Saturday’s fifth AFL Round 15 match is between Geelong Cats and Hawthorn Hawks with the game to be played at MCG. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:40pm local time with away team Hawthorn Hawks currently holding favouritism. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Geelong Cats and Hawthorn Hawks.
WHERE AND WHEN: MCG, Saturday 6 July, 7:40pm
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Preview:
Geelong play Hawthorn on Saturday, 7.40pm at the MCG. This is the match of the round for many, with both teams evenly matched across much of the field. The Hawks will go into this game as slight favourites, however, but no matter who wins, it will be a fiery encounter. Geelong have dominated Hawthorn in recent years, and that is the first hurdle the Hawks will have to overcome. Saying that, however, the Hawks are in great form after winning their last 12 games and will be very tough to beat. This will be a close contest and offers Hawthorn the best chance of beating the Cats since the 2008 Grand Final.
Teams:
Geelong Cats:
B: Cameron Guthrie, Tom Lonergan, Corey Enright
HB: Joel Corey, Harry Taylor, Taylor Hunt
C: Andrew Mackie, Joel Selwood, Mitch Duncan
HF: Mathew Stokes, James Podsiadly, Mark Blicavs
F: Josh Caddy, Tom Hawkins, Steven Motlop
Foll: Dawson Simpson, Allen Christensen, Jimmy Bartel
Int: Josh Hunt, Jordan Murdoch, James Kelly, Jesse Stringer
Emerg: Billie Smedts, Travis Varcoe, Nathan Vardy
In: –
Out: –
Hawthorn Hawks:
B: Ben Stratton, Brian Lake, Brendan Whitecross
HB: Sam Mitchell, Josh Gibson, Shaun Burgoyne
C: Isaac Smith, Luke Hodge, Bradley Hill
HF: Jack Gunston, Lance Franklin, Luke Breust
F: Shane Savage, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli
Foll: Max Bailey, Brad Sewell, Jordan Lewis
Int: Taylor Duryea, David Hale, Paul Puopolo, Jonathan Simpkin
Emerg: Kyle Cheney, Will Langford, Brent Guerra
In: M.Bailey, P.Puopolo, C.Rioli
Out: X.Ellis (calf), L.Shiels (ankle), J.Ceglar (hip)
Hawks, Cats warm up for AFL blockbuster
AFL heavyweights Hawthorn and Geelong have flexed their considerable muscle to score big wins ahead of the next instalment of their gripping rivalry.
The Hawks are top of the table and have equalled the club record of 12-straight wins going into Saturday night’s blockbuster against the Cats at the MCG.
Geelong are a win plus percentage behind them in second place, but they have a more telling streak – the run of 10 wins over the Hawks that started in early 2009.
Hawthorn’s only loss so far this year was the seven-point thriller against Geelong in round one.
Former Hawks president Jeff Kennett said immediately after the loss that coach Alastair Clarkson should be moved on at the end of this season.
Kennett quickly apologised for his April Fool’s Day remarks.
It was all water off a Hawk’s back for Clarkson, who said after Sunday’s 58-point win over Brisbane that he is looking forward to their next Cat fight.
“They’re always crackers of games against Geelong and we’ve got a nice healthy rivalry there,” he said.
“Rivalries are all built around grand finals and big finals.
“We’re about due to win one I reckon though.”
Hawthorn have not beaten Geelong since the stunning upset in the 2008 grand final.
While Hawthorn have been faultless since round one, they will take a growing casualty list into next weekend’s massive clash.
Xavier Ellis (calf) and Liam Shiels (ankle) joined the injuries in the Launceston win over the Lions.
Key defender Josh Gibson briefly left the field when he hurt his neck in a spectacular collision.
After the 21.17 (143) to 12.13 (85) mauling, Clarkson said they were undecided whether star utility Cyril Rioli would resume from a hamstring injury next weekend in the AFL or VFL.
Geelong were too strong for Fremantle on Saturday night at Simonds Stadium, winning 11.19 (85) to 7.2 (44).
In other games on Sunday, Richmond brushed aside St Kilda’s early challenge with a powerhouse second term to win by 64 points at the MCG.
Ruck-forward Ty Vickery took 11 marks and had 16 hitouts in the 17.17 (119) to 8.7 (55) thrashing, which consolidated the Tigers in sixth spot.
North Melbourne had a badly-needed win over Greater Western Sydney to keep their slim finals hopes alive.
The 19.16 (130) to 6.8 (44) win came ahead of next Saturday’s big clash against the Tigers.
On Saturday Port Adelaide scored their second major upset win in as many weeks, beating Collingwood by 35 points.
Melbourne survived a late charge from the Western Bulldogs to score a morale-boosting three-point win.
Adelaide stayed in finals contention with a fighting 28-point win over Gold Coast and Sydney beat Carlton by 22 points on Friday night in the wet at the MCG.
Essendon once again set aside several days of pressure relating to the club’s anti-doping investigations to score a big win, coming from behind on Thursday night and beating West Coast by seven points.
