You won two norms for it

...

I, I was shitting myself the same as everyone else.

There's 100,000 people looking at you, putting pressure on, but I guess what you...

The, the way you calm yourself down is understand what your role is and trust the blokes around you.

None, none of our group tried to do anything more than they needed to.

And I think that's the big thing for Freo.

[cheers]

do you think that means that the Lions have the edge because they've done this dance so many times before and Fremantle are here for the first time for a grand final?

Yeah, there's no doubt going through it.

So Brisbane went through that the first year when Collingwood beat them.

They adjusted a few things.

They flew in on Thursday.

They got delayed.

And then it sort of upset their, I guess, the lead into the grand final.

Are you still active with the club?

do you think that means that the Lions have the edge because they've done this dance so many times before and Fremantle are here for the first time for a grand final?

Yeah, there's no doubt going through it.

So Brisbane went through that the first year when Collingwood beat them.

They adjusted a few things.

They flew in on Thursday.

They got delayed.

And then it sort of upset their, I guess, the lead into the grand final.

Are you still active with the club?

I actually can't believe Hawthorne didn't win that.

Yeah, this is the tough thing is you go back and what the players will be going through this week is you look through what you did well, the errors you made, and clearly because both teams were so good, they capitalised on both errors, but just Hawthorne made too many late.

At the start of the third quarter when they were up by 20-odd points, they missed three shots, reasonably easy shots, which would have put them 40 points up, and then late in the game they missed a couple, which they probably should have.

They let through a few.

So many

players.

They've got people called the Ashcrofts.

Well, Will, who's, what is he, 21, 22? He's gone for three noughties in a row.

What do you think, Hodgy?

Uh, oh look, teams that have success, uh, in September, Jarred, are teams that put their ego to the side, whether it's a player or a team.

I reckon that's what the MR- MRP should've done this week, just put the ego...

They looked at it and go, "This is my time to shine.

How can we get noticed?" And that's tongue in cheek for people out there.

I'm only joking around.

But I, I think they could've let it go.

Give me the Fremantle challenge, heading into the first grand final of this era and trying to make that breakthrough in club history.

What do you think, Hodgey?

Uh, oh, look, teams that have success, uh, in September, Jarred, are teams that put their ego to the side, whether it's a player or a team.

I reckon that's what the MR- MRP should have done this week, just put the ego...

They looked at it and goes, "This is my time to shine.

How can we get noticed?" And that's tongue in cheek for people out there.

I'm only joking around.

But I, I think they could have let it go.

Give me the Fremantle challenge heading into the first grand final of this era and trying to make that breakthrough in club history.

Have you done votes for the Coach of the Year?

I haven't, but I could go off the top of my head.

Who are your three coaches of the year?

Uh, three coaches of the year.

Uh, I'll have to go one, Cox.

Dean Cox, just from what they, where they came from last year.

He did a lot of work over the off-season for missing finals last year.

Yes, they had a lot of injuries, but he did a lot of work on understanding what the players need, and they were, they were prime.

What about the Lions' side of things from a leadership perspective?

Well, don't, don't just think it's gonna happen.

Uh, and we, we saw that against...

If I was Chris Fagan, I'd be drawing on what you learnt from Sydney.

Don't just rock up and think, "Oh, we've been there before.

Sydney were under me and we're just gonna walk over, all over them." Passion and motion means so much in September.

So rock up to this game knowing, yes, we've got the experience.

Give me the Fremantle challenge, heading into the first Grand Final of this era and trying to make that breakthrough in club history.

I think they're gonna revert back to they played Brisbane, so they should be going into the game with confidence.

The fact that they've won many quarters [laughs] over the, over these, over the final series, but when they've played, when they've dominated, they've, they've been hard to stop.

They had a q- the quarter against the Cats in the first where they were outstanding.

They had the last quarter against the Swans.

When they played Brisbane, uh, probably about two months ago, two and a half months ago, they were dominant.

Therefore, they only beat Brisbane by 25 points, but they were about 40 or 50 points up at three-quarter time.

They, they have been fragile in this final series, and they've sorted some of their foibles out in a couple of games.

[laughs] What do you think, Hodgy?

