Geelong and Hawthorn have been playing on Easter Monday for 15 years now and have turned in three or four of the best games of the era. Monday’s game perhaps won’t be remembered in those terms but it was an entertaining, high-standard, occasionally spiteful affair that ebbed and flowed all afternoon.
With a minute and a half to play, the Hawks were seven points adrift and their slim hopes rested on James Sicily’s boot. Normally a sumptuous kick, he’d had some uncharacteristic shanks throughout the game, three of which had directly led to Geelong goals, and the most important kick of all went sailing out on the full. The professionally provocative Nick Watson had missed an easy shot shortly before. Indeed, Hawthorn had squandered a lot of chances throughout the game, especially in the first half. In contrast, after a comedy of errors, near misses and extreme pressure, Shaun Mannagh had dribbled home his third and ultimately decisive goal for the Cats.
