As the days get longer and the sun shines brighter, Melbourne falls further under a spell that captivates the city during the winter months. September, as a rule, sends the citizens of Melbourne into a frenzied tribe mentality as the AFL season comes to a conclusion.
This year is no different. Once again, over the course of September, eight finalists have been whittled down to two competitors. And for the first time since 1996, the AFL has a true Victoria vs New South Wales Grand Final to salivate over. Hawthorn, the brown and gold inner eastern warriors, for so long a proud and viciously tough football club, will defend the might of Melbourne against the Sydney Swans, the relentless, driven and contested football kings of the interstate invaders.
Hawthorn’s path to their first Grand Final since 2008 has been one of assumed ease. They boast one of the most explosive players in the competition, Lance Franklin, and their midfield is as good as any. Their run so far in the finals has required them to overcome a spirited Collingwood team in the qualifying finals, and withstand an almighty push from the Adelaide Crows in Saturday night’s preliminary final. They fell over the line by five points, and the physical nature of the game could mean their bodies may not stand up to the pressure of a Grand Final against Sydney.
Sydney never seems to give up. They are always there or thereabouts and any man or woman who counts the Swans out is a brave one. Their contested-ball-winning midfield is the awe of the competition. They are hard, tough, fair, courageous and never stop running. To get here, they’ve beaten Adelaide in a slog at AAMI Stadium in South Australia and ground out a victory against Collingwood in New South Wales on Friday night.
These two teams are each other’s opposites. Hawthorn pride themselves on a hard-running, free-flowing, long and direct style of play. They utilise their halfbacks to great effect and their forward setup of Franklin, his partners-in-crime Jarryd Roughead and Jack Gunston and the mercurial small forward Cyril Rioli is a nightmare for opposition defenses.
Sydney, on the other hand, grinds teams down. They identify a breaking point and pound teams to their physical limit, then go that little bit further. They have electrifying players but their game plan relies on a full team effort, contested football and playing the game on their terms. Superstars of the competition Adam Goodes and Jude Bolton are coming to the twilights of their careers and the Swans will look to send the two out on a high with another Grand Final victory to take back to the Harbour City.
You don’t get to the last Saturday in September without playing some bloody good football. Both Hawthorn and Sydney are supreme football teams and now they get their chance to prove who is the true champion of 2012.
My personal tip is Hawthorn by eight points.