Hawks stung by AFL smack in the gob

The Hawks won four of those seven matches, including two in a row in 1988 and 1989.

But captain Luke Hodge said the past fortnight counts for something only if Hawthorn show they have been good students in the wake of that qualifying final disaster.

“Looking at the game past year, it was about the contest, wasn’t it”.

“This is the biggest grand final parade, the biggest celebration of footy and families in our city that we’ve ever seen”, Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters after the parade.

In round 19, the Hawks had a morale-boosting win over the Eagles in Perth as the finals loomed.

“That here-and-now is this West Coast opposition, who have taken all before them over the course of the year”. The Eagles jumped the Demons early and had a comfortable lead at half time.

He was fined, lost demerit points and was at the centre of a media storm.

Alastair Clarkson is in the hunt for his fourth Premiership win at the Hawthorn helm while this would be a maiden crown for West Coast counterpart Adam Simpson, appearing in his first AFL final.

West Coast has the weapons to exploit the Hawks’ vulnerable areas – its ruck and key defence. The Eagles also bolstered their stocks by drafting young tyros Dean Kemp, Ashley McIntosh and Peter Matera.

“But it was refreshing in a way to see his thoughts on the game and they’re obviously different to previous coaches we’ve had in the past”. They kept it up to finish equal with Collingwood and Melbourne with a 16-6 record.

It’s an astonishingly candid and unselfish view from Newbold, but the Hawthorn masses will only be taking one side in Melbourne in search of what would be their 13th Premiership win overall.

Clarkson added that the qualifying final proved the Eagles were legitimate premiership contenders.

“I think it will be harder – they have traveled and had tough games”. AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan recently gave Mr Stokes the football from the first AFL final played in Perth, which just happened to be a game between West Coast and Hawthorn in 1991.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has lamented the lack of “people and excitement” in Melbourne a day before the AFL grand final.

The AFL chose to expand the Finals series in 1991, with the top six teams to contest.

But if the Eagles are not up against Hawthorn’s greatest team, they face the competition’s greatest modern club attempting to accomplish its most stunning achievement.

Heather McCartney appeared in court after being accused of stripping in a corporate box at last year’s AFL Grand Final. Both teams surged in 1991 and the Eagles embarrassed the Hawks early in the year with an 82 point drubbing and repeated the dose at the end of the year with a four goal victory to stake their claim as a League heavyweight.

He also starred in the preliminary final win over Fremantle, but landed heavily late in the game. Like Mitchell he was considered too slow. Although the old veterans may have slowed down a bit, they still had plenty of experience and football nous to teach the young “glamor” side from the west a lesson and so they did.

The Hawks made one change, bringing back forward Jack Gunston from injury and dropping unlucky Billy Hartung.

One would think with such a loss burning in the guts, the Eagles would be fired up to come out with all guns blazing the following year.