Hawks ready for toughest trip in footy
Anna Harrington |
Facing Fremantle in Perth is one of the toughest trips in football – but that’s exactly how Hawthorn likes it.
The minor premiers are 12-0 at Optus Stadium heading into next Thursday’s qualifying final against the Hawks.
Their long trip west makes attempting to secure direct passage to the preliminary final particularly challenging.
“It’s probably one of the toughest, especially this year,” Hawks defender Jarman Impey said on Sunday.
“They haven’t been beaten over there so they’re very hard and it’s always been a hard trip.
“But to be honest, and again I talk about confidence, the last couple of years we’ve been able to travel and play in finals, so hopefully we can lean on that a little bit.
“We just look forward to the challenge.”
Impey and fourth-placed Hawthorn feel they have already had a dress rehearsal after heading to Optus Stadium and beating West Coast in their final regular-season game.
“To be honest, I look at it as a blessing really,” he said.
“How lucky are we? To finish our last round over there and get a sense of the ground, get a sense of where we’re staying again and then being back there. I think it was meant to be.
“So time will tell Thursday night, but we look forward to going back over there.”
Hawthorn are also ready for Fremantle’s not-so-secret weapon.
Wharfie Time is a crowd activation shown on the big screen that features a boat tackling massive waves, accompanied by the iconic gong and intro from the AC/DC song “Hells Bells” and a dramatic heartbeat sound.
Fremantle have only turned to it once – against Hawthorn in round nine, when the Dockers kicked the last five goals of the match to turn a 19-point deficit into a 15-point win.
“We know what the atmosphere is like,” Impey said.
“To be honest with you, we actually look forward to it, and it’s pretty cool – the Wharfie Time as well. I think there’s a live guitarist. We look forward to it.”
Impey insists there hasn’t been any training or rehearsals for Wharfie Time.
“There’s been no song or no music or anything like that,” he stressed.
Thursday’s match kicks off a bumper weekend of elimination and qualifying finals.
Already, a combined 7.4 million viewers watched the opening two wildcard finals on TV, with the Western Bulldogs and Carlton advancing in front of huge crowds at the MCG.
Impey enters the finals off the back of a maiden All-Australian berth – one of a record five Indigenous players in this year’s team.
“Mate, that was amazing. It was really cool,” he said.
The defender has averaged 23.6 disposals, seven marks, two intercept marks and 4.5 rebound 50s.
“It’s nice to get recognition, of course, especially at age 31,” Impey said.
“But pretty quickly, I move on.
“I’m more excited about finishing top four and playing in finals.”
AAP