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‘Certainly odd’: Moment that left Mitchell baffled after stunning Hawks-Pies draw repeat

· Ronny Lerner · 2026-08-15T20:47:23+00:00 · nguồn gốc

‘Certainly odd’: Moment that left Mitchell baffled after stunning Hawks-Pies draw repeat Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell admitted he could not believe that his side played out another draw against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday night. The Hawks and Magpies became the first pair of teams in VFL/AFL history to play in two draws against each other in the same season, after combining for another stalemate in Round 8. Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Adding to the bizarre case of deja vu was the fact that Hawthorn forward Dylan Moore had another shot at goal after the siren, as he did 15 weeks ago. On that occasion, with the Hawks trailing by six points, Moore converted the set shot. But on Saturday night, with scores level, his set shot failed to make the distance. “It’s certainly odd,” Mitchell said. “Actually, after the game, when the scores were level, it was like, ‘Do we want a draw? Or do we need to win this game?’ It was quite an odd moment. “When you’ve been in the game a long time, you sort of feel like you’ve seen most things, but certainly haven’t seen that.” Mitchell revealed he was most concerned about Moore staying on his line as he was lining up from 49m out on the boundary while the match clock counted down to zero. “The thing I thought about was, as he was running in ... I was like, ‘Just get him to take the whole 30 (seconds) and make sure he doesn’t end up with the play on’,” Mitchell said. “You’ve got no control. At that time, you can’t get a message out; you can’t do anything. So I’m a glorified fan at that point, to be honest.” Jack Gunston was the man who passed it to Moore after taking a mark 65m out from goal on the flank. “We got ourselves a shot. I mean, it’s a hugely-pressurised moment and I thought when Gunston takes that mark just outside 50, does he go for the long point and just hope for the best if he gets it deep enough?” Mitchell said. “He found a mark; we get a shot on goal around the siren to give ourselves a chance. So I thought we handled it pretty well.” The draw wasn’t disastrous for the Hawks. For them to finish top four and earn the coveted double chance, all they have to do is beat lowly West Coast in Perth in the final round. And Mitchell was hopeful that playing such an intense arm wrestle of a match so close to the finals would serve as good preparation for his team for the biggest month of the year. “Tonight, it was probably 100 minutes of finals-type footy and we were able to stand up OK,” Mitchell said. “Are we good enough right now to go where we want to go? No. Of course not. “But is it within our grasp? Well, the ladder says it is and our confidence in what we can achieve says it is, so let’s see.”