As a proud Hawthorn fan since 1968, let me say that supporting the Hawks in the 1980s was an absolute dream. They had superstars on every line and you never went into a game without thinking the Hawks would win it. I'm biased of course, but I think they are the best team I've seen, but that is always open to debate.
I'm glad that bit of play was highlighted because that was one of the strengths of Hawthorn, the physical pressure they would impose upon others, and then when they gained the ball would finish it off with sublime skills. For memory, the Hawks were the first team to use forward pressure as a genuine tactic, ala Brereton, Dunstall, etc, who always made life hard for the opposition when the Hawks didn't have the ball, and kept it in our forward line.
Allan Jeans labelled the 1989 GF "Operation Tackle", at a time where tackling was just something you did from time to time when the opposition had the ball.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh ..... memories
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:03 pm