But the Hawks were less efficient in their forward forays, and it was true to the script that Sicily’s last hurrah, a set shot from 50 metres – with two minutes left – was shanked out on the full.

Conversely, Geelong’s super veteran Patrick Dangerfield grabbed those crucial opportunities – seizing them forcefully – and booted three goals in his new role as de facto key forward, including Geelong’s first of the final quarter.

Jack Gunston, a near contemporary of the 35-year-old number 35, had an outstanding game as a marking forward, and would have been the most influential afield had he nailed a couple of additional shots. The ageless performances of players well into their 30s has been notable in 2025.

This game, if not quite at the standard of the best Cats and Hawks classics, was eventful and contained multiple twists, momentum shifts and was on the line, the margin the barest, until under three minutes remained.

It had villains, too.

For the gold and browns in the record 88,746 crowd, the man in the metaphoric black hat wore a white headband and long locks.

Bailey Smith, the game’s most visible brand on social media, pushed the footy in the face of Jarman Impey in the second quarter and was subsequently booed, pantomime-style, for the duration and often (he had plenty of possessions and was among his team’s best).

Conor Nash was the bad guy for the Geelong folk at the MCG after he clobbered and knocked out Gryan Miers with a crude round arm, a strike that, while not intentional – the ball was thereabouts – was simply unacceptable and should earn him weeks from the match review officer.

Chris Scott, while reluctant to grade the Nash incident, said he wouldn’t argue against a reporter’s suggestion that Nash’s strike was worse than Docker Patrick Voss’ on Nick Vlastuin (a three-week ban).

But the match was far more than a compilation of incidents.

Just when the Hawks appeared to be sinking, as Geelong’s lead stretched to 23 points in the second quarter, they surged and took over in the midfield.

Clearances can be overrated as a measure of what matters, but Hawthorn’s 11-consecutive clearances were a genuine barometer of the shift in the match. They owned territory in the dozen minutes before half-time and really should have been level, rather than 11 points behind.

Lloyd Meek was important in the surge, as were James Worpel and Jai Newcombe. Later, in the second half, Amon’s ball use and run were important in levelling up the scores.

Max Holmes, who covers more territory than the ABC’s Back Roads program (421 metres to half-time), produced a play early in the third quarter that was near the standard of Harley Reid’s 2024 goal of the year – three bounces, running around hapless Hawks – except that Holmes merely kicked it to Jeremy Cameron, who converted from the goal square, rather than booting it, himself.

As the match unfolded, it asked multiple questions.

One was whether Hawthorn could convert their opportunities, if they had the nerves to finish the job and to turn their territorial advantage into victory.

The other was whether the Cats could stem those stoppage defeats, and either rebound or gain enough midfield impetus to let their efficiency deliver the win. In the second half, the Cats duly did overcome that stoppage problem, helped by the forever-unsung Tom Atkins.

Hawthorn played with marginally more verve, speed and enterprise. Geelong, as the more-seasoned unit, played with the greater composure.

Ultimately, the old pros – Dangerfield, Cameron, Mark Blicavs, Atkins and Mannagh from heaven – did what was necessary in the moments that mattered.

The blockbuster bar was raised. It is up to the various combinations of Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond, Melbourne and Carlton to match the messy masterpiece at the ’G.

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