Cats vs. Hawks - Game Of The Year? | Thebigtip

If there were a football God (no, not Gary Ablett Snr) and he or she ruled that the game of football would be banned because the rules are becoming too confusing and that the next game you watch would be your last, which two teams would you want this last game to be contested by? Quite simply, it would be a game between the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks.

If Friday night's Saints vs. Dogs game was a cup of chamomile tea, the Cats vs. Hawks game was an enormous can of Red Bull. I simply did not want it to end. It’s a shame that Collingwood have placed a reservation on one of two spots in the Grand Final.

This game had it all; the mercurial forwards, the hard as nails midfielders, the will to win, super-organised defences, a season ending injury and in a game that LeBron James should have watched, it had Joel Selwood, who refused to allow his team to lose in the last quarter. If Selwood was the Jumping Jim Brunzell in the last quarter, it was Jimmy Bartel who played Brian Blair in the second half after being unsighted for much of the first (Brunzell and Blair were one of my favourite tag team duos in the WWF in the mid 80s who collectively were known as the Killer Bees).

With Franlkin and Rioli terrorising opposition defences, the Hawks can never be ruled out of any game. Rioli is an incredibly gifted player and if he was knocking on the door of ‘Blue Chip’ status last year, he has kicked the door down in 2011.

Sam Mitchell continues to show outstanding leadership, despite not wearing the captain’s arm band. His ball use by either hand or foot on both sides of his body is second to no one in the game. Mitchell appears to be having the best season of his career, and much like Sachin Tendulkar, not having the ‘burden’ of the captaincy has improved his game.

The absence of Gary Ablett Junior in the Geelong midfield has allowed for greater rotations through this part of the ground. The creative Matthew Stokes appears to have increased the capacity of his engine, allowing him to play on ball. Steve Johnson is in a similar boat as the sublimely skilled forward of previous years has become one of the most damaging on-ballers in the game at present. Johnson appears to be a step ahead of his opponents, and at times, his team mates.

If there is a player that has grown more than any other in the absence of Ablett it has to be James Kelly. He has always been a elite tackler, but with opposition ‘run-with’ players going to Selwood, Chapman or Bartel, Kelly and the under-rated Joel Corey are left to stamp themselves on games of football. Joel Corey is also showing glimpses of the form he was known for in 2009 after a disappointing 2010 season.

A fit Brad Ottens could in fact be the most important player in the Geelong team. His influence around stoppages and his ability to be a threat when throw inside 50 will create match up headaches for all sides. Young Nathan Vardy has paved the way for this to occur. His development has been rapid, if not surprising, and is the perfect foil to Ottens and allows coach Scott to throw Brad Ottens deep forward.

Both lists are littered with outstanding talent, but the edge is slightly with the Hawks, although this point is arguable. The ‘second tier’ group of Shiels, Savage, Suckling and Whitecross appear to be 200 game players. The future is bright at Glenferrie.

It also appears the football world got it wrong when many in the pre-season believed Geelong would go through a rebuilding phase in 2011 and possibly 2012. If the coach of the year was to be given out at the half way point of the season then we welcome Chris Scott to the dais to accept the award (John Worsfold a close second).

If the AFL could manipulate the draw to have these sides play 5 times per year, I don’t think many of us would complain.

Players that matter stand up when it matters. There was no better example than on Saturday night. Let's hope these teams meet again later in the year.