Kennett curse

{{see also|2008 AFL Grand Final}}

Geelong and Hawthorn contested the 2008 AFL Grand Final.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-09-20/hawks-set-up-dream-final-with-cats/516474 Hawks set up dream final with Cats – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)] Geelong went into the match as the favourites; they were the defending premiers, and had lost only one match for the entire season;[http://www.theroar.com.au/2008/09/26/preview-of-afl-grand-final-stats-profiles-and-analysis/ Preview of AFL grand final: stats, profiles and analysis | The Roar] however, Hawthorn prevailed by 26 points to claim its 10th premiership.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-09-27/hawks-rise-over-cats-to-claim-premiership/523720 Hawks rise over Cats to claim premiership – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)] 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.[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/geelong-lacks-drive-kennett/story-e6frf7jo-1225700549794 Geelong lacks drive: Jeff Kennett | Herald Sun]

{{quote|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{{cite news |url=http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/geelong-cats-got-your-tongue-no-but-theyve-got-your-measure/story-fndv7pj3-1226609165899|title = Geelong Cats got your tongue? No, but they've got your measure| first=Gerard| last =Whateley|date=30 March 2013 }}}}

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.[http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/forget-the-kennett-curse-it-should-be-renamed-the-chapman-factor/story-fnelctok-1226442622716 Forget The Kennett Curse, it should be renamed the Chapman Factor | News.com.au][http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/geelong-star-paul-chapman-says-cats-never-want-to-lose-to-hawthorn-again/story-e6frf9jf-1226040925684 Geelong star Paul Chapman says Cats never want to lose to Hawthorn again | Herald Sun] Following Kennett's comments, Geelong won the match in Round 1, 2009,[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-03-27/cats-escape-to-avenge-grand-final-heartbreak/1633422 Cats escape to avenge grand final heartbreak – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)] and proceeded to defeat Hawthorn in eleven successive matches: a run that included a number of close games and come-from-behind victories that seemed to highlight the existence of the so-called 'curse'. During this 11-game run, Geelong won two Premierships, one in 2009, and another in 2011 which included a 31-point Qualifying Final win over Hawthorn. Kennett's demeaning comments in 2009 came to be seen{{by whom|date=October 2015}} 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, later taking the position again in 2017) said in 2013 that while he was not proud of what he had said, he did not wish he could take it back.[http://www.watoday.com.au/afl/afl-news/hex-gets-wiki-guernsey-20130702-2p9xy.html Hex gets Wiki guernsey] Peter Hanlon (3 July 2013) The curse ended with Hawthorn finally defeating Geelong by 5 points in the thrilling 2013 First Preliminary Final, after Kennett's reign as Hawthorn president had ended. Hawthorn then went on to win the Grand Final the following week. Ironically, Paul Chapman, the player who first mentioned the Geelong players 'pact' to never lose to Hawthorn, played his last game for Geelong a week before the Hawthorn game, having missed the Preliminary Final due to suspension.

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;[http://www.foxsports.com.au/news/bartel-behind-buries-hawthorn/story-e6frf6bu-1225754690174 Bartel behind buries Hawthorn | Sports News | Fox Sports][http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/07/26/geelong-break-hawthorn-hearts-with-miracle-on-grass/ Geelong defeat Hawthorn in rivalry round thriller | The Roar] and Round 19, 2012, with a goal to Tom Hawkins.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-03/cats-stun-hawks-to-win-after-the-siren/4176528 Cats stun Hawks to win after the siren – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)] 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.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-17/for-hawks-it-cant-be-just-about-jeff-any-more/4962214?section=sport 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

Source: [http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_team_comparison?mid=3448&team1_id=11&team2_id=10 Footy Wire]

The losing streak ended as follows:

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.http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-09-20/hawks-stop-the-streak Hawks stop the streak Paul Chapman, who earlier had publicised the Geelong players' pact never to lose to Hawthorn, missed the preliminary final due to suspension. He was then traded to Essendon at the end of the season.

The rivalry still produces exciting games and routinely draws crowds of 63,000+ to each game (the COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding). The following year, Geelong beat the Hawks by 19 points in Round 5 but then were blown out in their Qualifying Final to the Hawks two weeks after losing to the Hawks by 23. Those were the first half of four straight Hawthorn wins through 2015. The Cats did win their most recent finals meeting, a qualifying final, in 2016 by 2 points. During the home-and-away games since 2016, Geelong has had an overall edge, with Geelong's five wins to Hawthorn's three, including the last three wins.

The Hawks and Cats have contested an annual match on Easter Monday since 2010.

• Sports-related curses
• Colliwobbles

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2013/07/05/368596_news.html Game by game: Four years of the Kennett curse], Geelong Advertiser, 5 July 2013{{#tag:ref|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.|group=lower-alpha}}
• [http://www.foxsports.com.au/other-sports/the-kennett-curse-has-nothing-on-these-long-running-sporting-curses-from-around-the-world/story-e6frf56c-1226721936357#.UjvyFp1--Hs The 'Kennett Curse' has nothing on these long-running sporting curses from around the world], Fox Sports, 18 September 2013
• [http://thenewstatsman.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/the-curse-of-poor-maths-skills-oh-alright-kennetts-curse/ A mathematical formula for predicting Kennett curse explained]

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

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