Kennett curse

Hawthorn club president Jeff Kennett, after whom the losing streak was named.

The Kennett curse was the name given to Australian Football League club Geelong's dominance against rivals Hawthorn in the period between Hawthorn's upset win against Geelong in the 2008 AFL Grand Final[1][2] and Hawthorn's win in the 2013 preliminary finals.[3]

Background

Geelong and Hawthorn contested the 2008 AFL Grand Final.[4] Geelong went into the match as the favourites; they were the defending premiers, and had lost only one match for the entire season;[5] however, Hawthorn prevailed by 26 points to claim its 10th premiership.[6] Ahead of the teams' first round meeting at the start of the 2009 season, then-Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett publicly questioned Geelong's mental drive to defeat Hawthorn.[7]

What they don't have, I think, is the quality of some of our players; they don't have the psychological drive we have. We've beaten Geelong when it matters.

— Jeff Kennett [8]

Additionally, following the upset Grand Final loss, Geelong players made a private pact, which was later made public by Paul Chapman, to never again lose to Hawthorn.[9][10] Following Kennett's comments, Geelong won the match in Round 1, 2009,[11] and proceeded to defeat Hawthorn in eleven successive matches: a run that included a number of remarkable games. Kennett's demeaning comments in 2009 came to be seen as the initiating event of a curse on Hawthorn, dubbed by fans and media as the "Kennett curse". Kennett himself (who stepped down from the Hawthorn presidency in 2011) said in 2013 that while he was not proud of what he had said, he did not wish he could take it back.[12] The curse ended when Hawthorn defeated Geelong in the 2013 First Preliminary Final, after Kennett's reign as Hawthorn president had ended, knocking Geelong out of the finals (Hawthorn won the Grand Final the next week to claim the Premiership).

Results

Over the period of the curse, the rivalry between the clubs remained strong. All matches were played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, drew at least 63,000 spectators, and although Geelong won all eleven matches, most matches were close and/or involved one team coming from a long way behind. Nine of the eleven matches were decided by ten points or less, and five by less than a goal (six points), with two decided by kicks after the final siren: Round 17, 2009, with a behind to Jimmy Bartel;[13][14] and Round 19, 2012, with a goal to Tom Hawkins.[15] The Cats' 11-match winning streak against the Hawks is the longest by any team following a VFL/AFL Grand Final loss to their opponent.[16]

#Round/YearWinnerScoreWidest MarginWinning MarginVenueAttendance
1Round 1, 2009Geelong15.21 (111) – 16.7 (103)Geelong by 438Melbourne Cricket Ground69,593
2Round 17, 2009Geelong15.9 (99) – 14.14 (98)Hawthorn by 281Melbourne Cricket Ground64,803
3Round 2, 2010Geelong14.16 (100) – 13.13 (91)Hawthorn by 249Melbourne Cricket Ground68,628
4Round 15, 2010Geelong12.13 (85) – 11.17 (83)Hawthorn by 132Melbourne Cricket Ground69,220
5Round 5, 2011Geelong17.15 (117) – 15.8 (98)Hawthorn by 2619Melbourne Cricket Ground78,579
6Round 12, 2011Geelong13.10 (88) – 13.5 (83)Geelong by 205Melbourne Cricket Ground63,476
7Qualifying Final, 2011Geelong14.14 (98) – 9.13 (67)Geelong by 3731Melbourne Cricket Ground73,400
8Round 2, 2012Geelong14.8 (92) – 13.12 (90)Hawthorn by 182Melbourne Cricket Ground69,231
9Round 19, 2012Geelong18.10 (118) – 17.14 (116)Geelong by 512Melbourne Cricket Ground65,287
10Round 1, 2013Geelong13.15 (93) – 12.14 (86)Hawthorn by 307Melbourne Cricket Ground76,300
11Round 15, 2013Geelong11.16 (82) – 10.12 (72)Geelong by 3310Melbourne Cricket Ground85,197

Source: Footy Wire

The losing streak ended as follows:

#Round/YearWinnerScoreWidest MarginWinning MarginVenueAttendance
12Preliminary Finals, 2013Hawthorn14.18 (102) – 15.7 (97)Geelong by 205Melbourne Cricket Ground85,569

The curse looked to continue with Geelong leading by 19 points midway through the final quarter, but Hawthorn rallied and kicked three goals and seven behinds to Geelong's solitary point to overrun the Cats by 5 points.[17] Paul Chapman, who earlier had publicised the Geelong players' pact never to lose to Hawthorn, missed the preliminary final due to suspension.[9] He was then traded to Essendon at the end of the season.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Kennett curse – AFL.com.au
  2. ↑ It's no monkey, that's a gorilla | Geelong, VIC, Australia
  3. ↑ Hawthorn edges Geelong to book place in AFL grand final and lift Kennett curse, ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 20 September 2013
  4. ↑ Hawks set up dream final with Cats – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  5. ↑ Preview of AFL grand final: stats, profiles and analysis | The Roar
  6. ↑ Hawks rise over Cats to claim premiership – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  7. ↑ Geelong lacks drive: Jeff Kennett | Herald Sun
  8. ↑ Whateley, Gerard (30 March 2013). "Geelong Cats got your tongue? No, but they've got your measure".
  9. 1 2 Forget The Kennett Curse, it should be renamed the Chapman Factor | News.com.au
  10. ↑ Geelong star Paul Chapman says Cats never want to lose to Hawthorn again | Herald Sun
  11. ↑ Cats escape to avenge grand final heartbreak – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  12. ↑ Hex gets Wiki guernsey Peter Hanlon (3 July 2013)
  13. ↑ Bartel behind buries Hawthorn | Sports News | Fox Sports
  14. ↑ Geelong defeat Hawthorn in rivalry round thriller | The Roar
  15. ↑ Cats stun Hawks to win after the siren – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
  16. ↑ AFL Finals: Hawthorn v Geelong preview – Hawks out to end the Kennett curse with win over Cats, ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 17 September 2013
  17. ↑ http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-09-20/hawks-stop-the-streak Hawks stop the streak

Notes

  1. ↑ Only the first ten matches in this streak are detailed, as this article was published the day before Geelong's eleventh consecutive victory over Hawthorn.
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