The 2013 AFL Grand Final is just a full day away and Thursday saw both Hawthorn and Fremantle announce their teams for Saturday’s blockbuster.
Hawthorn are replacing the injured Brendan Whitecross with Jonathon Simpkin. The 25-year-old was best on ground in Hawthorn’s VFL affiliate Box Hill’s Grand Final win last weekend, but has not played since round 20 and has just 18 games of senior level experience.
Winged Hawks Brent Guerra, training with a strapped shoulder, and Buddy Franklin have pulled up well and are locks to play.
The Dockers announced an unchanged side from last weekend’s big win against the Swans.
The injury cloud surrounding Chris Mayne, Michael Johnson and Luke McPharlin appears to be fading and all seem certain to play after a slight scare earlier in the week, however Mayne has reportedly experienced back spasms and only participated in some light running during Thursday’s training.
The Hawks will take a tested side into the Grand Final, with just Brian Lake, Bradley Hill and Max Bailey the only players not to have played in the last week in September, while Fremantle have just two players who have previously played on the AFL’s biggest stage- Zac Dawson and Danyle Pearce.
Former West Coast coach John Worsfold believes the Hawks will escape Freo’s frenetic defence.
“Fremantle’s form has been building and they are remarkable how they can strangle teams,” he said.
“They make teams look shaky and they have no answer to getting through their defensive mechanisms. They are the best at doing that.
“So the challenge is Hawthorn getting it forward enough and I think Hawthorn will be able to do that in the Grand Final. They will get it inside 50 enough and they are then going to be able to win the game and score enough.
“We saw them do that well (against Geelong) with a lot of scoring shots, and it was without much impact from Franklin, Rioli and Roughead. It is rare that they will have another quiet day.”
Hawthorn’s ability to limit the Dockers’ press will prove vital to a victory, however one facet to Saturday’s blockbuster that nobody seems to be talking about is the weather. The majority of experts have Hawthorn pegged as the winner, however the forecast for Saturday says expect showers and even an early morning thunderstorm.
Fremantle have proven to be formidable wet weather opponents and have enjoyed a couple of notable wet wins in 2013, including their impressive qualifying final win against Geelong three weeks ago. The Hawks’ attack is often dependent upon tall forwards Franklin and Roughead, meaning the weather could play into Fremantle’s favour.
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Robert Prezioso, Getty Images.
