Maybe it was the backdrop, a luxurious suite with ridiculously beautiful ocean views, but I’ve never enjoyed a Hawthorn loss as much as the one last Friday night. Don’t get me wrong, I was disappointed that a few critical errors at vital stages cost us the game, but it’s amazing how quickly you get over it when you have a sumptuous dessert and settling nightcap on the balcony waiting for you.
Of course, the build up to this long awaited clash was somewhat tempered as we holidayed in Fiji. The locals are familiar with the game thanks to the countless Aussie tourists who visit each year but it is rugby and latterly soccer that grab all the sporting attention in this friendly part of the world. The closest I got to a conversation about the match was with the Australian born General Manager of the resort who assured me that the satellite dish (which had been playing up in the days prior to the match) had been repaired and would, much like our view, deliver a pristine picture come game time.
Mind you, come the Friday I had almost forgotten about the game. It’s funny how when you’re in your workaday life the football becomes a welcome distraction at the end of the week. When you’re on holidays it tends to be somewhat of an interruption. Fortunately the time difference meant we didn’t have to sacrifice much to see the game, the telecast starting at 10pm local.
And what a game it was. From all reports it has since been hailed as a modern classic. It certainly had all the hallmarks - massive crowd, terrific theatre (Buddy’s burst where he marked three times in a few minutes missing the first couple of shots and then threading through an audacious banana goal springs to mind) enormous pressure, big momentum swings and a final margin of less than two goals.
My wife and I watched it from the comfort of our King sized bed, trying to keep the noise down so as to not wake up the kids in the adjoining room. A difficult assignment, particularly when Willo goaled early in the last quarter to give us the lead. For a while we even forgot where we were, although the ceiling fan rotating on high and a quick glance out the window reminded us that we were far from a freezing Melbourne.
After Willo put us in front, the Hawks had a few chances to increase the gap but failed to capitalize and the Cats responded like good sides do, the result disappointing but the contest thoroughly enthralling.
Not having followed any of the other games on the weekend, I thought that maybe the results had been reported incorrectly. I mean, Carlton beating the Bulldogs; Essendon knocking off Collingwood; Fremantle winning two games in a row???
It turns out that the results did fall that way and we now have an intriguing five rounds leading into the finals, 12 sides still in contention. We’re back in Melbourne now and heading to the MCG this Friday night to see the Hawks take on Collingwood. We’ll see whether the Hawks can back up last week’s performance, and with no ocean views and nightcap waiting for me after the game, this week, we better win.