multi-option forward line yet, our backline is solid, our strength lies in the midfield so lets use it. Keep building our midfield group, rotate them off half back and half forward, find a couple of effective stoppers and get everyone as fit as we can (Cordy) and just run teams into the ground.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Correct.
Geelong should have had the game won by half time.....in a period from the 1st to the last qtr they kicked 3.20. You just can't win games of footy being that wasteful.
I expect these two teams to be the benchmark again next year.

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There is no footy god

I reckon you're spot on True. But one thing I noticed about Hawthorn is that they are big - very big! They are strong, hard running, and powerful. It seems the trait of successful teams such as Brisbane as well. We seem a bit small. Is it the colours of the jumpers that make us look smaller? I know that sounds silly, but regardless we need to be big strong and fast as a base for developing our own style which others will try and emulate.

I agree, we shouldn't try and emulate others per se - as you said TrueBlue; that we should try and work with what we got and enhance it.

A lot can happen over a pre-season. Do we have what it takes? There are a lot of better judges out there who can assess Carlton better than me. I hope we really take it up to those who have mocked us. I have so much hope and passion for the Navy Blue. I would love us to make our own mark.

Go Blues!

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1945 - End of round 3 Carlton was last.

Last round Carlton made the final four for the first time.

Eventual premiers.

That's what I'm talking about!

Moral of the story.

Goals, not behinds - win the game.

Agreed you need to take your opportunities when you can. I still Hawthorn has the better forward set up with it's variety and potential match winners.

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I agree with you 99%, but would like to see us copy the hawks in one aspect.... they use the ball so well. Our disposal really needs to improve if we are to have a real crack at another premiership.

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The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect
So hard to earn, so easily burned
In the fullness of time
A garden to nurture and protect

#DopeThenStash

Was hoping for a thread like this.

Hardness at the ball. Pressure on the opposition.
Pace equals space equals composure equals good decisions eqauls good execution.
Quick mind, quick hands and numbers at the ball.
Disposal skills by hand and foot, short and long.
Fitness to compete 4 quarters.
Education of our players in game plans (ours and opposition). To identify the trend and what to do about it.
Multiple forward options.
Teamwork; team comes first. No room for selfish players.

I think we're getting there. The kids have been stacking on the muscle and building their stamina. Another preseason and we're getting closer to the benchmark. All we need is for the kids to be confident in their body's readiness to give and take legal hits.

We have players like Walker who is fit and hard at the ball and man. There is no reason why his execution can't improve. If not, he's a linkman by hand and can break the lines with pace. Osborne was once a hopeless kick, and the development coaches turned that around over a preseason.

The more I think about it, the more I want Kreuzer as a floating option forward rather than fixed at CHF; hence we need a big CHF who can kick goals.

Midfield strength is a combination of ruckmen, ruck rovers and rovers who all can run and get their own ball. They must have a defensive mindset.

We need a ruckman.

Stephens must bring his Richmond game to every game; in and under and 10 tackles.

It will be interesting to revisit this thread once we see who we trade out and for and who we select in the draft and preseason draft. That way we can look at what we've got and haven't got to compete against the best; in every position including depth to cover for every position in case of suspension or the inevitable, injury.

At this stage, I think we'll be looking at competing for the flag in 2011 onwards. We need another big ruckman and a CHF, and if Setanta goes, a really tall backman to nullify the ruck size forwards; that could take a couple more trade periods.

I really missed us not playing in the last day of September; that's definetely what it's all about.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Hmmm, I dare say Young is something pretty special, runs, carries the ball and kicks it a mile. Was in front in the Norm Smith and by a fair way before he went down.

You're right about the rest of the players though, they are hard, tough and skilled.

Funny thread.

Posters have been rubbished and been labelled 'haters' and 'trolls' throughout the year for mentioning some of the same shortcomings as mentioned in this thread.

I'm not ashamed to admit that when that final siren went, I felt deep jealousy towards what the hawks have managed to accomplish in such a short time, and that we're still a couple of years from truly competing at that level. The scary thing is that many of their players are still very young, and will be dominating for years to come. When you consider what Hawthorn has achieved, with long careers ahead for nearly their entire list, the idea of a 2nd Hawks renaissance isn't out of the question.

I hope the boys were watching. I hope they felt it too.

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#GUILTY

Firstly, Hawthorn's players are extremely smart and read the play very well. They stick to the game plan and are very disciplined and determined.

Secondly, they proved that you need ruthless, tough nuts to win premierships. Guys like Sewell, Hodge, Roughead, Mitchell and Brown are so imposing.

So what we need BADLY is to recruit tough nuts who kick well and are smart. A tough body like Kerr would be ideal and we need a strong full back. We were smashed by Hawthorn in R22 because of our skinny, weak bodies.

Just remember how many tough nuts we had in the 95 premiership. Why do you think Port hot smashed last year?

Hawthorn recruited footballers first. Athletes second.

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The problem with Socialism is, you eventually run out of other people's money.

Hawthorn got a higher score than Geelong. Thus they won. We'll learn from that.

Of Geelong's 23 behinds, I counted 9 occasions where Hawthorn were happy to hand pass or run the ball through the goals.
Joel Bowden would have approved.

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The problem with Socialism is, you eventually run out of other people's money.

Urban myth number 1. How many non-athletic footballers did Hawthorn have in their premiership 22? Sam Mitchell, and I can't think of any others.

Take nothing away from hawthorns defense, yes the cats could have kicked straighter, but full credit to the hawks, they made it very awkward for the cats. They manned up very well, and didn't give the cats any easy targets inside the 50.

daniel kerr will come handy in tat area, no?

stuart dew has been a revelation for the hawks, reckon he might have won it for them.

one thing noticeable. Whilst Wojinski was the talk about missing out, the unrestrained joy of the other players on the Hawks list who were as jubilant and happy as those on the field.

It says volumes for the team ethos they have built.

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Everything before the word "but" is horseshit - J Snow

Don't think Stuart Dew would be carrying any of my hard earned at Stawell. (Rural myth)

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The problem with Socialism is, you eventually run out of other people's money.