Uh, oh, look, teams that have success, uh, in September, Jarred, are teams that put their ego to the side, whether it's a player or a team.

I reckon that's what the MR- MRP should have done this week, just put the ego...

They looked at it and go, "This is my time to shine.

How can we get noticed?" And that's tongue in cheek for people out there.

I'm only joking around.

But I, I think they could have let it go.

Come on.

How was your emotional state during the time on period with your two old clubs?

[laughs] Um, it, it was a weird one.

E- either way I was, I would've been happy and, and sad for, for both, for both groups, and obviously for, for the Lions, I wa- wanted to see Fags go on and, and, uh, and try and get his three-peat.

And I, I've got a really good relationship with a lot of the players because I played and coached there.

But on the Hawthorn side of things, you sit back and, and the blokes that have given everything to football club to, to just be sure.

So I, I look at Blake Harwood because I, who I, um...

He's obviously wearing my number, but I played a lot with him, um, my last year there, just trying to develop him and Sicily and these kind of guys, just to try and see, get them an opportunity to play on Grand Final Day to try and win a premiership.

What did you think of the game itself?

So these players in their early 20s, Nic Dacos, Nick Watson-

Oh.

[laughs]

... and Will Ashcroft too, I know captured your eye for his craft and his sensibility in the prelim.

Yeah, yeah.

You sort of look back and go, young guys, sometimes ego may jump in, and we spoke how Nic is so impressive in, in putting things to the side.

You talk about egos where if you, if, if I was Will Ashcroft at 21 years of age, you've got...

You've just hit the front.

What, what's his gift?

You look through, it's...

I don't think there's just one, there's one little skill.

So you sit back and go, he's got speed, he's got power.

Um, he's got a great understanding of the game, which normally if, if you've got speed and power as a young kid, you don't need to understand the game 'cause as a junior you can, you're faster and you're quicker or you're more powerful than the other blokes, so that c- that gets you through to get the football.

But he's got all those mixed into one.

He's, he's, he is a nice kick.

It's just thrilling to live in an era where this is happening with such a player.

Your snap judgements from an unforgettable preliminary final.

I reckon that was the best game.

I wasn't there.

I was at like a watch party, raw deal watch party in Brisbane.

And my mates probably missed the badges, but it was absolute scenes.

I did want to say hard luck to Hawthorne, though.

The game clearly could have gone either way.

What did they, what did they do wrong in that night?

Well, I think they got shaky towards the end of the season.

So I think they lost three of their last five games, including that final.

So one was a little bit...

They probably rested a few players on that last trip to Melbourne because they'd already, uh, locked away top spot.

But it's also, it's fatigue of the season.

Um, making sure that you're playing your best football this time of year.

How do you see that playing out, and what was the form line for these two teams? I know they finished third and fourth, uh, at the end of the regular season, but who was playing the better footy at the back end of the season going into this game?

What did they, what did they do wrong on that night?

Well, I think they got shaky towards the end of the season, so I think they lost three of their last five games, including that final.

So one was a little bit...

They probably rested a few players on that last trip to Melbourne because they'd already, uh, locked away top spot.

But it's also, it's fatigue of the season.

Um, making sure that you're playing your best football this time of year.

They, they were three games ahead at Round 18.

How do you see that playing out, and what was the form line for these two teams? I know they finished third and fourth, uh, at the end of the regular season, but who was playing the better footy at the back end of the season going into this game?

Are you buying what they're putting down? Ah,

look, to be honest, I've went through both their last couple games, both teams, and if they get the game on their terms, both teams are more than capable of winning this game.

You look at, people sort of say, in a prelim, you probably should have that anyway, but you look at what Brisbane did to Hawthorne, round 22, beat them by 67 points.

Their forwards, their small forwards made their defenders look silly.

Since then, Sam Mitchell's put a real focus on that defensive transition, making sure if they lose a contest, we saw against Freeman on that first final, if they lost a contest around the midfield, their whole midfield, the wingers, the mids, the rucks, they've got to squeeze back to help out that defence.

So that's what's fine-tuned them for a big prelim.

And what we do know is in big finals is you need your defence to be stable.

What about tonight, Hodgie? Who do you like, the Swans and the Fremantle Dockers?

