This was a game not too dissimilar to the one that preceded it by about 45 minutes or so on Saturday afternoon.
What I saw from both the Sydney versus St Kilda game, as well as this one, was two teams that had stars that delivered when they had to, and two teams that lacked that little bit of polish when it mattered most.
We can forget about the earlier game, as you’re not here to read about that one. Yeah, I know I brought it up.
Anyway, we’re here to focus on the Hawks and the Roos, and what unfolded in this contest saw a team that is stationed in the top four for a reason, pick up the win over the team struggling to keep its head above water.
Really, it played out as it should have.
Whenever North started to look dangerous, they’d shoot themselves in the foot, and when they did, it seemed that the Hawks were content to pick up the gun and put another bullet in them.
If I could wrap the contest up in a series of plays, the last quarter provided me the opportunity to summarise.
Jack Darling missed a very kickable goal. The ball went down the other end and Dylan Stephens, who I never trust under pressure, coughed up a free kick for incorrect disposal to Mabior Chol. The big fella wanders back to the 50 metre line like he is out for a stroll in the park, waits as long as possible, and then goes bang from close to the boundary as the ump calls him to play on.
The kick never looked like missing, and the Hawks kept the Roos at bay.
Again.
It seemed like there were little moments like this all game. Little mistakes from the Kangas that were made a lot bigger by the way the Hawks punished them. Not that it happened too often – just often enough to maintain the slender Hawthorn lead in the second half.
Let’s jump into some Tales of Interest from the Hawks’ return to glory from Launceston.
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