Quote from: art76 on September 03, 2026, 05:17:20 PMTook a look at the highlight reel and I would have to say Fremantle was dismantled by the Hawks.

Yeah, Hawthorn's work rate was through the roof. Running hard both directions. Repeat efforts. Off the ball hard running. It was an exceptional finals-quality effort.  And the tackle pressure was immense. Freo had no free space and they panicked with ball in hand. Poor decisions. Skill errors.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn's offensive running created a bounty of options and Freo just didn't commit to the gut running needed off the ball to shut the hawks down.

The aspect of Aussie Rules I most like is the aerobic extreme it demands. Winning a game is almost entirely determined by a team's commitment to push through the pain barrier and run harder for faster for longer than the opposition. And in finals that gets turned to 11. The more players you have willing to out run their direct opponent sets the win up. And hawthorn had a balanced, gut running effort that went 23 players deep yesterday. Freo were smashed.

Now we've got two weeks to recover and will be playing one of Adelaide, the Bulldogs, Sydney or Brisbane at the MCG in a Prelim Final.  I can't wait to be there for that. It will be a packed house of 96k and the atmosphere will be electric.

Quote from: OzJohnnie on September 03, 2026, 05:47:14 AM30 minutes until the first bounce of the Hawks vs Fremantle Qualifying Final.  Him's nervous.

Yuge win.  Finals is high intensity footy and the Hawks brought the hammer and gave Fremantle their first loss on their home deck this year.  The Hawks played a disciplined, structured game that left zero free space for the Dockers, but the Hawks were running like mad everywhere on offence and generated twice as many opportunities as Freo.

https://youtu.be/zVTFetS1gNs?is=jFGfhq6NaYNsFQeZ

Now it's a week off, then hosting a Preliminary Final at the MCG for a spot in the Grand Final.


Come on, Johnnies!   Let's make this the perfect weekend.

30 minutes until the first bounce of the Hawks vs Fremantle Qualifying Final.  Him's nervous.

Quote from: Patrick Coleman on September 02, 2026, 11:53:33 PMA young man playing Division II football in Missouri last week collapsed and died. We don't need to risk these sorts of things.

I didn't realise a cause of death had been published.  The coroner put it on the heat?

The regular AFL home-and-away season is complete, and the Hawks have finished fourth in the standings.  It's hard to believe that I feel disappointed about finishing fourth, given Hawthorn's progression under Sam Mitchell, but there are no rules about the demands fans make on their teams.

2022: 8 wins 14 losses, finished 13th
2023: 7-16, 16th
2024: 14-9, 7th (lost in the second round of Finals)
2025: 15-8, 8th (lost in the third round, one short of the Grand Final)
2026: 15-2 draws-6, 4th (earned a bye and a double chance in Finals, let's see how far they go)

There's an odd structure to the finals pairings that is too hard to explain.  Hawthorn earned a bye this week and plays top finishers Fremantle in Perth next week.

And as a treat, here's Nick "The Wizard" Watson taking a high-flying mark in horrible weather against West Coast last night in Perth.

https://x.com/HawthornFC/status/2091483750886691276

EDIT:  Heh.  And another treat by Hawthorn-hating media commentator (and past St Kilda player who got pumped so many times by Sam Mitchell and the four Premierships Hawks team of the 2010's), Leigh Montagna.  I love seeing his quote on Mitchell's appointment as senior Hawks coach in 2022:

Mrs Oz and I have had a week's holiday in tropical Far North Queensland (FNQ, in the local lingo) and as I was walking through part of the hotel, I noticed that not only has Gough Whitlam, Australia's only Prime Minister to be dismissed by the Queen/King, been here, but Bobby beat me here as well.  I'm having a year of Bobby.  You're everywhere.

Quote from: DuffMan on August 21, 2026, 08:38:10 AMI got this email from SJU yesterday, as I am sure many of you did. Seriously? I think back to when our kids were a little younger and needed backpacks full of activities and snacks to get through the afternoon. Heck, I brought a propane heater a few times!

QuoteNew Clear Bag Policy for SJU Football Games
Dear Johnnie Football Fans,
As you prepare for the upcoming Saint John's football season, we want to make you aware of an important change to gameday entry procedures.
A clear bag policy will be in effect for all Saint John's football games at Clemens Stadium this season.
If you plan to bring a bag into the stadium, it must be one of the following:

• A clear plastic, vinyl or PVC bag no larger than 12" × 6" × 12"
• A one-gallon clear resealable plastic bag
• A small clutch bag no larger than 4.5" × 6.5"

Medical, accessibility and diaper bags are permitted and will be subject to inspection.
Backpacks, large purses or totes, coolers, duffel bags, fanny packs, camera bags and other noncompliant bags will not be permitted. Please leave these items in your vehicle before entering the stadium.
To make the transition easier, approved clear bags will be available for purchase beginning with the first home game at the SJU Spirit Shop, football stadium shop and Spirit Shop cart in the tailgating lot.
Thank you for helping us make gameday safe and welcoming for everyone.

Go Johnnies!

Saint John's University

Safe and welcoming?  Even rural central Minnesota is getting the bag inspection routine now.  That's a shame.

The MIAC and WIAC have six of Logan Hansen's top 10.  CCIW has two.  Plus MUC and Johns Hopkins.  Some things never change.

https://x.com/loghanratings/status/2090528813604077827?s=61&t=KbCNsWeom8KlUt8-D0TUlw

Quote from: hazzben on August 05, 2026, 12:30:05 PM

Quote from: carletonknights on August 05, 2026, 03:48:59 AMI'll never forget, the year after we graduated, we came back for the game at St. Olaf. We were sipping our beer as we walked to the stadium when a female student yelled "Excuse me! This is a dry campus!"

Sounds to me like she wasn't getting invited to many "dry" party's with the St. Olaf hockey team then. 

"Sipping"

Quote from: Retired Old Rat on August 03, 2026, 05:49:11 PMWhy is the attendance so much higher at Carleton?

No band practice on that side of town.

Quote from: BDB on July 23, 2026, 02:05:54 PMJust the fact that there is something known as "spider season" down under creeps me out. 

Mrs Oz is with you. I don't mind the huntsman, though, as long as they stay out of the house. They aren't dangerous (to humans), don't spin webs and eat all the things I really don't like. Cockroaches, flies, lizards, etc.

Anyways, this one has gone to God.

It's not even spider season, being the middle of winter, but coming home from work, we find this baby huntsman drowned in the dog's waterbowl by the front door.  They'll get about three times as big as this in the summer.  It's a normal-sized dog bowl for a border collie, for reference.

Now that the US has been trounced in the soccer, can we go back to being proper Americans and not giving two flying ***** about that sport?

(Soccer and Taylor Swift.  The things they work overtime on trying to convince us we should get excited about.  Far out.)

Hawthorn got absolutely smashed. Oh, well. Not gonna be the year with let downs like that.

How about another beer commercial?

The Hawks have a big game against Melbourne tomorrow.  Particularly big as eight of our starting 22 are out due to injury, illness or suspension.  And five of them are from the starting seven in the backline.  So it's a big test.  The midfield (missing two starters) will really need to bring the pressure so the very green backs are not overwhelmed.

Win this game, and the Hawks are virtually assured a top-four finish (almost mandatory for a good run at the premiership) with a solid shot at a top-two finish, which will earn home-field advantage clear to the Grand Final.

It's getting to the money end of the season.  Him's nervous.  S***ing bricks.  Sorry, I shouldn't have said that word.  S***ing rocks.