Are you buying what they're putting down?

Ah, look, to be honest, I've went through both their last couple games, both teams, and if they get the game on their terms, both teams are more than capable of winning this game.

You look at, people sort of say, in a prelim, you probably should have that anyway, but you look at what Brisbane did to Hawthorne, round 22, beat them by 67 points.

Their forwards, their small forwards made their defenders look silly.

Since then, Sam Mitchell's put a real focus on that defensive transition, making sure if they lose a contest, we saw against Freeman on that first final, if they lost a contest around the midfield, their whole midfield, the wingers, the mids, the rucks, they've got to squeeze back to help out that defence.

So that's what's fine-tuned them for a big prelim.

And what we do know is in big finals is you need your defence to be stable.

Noah Answorth is his shutdown man, but Noah's not there this week.

Have they made the right call here, the Swans, to select McInerney, who hasn't played in the best part of 10 weeks?

Yeah, I think they've got enough faith in him, and I think his ability to...

He's a workhorse, as you said.

He can push forward at the scoreboard.

And this is the faith, and this is the tough thing about what coaches come to at this time of year.

Players play all year, and we've seen it throughout the years that there's some unlucky people come prelim final, come grand final.

But ultimately, Dean Cox is there to win a prelim and hopefully go on to win a grand final for... for his club, and as much as it's a tough decision, this is also the next one of the Malikins.

And that was intimidating, I'm sure, for Sam Mitchell sitting at home watching.

All right, Hodgies, Hawkeye, where's your focus leading

us to today, Hodgie? My focus is round 20.

What does that mean? Round 20, Nick Dacos will be classified as this year's Brownlow medalist.

That's how early Nick Dacos is going to win.

So we're going to sit here for the last 20 minutes and they're going to read through votes.

Do you know how when someone's won and they read through vote after vote really quickly that no one can really understand what game it is? That's when it's going to be done.

That's how far in front I've got Nick Dacos winning this year's Brownlow medal.

All right, Toby Green is

And that was intimidating, I'm sure, for Sam Mitchell sitting at home watching.

Yeah, it was.

That's the thing.

You sit back and go.

What we saw, it was a Friday night game.

I was watching it there with the family.

Brisbane Lions dismantled the Hawks.

And as dominant as Sicily and Barass in battle were against Fremantle in that qualifying final, it is a different beast, this Brisbane forward line, who's much smaller and more nimble.

He just went absolutely

ballistic.

Yeah, he's a fair player.

Considering his first year at Freeman, it was getting really cool.

He was playing as a forward, even though we know they got him there as a ruckman.

Darcy had that main forward role, main ruck role.

Then you flip over to the Swans, and the person that just keeps jumping out at me is Errol Goulden.

What about the Lions?

That can't have happened before.

And, and I think this is where you look at, you look at how teams...

Well, Jack Gunston's on the rookie list as well.

So you see how teams have manipulated to try and...

And I can understand why.

They, they put a senior guy on the rookie list so they get a higher draft pick for a young kid coming through.

I understand that's the, that's the way there've been a, a loophole in the system and they've been able to do it.

Th- this is your classic year-on-year build to contention.

[laughs]

The, the old Veale deal.

This is, uh...

And which that got the tick of approval.

That got the old Jade Rawlings could go through to the, uh, the pre-season draft.

And Lachie Veale, who was pick 65 i- in 2002, uh, went through for pick six to the Western Bulldogs, and then Hawthorn let, uh, Lach- let Jade Rawlings, uh, go through.

So it happened back then.

Hodgey cast an eye toward the Hawks in the preliminary final against the Brisbane Lions

Football's on all season long on ESPN and streaming on the ESPN app.

I think for the Sydney Swans and what Coxie's asking from them is what we saw last week.

They targeted the Brisbane Lions.

So they come out and said, "Okay, McDonald, I don't care if you get a kick.

You're stopping Harris-Andrews from his intercept marking.

Goes to Rowbottom.

I don't care what you do, but you're gonna go and sit on Lachie Neale and, and keep him quiet, keep him to two clearances while you go and get the ball yourself." I don't, I don't think that that mindset works with Freo, because Freo are a lot more balanced team.

Th- this is your classic year-on-year build to contention.