After last week's final quarter fade-out, the Eagles are forced to fly (pun intended) all the way to Tasmania for another Battle of the Birds. I understand the commercial reasons underlying Hawthorn's games against interstate teams in Tassie, but it hardly seems fair that we have to go there every year. While we furiously crisscross the country; ears popping, leg veins constricting, flight attendant flirting, Collingwood sit on Eddie's lap in their royal kingdom, not leaving Victoria for another 7-10 years (rounds).
Plus, incest jokes aside, it's extremely cold down there. Eagles aren't meant to exist in that sort of climate.
Regardless, they're the cards we were dealt.
Last year's fixture saw us just fall short. I believe it was ANZAC day and rainy. We did defeat the Hawks in our home fixture against them, on the back of a breakout last quarter by Nic-Nat. The Hawks were very poor during that period though.
This game provides a much more difficult challenge. The Hawks look like they have regained their '08 swagger. Or have they? They lost to Adelaide, before defeating two mediocre teams in Melbourne and Richmond. The Eagles have a similar record in this regard.
However, talent wise, they are loaded. They have the ability to blow us apart with dynamic midfielers and enigmatic forwards. Their defence is always a little shaky. The conistent form of Darling, Kennedy and to a lesser extent Lynch could provide us an advantage. However, I don't see our midfield being able to provide them enough opportunities. Even if Cox and Naitanui dominate the hit-outs (as last week) it's questionable whether we have the players to win the clearances. Maybe Kerr can pull out a vintage performance? Highly unlikley, but one never knows.
Clearly, I can't see us winning this game. There is no shame in losing. It's our performance which is important. If we can battle it out over the four quarters and go down by 3 or 4 goals it would be a promising sign. If Hawthorn are off their game we may even be able to pull off an upset.
Here's hoping.
Misanthropic Eagle
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