Match

Hawthorn vs Geelong Cats

Commentary / 18 Apr 2022

Pre Game

00:00
The Cats have won four of the last five Easter Monday clashes against the Hawks by an average of 36 points. Their only loss in this time came back in 2018, losing by a point following a last-minute behind to Jarryd Roughead.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
00:52
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
02:12
The opening goal of the game goes to Hawthorn following a centre clearance win. The Hawks have been goalless from this source from two of their first four games this season.
02:50
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
05:57
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
06:05
Hawthorn has now scored three early goals in a hot start and remarkably, the Cats are yet to win a disposal. The Hawks rank 14th for disposals won this year.
07:12
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Isaac Smith)
08:01
It has been a strong start at stoppages by the Hawks, winning the first six clearances of the match. Geelong has won the clearance differential by an average of seven per game this season - the best differential of all sides. Conversely, the Hawks have recorded the worst clearance differential in 2022.
08:56
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
11:09
Hawthorn's clean ball use by foot has held them in good stead this quarter, recording a kicking efficiency of 83% so far - well above their season average of 68%.
12:12
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
14:28
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
15:18
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Isaac Smith)
15:31
Geelong is slowly working its way into this match. They have won the last three clearances, 12 of the last 15 contested possessions, and generated the last five inside 50s.
18:04
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
18:35
Dylan Moore has kicked his third goal of the quarter - the third time in his career he has kicked three in a quarter. The most goals that Moore has scored in a game is four (Round 15, 2021 v GWS).
20:29
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
21:44
This strong first-quarter performance by the Hawks is a massive improvement from their recent form this season. Hawthorn has been outscored by a total of 34 points in first quarters – ranked 17th. It has led at quarter-time in just one match.
24:37
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
24:46
Cats Interchange - Cameron Guthrie off due to an injury.
25:10
Luke Breust has kicked his first goal of the match - his 61st career scoring shot against Geelong. He has now had 16 more scoring shots against the Cats than he has managed against any other side over his 243-game career.
26:58
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Tom Mitchell)
27:31
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Jack Gunston)
30:54
Hawks Interchange - Ned Reeves off due to an injury.
32:03
Hawthorn enters quarter time with a 23-point lead, their biggest lead against the Cats at quarter-time since 2015. The kicking efficiency between the two sides has been concerning for Geelong, with the Hawks leading 79% to 58%.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
02:45
James Sicily has just taken his fourth intercept mark - his 10th mark overall. Sicily took nine marks in the opening term, the most he has ever taken in a single quarter. The last time a Hawthorn player took nine or more marks in a quarter was Matthew Suckling (Round 10, 2011 v Western Bulldogs).
04:14
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Brad Close)
05:10
Geelong has been a strong second-quarter team this season, outscoring their opposition by 35 points in this term - ranked fourth.
08:47
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
09:10
Jacob Koschitzke has been forced to be the primary ruck for the Hawks this quarter following an injury to Ned Reeves. This is a new role for Koschitzke, who has competed in just nine ruck contests at AFL level since debuting last season.
12:01
Geelong is well on top in the territory battle this quarter, generating nine of the first 10 inside 50s. 80% of the play this term has been held in their attacking half of the ground.
13:30
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Jaeger O'Meara)
13:50
Jaegar O'Meara has just kicked Hawthorn's first goal of the match launched from a kick-in. This has been a strength for Hawthorn this season. They have scored from 16.7% of their kick-ins – ranked second in the competition.
16:40
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
18:02
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Max Holmes)
18:31
Geelong's forwards have adapted to the slippery conditions quickly in this second term. They lead forward-half groundballs for the quarter 12 to two.
20:49
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Jack Gunston)
21:21
Hawthorn has been very accurate with their set shots today. They have scored 7.0 (42) from these shot types, compared to 3.3 (21) to Geelong from their respective set shots.
21:55
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
24:55
Hawks Interchange - Jacob Koschitzke off due to an injury.
26:25
Dylan Moore has been the standout player in the first half, scoring an equal-career best four goals. Moore has now been involved in 34 scoring chains this season – ranked first at the club.
26:55
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)
29:17
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
30:31
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
30:35
A five-goal to three quarter in favour of Geelong sees the margin reduce to 10 points at half-time. Geelong generated nine more inside 50s and out-marked the Hawks by 11 for the quarter after taking 19 fewer marks in the first quarter.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:27
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
03:33
Jeremy Cameron has kicked the opening goal of the second half, now joining Tom Hawkins as the only multiple goalkickers for Geelong today. The Cats have won 13 of the 19 games that Hawkins and Cameron have played together across the last two seasons.
03:45
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
05:41
James Worpel, who started the match as the medical substitute for Hawthorn, has been busy since coming on nine minutes into the second quarter for Ned Reeves. He has amassed eight disposals and six contested possessions, after winning just five disposals and four contested possessions for the entire match last round.
07:55
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
10:33
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tom Hawkins)
11:58
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Jack Gunston)
12:16
Hawthorn's accuracy has continued, now scoring eight goals straight from their set shots. Geelong has conceded a shot at goal accuracy of 56.5% – ranked 17th.
13:36
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
13:56
Mitch Lewis has taken two of Hawthorn's three marks inside 50 today, with both of these marks resulting in a goal. Lewis has lost just 8% of the 13 offensive one-on-one contests he has been involved in this season – the best percentage of the top-25 to be involved in a contest.
16:32
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
16:43
Geelong's pressure this quarter has been frenetic, recording a pressure factor of 217 for the third quarter. Geelong's average pressure factor this year is 172 - ranked last in the competition.
19:21
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
19:42
Geelong has taken their 16th mark inside 50 for the match, matching their season average where they rank No. 1 for the season. They have taken 13 more marks inside 50 than the Hawks today. The greatest differential for marks inside 50 this season is 21.
20:50
SCORE GOAL - Cats (Jeremy Cameron)
22:14
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Mark O'Connor)
23:25
The Cats have scored 4.1 (25) launched from their defensive 50 today, with three of these scores sourced from turnovers in this quarter alone. Hawthorn conceded 72 points from defensive half turnovers last round - their worst result since 2002.
26:52
Cats Interchange - Jack Henry off due to an injury.
29:06
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Patrick Dangerfield)
29:17
Hawthorn has generated 11 fewer inside 50s today, however, have scored just one goal less than Geelong. They have scored a goal from 30% of their entries today, just above the season average 27% which is the third-best conversion this year.
32:39
Geelong has controlled the match since quarter-time. Since the first break, Geelong has completed 16 more marks, won five more clearances, laid nine more tackles and they have generated 16 more inside 50s resulting in five more goals.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
03:23
An area that the Hawks have struggled in this season has been their centre bounce work. Hawthorn has lost the centre bounce clearance differential by five per game – ranked last. They have improved on this today, managing to level these clearances 11 apiece.
03:52
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Rushed)
05:41
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Tom Mitchell)
06:52
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Luke Breust)
07:50
Hawthorn midfielder Jai Newcombe has won a career-high 26 disposals to be the leading disposal winner today. He has also set a career-high for contested possessions (nine).
07:53
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
09:56
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Jack Gunston)
11:53
The Hawks are on top at the contest, leading clearances six to one and contested possessions 17 to seven in the last 10 minutes. Tom Mitchell has led the way for the Hawks all day in contested possessions, winning a game-high 20. The last time Mitchell reached 20 contested possessions in a match was in 2018 - the year he won the Brownlow Medal.
13:27
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Tyson Stengle)
14:45
Cats Interchange - Jed Bews off due to an injury.
15:07
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (James Sicily)
16:01
Geelong has extended their inside 50 advantage to 13, leading this stat 52-39. The Cats have won the inside 50s count by 19 per game in 2022 – ranked second.
20:03
Luke Breust has put the Hawks seven points up following a mark inside 50. This was just the fourth mark inside 50 taken by the Hawks today, despite having 38 kicks going inside 50. Conversely, Geelong has taken 17 marks inside 50 - although have not taken one in the final quarter.
21:52
Mitch Duncan has made his disposals count today. He has collected 25 disposals at 84% efficiency, however, most importantly has been involved in a game-high 12 scoring chains for his side. His most score involvements are 15 (Round 16, 2017)
24:16
The Hawks have lost the inside 50s count in every game this season, averaging nine fewer per game than their opponents – ranked 16th. Despite trailing by eight inside 50s today, they have scored two more goals than Geelong.
24:19
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Jaeger O'Meara)
24:57
SCORE BEHIND - Cats (Brandan Parfitt)
26:30
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
29:19
Hawthorn scored four goals to none in the final quarter to claim victory. The Hawks won 28 more contested possessions than Geelong, including 17 more in the final quarter - their best quarter of football for contested possessions for the season.